By Don Williams | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

Going into this football season, Texas Tech’s defense made it a priority not to lose containment on quarterbacks. Like many facets of the team, the Red Raiders have been better in that area this season than in the recent past.

Mobile quarterbacks have given Texas Tech trouble in the past, but not as much this season. On Saturday, though, Baylor's Robert Griffin will provide a major test. He has rushed for 744 yards and 11 touchdowns this year. By TONY GUTIERREZ / Ap

The final exam comes Saturday: Can they keep sensational Baylor freshman Robert Griffin from getting out of the pocket and hurting them with the run?
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If the first 11 games are an indication, the Raiders stand a reasonable chance of keeping Griffin under wraps. Opposing quarterbacks have only 162 yards on 90 carries. More than half came from Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick, who has run for 1,087 yards this season, second-most in the nation among quarterbacks.

Kaepernick had 92 yards against Tech, but no one else has come close to that.

“I think we’ve done a pretty good job of (containment),” Tech defensive line coach Charlie Sadler said.

Sadler said the fact that Tech’s linebackers are playing more zone coverage and less man-to-man than in the past is a reason.

“As a result, they’ve had their eyes on the quarterback,” he said. “If he takes off, we’re able to converge with both our front and our linebackers and not just put it all on the front.”

Against Tech, opposing quarterbacks rushed for 442 yards in 2006 and 435 in 2007. In those two seasons, there were seven instances of quarterbacks rushing for at least 50 yards.

This year, other than Kaepernick’s 92-yard game, no other QB has more than 25 rushing yards on the Raiders.

Some historical comparisons illustrate the improvement. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy carried 13 times for 16 yards in the Longhorns’ 39-33 loss to Tech three weeks ago. The previous two years, he carried nine times for 68 yards and 11 for 51 and a touchdown.

Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson had 16 yards on six carries in a 56-20 loss at Tech two weeks ago. In last year’s Tech-OSU game, Robinson carried 13 times for 116 yards and two TDs.

“We’re just working on it more,” defensive end Jake Ratliff said. “Last year, it’s not that we didn’t work on it; it wasn’t a main focus of ours. This year, with all the quarterbacks in the Big 12, if you let them get out, they’re going to burn you.”

That description fits no one better than Griffin, the freshman from Copperas Cove who has 744 yards and 11 touchdowns rushing. Within the Big 12 Conference, he’s run for 102 yards against Oklahoma, 121 against Nebraska and 101 against Texas.

“He’s probably the most talented running quarterback we’ll face this year,” Ratliff said. “Everybody’s seen what he can do with the ball. I mean, if he scrambles he’s going to make a play. If you leave him in the pocket and don’t get any pressure on him, he can do pretty much whatever he wants with the ball. He’s a very talented athlete and can definitely run.”

Because of his running ability – and maybe to a lesser extent, the fact that he wears No. 10 – Griffin has drawn some early comparisons to former Texas star Vince Young.

Though Baylor coach Art Briles has been known throughout his career for spread offense, Tech coach Mike Leach said Briles has taken more after UT coach Mack Brown than after him.

“He’s running the quarterback a lot,” Leach said. “It’s kind of run, play-action stuff – Vince Youngish. To me, it looks like some stuff (Briles) did at Stephenville, but a lot of stuff that’s similar to what Texas did back when they had Vince Young.”

College football

• Who: No. 7 Texas Tech vs. Baylor

• When: 2:30 p.m. Saturday

• Where: Jones AT&T Stadium

• Records: Baylor 4-7, 2-5 in Big 12 Conference; Texas Tech 10-1, 6-1

• Last game: Baylor 41, Texas A&M 21; Oklahoma 65, Texas Tech 21

• Last meeting: Tech 38, Baylor 7 last year in Waco

• TV: Versus (Suddenlink Cable channel 45)

• Line: Tech by 20

Change of pace

Top rushing games by opposing quarterbacks against Texas Tech the last three seasons.

2006

Reid, Oklahoma State 17-78-1

McCoy, Texas 9-68-0

Ballard, TCU 9-66-0

Jackson, Colorado 14-54-1

2007

Robinson, Oklahoma State 13-116-2

McGee, Texas A&M 14-93-0

McCoy, Texas 11-51-1

Willis, SMU 14-40-0

2008

Kaepernick, Nevada 17-92-0

Coffman, Kansas State 2-25-0

Bradford, Oklahoma 5-18-0

Robinson, Oklahoma State 6-16-0

McCoy, Texas 13-16-0

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