Received in an email - don't know who to credit
Red Raiders Q&A
Q: So with the OU loss to A&M this past weekend, what are your predictions now on bowl hopes? Texas Tech played a fairly strong game against Oklahoma State. If the Red Raiders can just manage a win over the Longhorns this weekend at home, we may be back in title contention.
Mark, Tech class of '96
DAVIS: Tech always plays the Longhorns tough in Lubbock. However, UT has won four of the last six played at Jones SBC Stadium. I think it will take a perfect game by Tech and a good-to-average game by UT for the Red Raiders to come out on top this weekend. Let's say Tech does win this week and loses to OU next week. I think that would make Tech a lock for the Independence Bowl. The only way Tech can get into a BCS bowl is to win the league championship. The Cotton and Holiday bowls are out. Tech won't be picked in the Alamo Bowl two years in a row, thus it's the Independence. A 7-6 record would make the Independence Bowl a shaky pick.
Q: Having lived in the Southeast for the last 15 years, I know Lubbock is better than most college towns. If you've ever been to Starkville, Tuscaloosa, Auburn, Clemson, College Station, etc., then you know the town doesn't really matter. Most SEC fans will drive all over Dixie to see their team. So I see Tech's problems as double-edged. One is fan support. I believe if Tech had a rowdy packed house for the N.C. State game, Tech would have won and the entire season would be looked at differently. We know if they win, the people will come. But fan support is needed to sometimes give the team the extra edge. I don't have the answer, but I don't think firing Mike Leach is the answer.
Bill, Atlanta
DAVIS: I agree. Firing Leach would be both unfair to him and wrong for the program. Leach hasn't done anything to get fired this season, even though the Raiders have not done as well as hoped. Once the N.C. State game went into overtime, anything was possible. So I don't fault any fan support/lack of fans as being at fault in that game. As for fan support, Saturday will be the first game sold out this season. Tech needs as many fans it can get against UT. Although I'm sure the Longhorns will have fans spread all over the field, ready and willing to throw some tortillas. Winning games like this keeps the fans coming back. Win, and fan support will no longer be a problem.
Q: I haven't heard the mention of Ivory McCann in a few weeks. What's up with him?
Marsha D., Garland
DAVIS: McCann battled an illness the last few weeks but has returned to his regular role of kick returner. Oklahoma State was smart and kept the ball away from McCann. The Cowboys kicked the ball short every time. The sophomore has 21 returns this season and averages 19.6 yards per return.
Q: What's the best plan on defending UT's Roy Williams?
DAVIS: First, it's wrong to think that Tech will change its entire defensive scheme to fit Williams, the most prolific receiver in Longhorns history. Williams will be treated just like any other receiver. Cornerbacks Joselio Hanson and Ricky Sailor will not rotate. Their alignment is determined by where the ball is spotted. Hanson is what's called a "field" corner, meaning that he plays the wide side of the field. Sailor is a "cover" corner. Sailor plays on the side of the field closest to the sideline. I do expect the Tech coaches to roll a safety over the top to one side or the other in certain alignments. I also expect to see lots of Cover 2 zone alignment (dropping two safeties back into coverage). Even though Williams is good, Tech has played against other receivers like him all season.
Q: Can our run defense stop the Longhorns? Cedric Benson is really good.
DAVIS: Benson is coming off a slow week. He had 64 yards rushing against Baylor. That's not all that great considering the competition. Tech has improved its run defense in recent weeks. Colorado managed only 162 yards. Baylor had 95, and Oklahoma State had 175 (67 of which were on one touchdown run). The Red Raiders must continue getting pressure up front with tackles Lamont Anderson and Rodney McKinney. UT's offensive line is not as good this season as in previous years. Knifing though the line for some key stops helps stop offenses.
Q: It seemed like we had a better pass rush against Baylor. What did the coaches change?
DAVIS: Defensive coordinator Greg McMackin made some slight personnel adjustments to the 45 nickel and Okie dime packages. The biggest was inserting Josh Rangel at weakside linebacker and moving Ryan Aycock to safety. John Saldi normally starts at weakside linebacker, but he moves over to the strong side in passing situations. Rangel caught Baylor off-guard with his speed through the line. He had one tackle for loss, one pass break-up and one quarterback hurry. McMackin said he the move was designed to get more speed onto the field.
Q: What kind of fan support can we expect Saturday against the Bevos?
DAVIS: Saturday's game against Texas is sold out. It will be the first time this season that Jones SBC Stadium is full. There is a push in Lubbock to encourage fans to wear red to the game. Tech wants to "red out" the stadium. I can't wait to see all that red clashing with burnt orange. Talk about a fashion disaster!
Q: Where does Kliff Kingsbury rank among all-time quarterbacks now?
DAVIS: Kingsbury's statistics get better and better every week. Now, the senior is ranked fifth all-time among Division I passers with 11,394 yards. He could pass San Diego State's Todd Santos this week against Texas. Santos has 11,425 yards. Kingsbury could finish third all-time, although it will take some work. Louisville's Chris Redman is currently third with 12,541 yards. I'm not sure if it's possible for Kingsbury to throw for more than 1,100 yards in his final three games, which includes a bowl. Wherever Kingsbury does wind up, it's still impressive.
Q: Taurean Henderson sure has a lot of receptions. How many does he have, and where does that rank in history?
DAVIS: Last season, I was shocked how many receptions senior Ricky Williams had. The Duncanville product finished with a single-season record 92 receptions for 617 yards. This year, Henderson is on pace to break that record and possibly become the first Tech player to log 100 receptions in a single season. The redshirt freshman currently has 81 catches for 489 yards and four touchdowns. Now you've got to understand that it's a somewhat inflated number because of shovel passes that are really glorified handoffs. Henderson also catches a lot of dump-off passes out of the backfield. For example, he caught a pass from Kingsbury against Baylor that could have counted for minus-2 yards. Henderson, though, took the catch and turned it into a 60-yard touchdown run. That's how numbers get inflated in this system. But a catch is still a catch.
Q: I think the Texas game is going to come down to special teams. We are not very good in this area. What can be done to fix the special teams?
DAVIS: Tech ranks near the bottom in almost every Big 12 special teams statistical category. Punt returns is the lone exception, thanks mostly to Wes Welker's efforts. Welker averages 13.0 yards per punt return, and he has taken two for touchdowns. Tech ranks 10th in kickoff return yardage (18.4 per return), eighth in punting (35.5 per punt) and 11th in kickoff coverage (21.5 allowed per kickoff). Kicker Robert Treece is doing his job. The senior is 43-of-43 on extra points this season. Treece has not missed an extra point in his Tech career, but he is 11-for-17 on field goals this season. A big play on special teams always determines big games, and this week should be no exception.
Q: What's the latest on the tortilla front?
DAVIS: Tech had university administrators and university police placed throughout the student section the last two homes games looking for people throwing tortillas. During the Baylor game, approximately 40 people were thrown out for throwing tortillas, according to university officials. That seems like an awful lot of people considering that I didn't see many tortillas hit the ground. Anyway, Tech is worried that Texas fans are going to throw tortillas like crazy this week trying to get penalties called on Tech. I expect Tech will have a police presence in the visitors section this week to prevent anything from going onto the field.
Q: We sure are scoring a lot of points. Are we close to setting any sort of record?
DAVIS: Tech has scored 425 points this season, four shy of breaking the school record set in 1953. Tech currently averages 38.6 points per game. That's No. 2 in the Big 12 and sixth nationally. Kansas State leads the conference with 46.1 points per game.
