Texas Tech backers have thought for years that their nirvana would be the pairing of the Red Raiders’ usual offense with just a pretty good defense. I don’t know if that would vault the Raiders to some place such as Miami, New Orleans or greater Phoenix in January.

After all, Tech sported a top-30 defense in 2000 and again in 2005 and fell short of the target.

But right about now, it sure is fortunate for the Raiders to be putting a reliable defense with an offense that has Mike Leach hopping mad. Sure, Tech scored 43 points Saturday on a wonderfully dry night at Jones AT&T Stadium, but two weeks in a row a bunch of clutch defenders have seized the role of leading men.

Their third-down conversion yield is a tick under 20 percent (8-of-41), they’ve been tough as nails in their own end, and defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill says that’s just a start.

“We’re not even close to what we want and what we expect defensively,” said McNeill, who nevertheless has to be optimistic.

It’s almost as if the D’ invites the other team to Tech’s end of the field, just so they can show up and show off. Saturday’s scorecard: SMU needed seven possessions in Tech territory to finally score any points.

The matchup of June Jones’ passing game versus Leach’s passing game might well be entertaining one of these years. You might even count on it once Jones has about three years worth of recruiting to plug some bigger n’ better Texas-grown athletes into his system. Now? Tech’s defensive guys made a mess of true freshman quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, intercepting him four times in just the first half alone.

More relevant, though, was that the group made another half dozen stops Saturday on its end of the field, which will be a mental image to draw on when the opponents get tougher. Last week, Tech turned umpteen Nevada chances at touchdowns into field goals. This time, Tech quashed every SMU threat when it mattered.

If you want the reason for McNeill’s bunch being able to rise up in over-and-over fashion, look to the front four, where nine guys are getting regular playing time. That means four starters aren’t getting drained.

Through the first three games, Tech has been able to take out the starting front four and sub in a full second group – McKinner Dixon, Richard Jones, Brandon Sesay and Sandy Riley – and not get burned. The Raiders have been able to save a talented pass rusher such as Daniel Howard mostly for specialty duty, allowing him to enter and play sic-em from “Jet” fronts and the team’s “Joker” standup rush spot, the latter from which he got a sack Saturday.

More productivity from the linebackers is another factor. Brian Duncan and Bront Bird have gotten some seasoning, they’re making more tackles this year and the combined work of the front seven yields payoffs such as Saturday’s five interceptions.

Daniel Charbonnet set a tone on the very first SMU snap, picking off an overthrown ball. After that, the Mustangs made it into Tech territory four times before the break, only to be foiled at every turn.

With SMU at the Tech 44-yard line, Jamar Wall picked off a pass, getting some redemption from a rocky first two games. Later in the first quarter, the Mustangs made it to the Tech 26 before Howard blasted past an overmatched guard and bagged Mitchell, taking the Ponies out of field-goal range. The Mustangs were still within 15-0 early in the second quarter when a Graham Harrell fumble and a 22-yard pass gave put them at the 1.

Then came a holding penalty, a sack from Dixon and an interception by Darcel McBath.

Charbonnet’s school-record third interception of the night came after SMU had reached the Tech 31 in the middle of the third quarter. The game was in the bag before then, but it threw another log onto the defense’s brimming blaze of confidence.

That’s something that’s been a long time coming.