With the non-conference in the rear view, Big 12 play has finally arrived. There is no shortage of big games this weekend and one of those included Arizona State traveling to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech.
The surprising Sun Devils are coming off a big road win against Texas State last week while the Red Raiders bounced back and routed the Mean Green of North Texas 66-21. Both teams want to get off on the right foot and what better way to do that with a win? In the end, it was Texas Tech who came out on top 30-22. Here are my three takeaways from the game.
Texas Tech’s Defense Was Ready
Outside of one 66-yard pass, the Red Raiders did an excellent job defensively against the Sun Devils. Coming into the day, Arizona State was averaging nearly 230 rushing yards per game. Well, not today because Texas Tech was all-in on stopping the run. They held Arizona State to just 3.1 yards per carry and 94 total yards on the ground. In fact, they didn’t give up a single run over 11 yards and held them to 0/3 on fourth down.
I remember two weeks ago when this defense gave up over 200 rushing yards to Washington State. That seems like a distant memory after this game. While this defense did have a few penalties, I thought they played extremely well against a good rushing attack. If they can play like this defensively, then they will have a chance in any game they play in.
How Good is Arizona State?
One thing I wanted to figure out after this game is just how good is Arizona State? They opened up the year against a bad Wyoming team and an extremely bad Mississippi State team. Their win against Texas State on the road was impressive. But just how good are those Bobcats?
To me, this was by far their toughest test, and they didn’t get the job done. The score did not indicate just how much Texas Tech was in control. I like they way this team plays defense, but the problem is going to be their offense. Against Texas Tech, Arizona State struggled to run the football and that put the pressure on quarterback Sam Leavitt. He didn’t have his best day, and I wonder if teams start loading up the box is he good enough to win games with his arm? I don’t think so after watching this game. This team has to find some more playmakers because you can’t keep relying on running back Cam Skattebo carrying the offense week in and week out.
Texas Tech Is Back on Track
I know every game is important, but this was a must win for Texas Tech in my opinion. They got off to a rocky start to the season with a close call against Abilene Christian and a bad loss to Washington State. Last weekend, they took care of North Texas with ease to move to 2-1 before conference play.
After today’s win against Arizona State, they are now 3-1 and if you take a look at their remaining schedule, you have to feel pretty good about it if you are a Red Raiders fan. While they do have trips to Ames and Stillwater later in the season, their next three games are against Cincinnati, Arizona, and Baylor. There is a good chance they could be bowl eligible by mid-October. Even after that they will get to play TCU, Colorado, and West Virginia.
Call me crazy, but there is a path for this team to win at least eight or nine games this season and after the start they had, I would say that is very impressive. You can doubt this team all you want, but don’t count them out just yet.
