By Don Williams | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

Charlie Sadler won’t call his current Texas Tech defensive line the best group he’s had in 30 years of coaching. After all, he was defensive line coach for Oklahoma’s 1985 national championship team.

But the current bunch need not be the best to be appreciated.

The play of Tech’s front four is a key reason why the Red Raiders are 5-0 and ranked No. 7 in the country. They’ve set a tone, helping the Raiders allow just under 19 points a game.

Tech ranks No. 24 in the nation in rushing defense, having cut its average allowance on the ground by 74 yards from last year, and sits No. 49 in total defense, having reduced its overall yield by 30 yards a game.

“We’re experienced and solid across the board, and we’ve got some depth that we haven’t had,” said Sadler, who is in his sixth season at Tech. “It’s certainly the best overall defensive line that we’ve had since I’ve been here.”

One reason why the unit has been productive is no one gets overworked. In the four defensive line spots, the Raiders are regularly using nine players – even more in a few games in which the outcomes have been in hand.

In last week’s 58-28 Tech win at Kansas State, for example, no defensive lineman was on the field for 50 plays, Sadler said. The numbers and talent level are such that the Raiders have been able to match personnel to situations: Ends McKinner Dixon and Daniel Howard are first team on the Raiders’ “Jet” pass-rush front, though neither has started a game in the base defense.

Tech has 12 sacks in five games, and its average of 2.4 sacks per game ranks the Raiders just inside the top quartile of the 119 teams in Division I-A.

“That’s what we expect to do,” Dixon said of the Raiders’ effective pass rush.

Defensive ends Brandon Williams and Dixon are leading the way in the sacks category, officially with four apiece. Within the Big 12 Conference, they rank in the top three along with Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo.

Tech shows Dixon with five sacks, because of a disputed play in the Sept. 6 game at Nevada. The home team’s statistics are the official record for the NCAA, and Nevada’s press-box statisticians and coaches agreed that a play on which Wolf Pack quarterback Colin Kaepernick lost yardage was a run-pass option on which Kaepernick elected to run. Tech coaches called it a sack.

In any event, Dixon’s second go-round at Tech has gotten off to a favorable start – especially after Dixon was harshly criticized by head coach Mike Leach in August for being on the edge in academic eligibility.

“The main thing with him,” Sadler said, “is the longer we go in the season, the more that he’s playing, he’s actually starting to get in better condition. So that’s helping him some also.”

With Kansas State’s relatively weak rushing offense and strong passing quarterback Josh Freeman, Tech spent more time than usual in pass-rush packages last week, which meant more playing time for Dixon.

Freeman had not been sacked this season until last week. Then Dixon and Howard got to him almost simultaneously on one play.

After giving up 14 points early, Tech kept the Wildcats’ offense mostly under control.

“We just played our keys,” Dixon said. “We got off the ball, played excited, played aggressive, played physical, attacked the offensive line and made the pocket collapse a little bit.”