Texas Tech coach Mike Leach took a whirlwind tour of ESPN last week, and his players took a rare five days in November off from football.

On Saturday, the Red Raiders went back to work, trying to make the most of the final three games of the regular season. They practiced in perfect weather: sunny with the temperature in the high 70s.

Leach called the workout “nothing earth-shattering, but it wasn’t bad.’’
“You could tell they’d had some days off,’’ defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said, “but I was pleased with the way they started.’’

Tech (6-3, 3-2 Big 12 Conference) is back in action Saturday with a 7 p.m. game at No. 18 Oklahoma State (7-2, 4-1) in Stillwater, Okla. Both teams bounced back in their last games, Tech beating Kansas 42-21 the week after a 52-30 loss to Texas A&M and Oklahoma State winning 34-8 Saturday at Iowa State a week after a 41-14 loss to No. 2 Texas.

Last week, Tech had seven coaches fanned out on the road recruiting, the maximum permitted at one time. Leach gave his players Monday through Friday off.

“We had some goals for the open week,’’ defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said. “One, we wanted guys to catch up on their academics.
Two, we wanted to get some coaches on the road (recruiting), and three, we wanted to get away from it.’’

The open week, as it is designed to do, might have helped the Red Raiders heal. Offensive guard Brandon Carter and defensive backs Will Ford and Brett Dewhurst, all battling injuries lately, were in pads at the end of Saturday’s workout.

Quarterback Steven Sheffield remains out with a broken left foot and isn’t likely to return before the Nov. 21 home finale against Oklahoma, if then.

Asked if the days off benefited the team more from a physical, mental or academic standpoint, Leach said, “Probably all of the above. It’s late enough in the year, it’s good to get them back academically, too.’’

Tech went into the open week in a better frame of mind after the victory against Kansas. That was especially true for the defense which, after a total breakdown against Texas A&M, played four solid quarters against the Jayhawks, who came in with the nation’s fifth-ranked offense.

“I felt we made some improvement,’’ McNeill said. “I thought we were a lot better at tempo, technique and fundamentals — what we’ve been preaching all year. We faced a No. 5 offense in the nation, and we did some really positive things to help the team out and help our offense out with turnovers and sacks. But the most pleasing thing was they listened to what we told them.’’

Leach said he didn’t wrestle too much with the decision of how much time off to allocate.

“The biggest thing is just figure out what’s the most advantageous for your team, and so it wasn’t a real struggle,’’ he said. “Now we just want focus on fundamentals and being sharp at the little things.’’

The highlight of Leach’s week might have been getting to meet Hall of Fame player and longtime Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka on the ESPN trip in Bristol, Conn.

“That was pretty exciting,’’ Leach said. “It was just small talk, really, but he was really an impressive player and an impressive coach, so … .’’

Leach was run through the ESPN “Car Wash’’ on Monday, appearing on the network’s various radio and television programming from about 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“It all happens really fast, so it’s hard to really remember all of it,’’ he said. “It’s a bigger place than I thought — all kinds of buildings and studios and whatnot, and then in the halls and the cafeteria, there’s a whole lot of familiar faces from the television.’’

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