Tech puts up tough fight, Cowboys prevail
STILLWATER, Okla. – Texas Tech has spent more than a month unsure who its quarterback would be from week to week, half to half or even series to series.
Oklahoma State has had the same guy behind center for the last 34 games.
That might have been just the difference the Cowboys needed Saturday night in an important Big 12 Conference South Division game.
Senior quarterback Zac Robinson threw for a touchdown in the first half and sparked two long drives with his running ability in the second half to lead 17th-ranked Oklahoma State to a 24-17 victory in front of 52,811 fans at Boone Pickens Stadium. The win kept OSU (8-2, 5-1 in conference) in control of second place in the Big 12 South, still hoping for a slipup from unbeaten Texas.
Tech (6-4, 3-3) remained one win short of clinching bowl eligibility, since the Red Raiders don’t get to count the season opener against North Dakota.
“We got good effort, good excitement, could have executed better,’’ said Tech coach Mike Leach, whose team scored a 28-game low in points. “There were spurts on offense, and defensively if we could have duplicated the first half, and special teams we had opportunities there, too, and were on the threshold of big plays. But you’ve got to give Oklahoma State credit. They’re a good team. Here at their place, they’re a handful, and they were today.’’
Tech quarterback Steven Sheffield returned for the first time in nearly a month from a foot injury, but he got only 13 snaps in the second half, such was OSU’s dominance in time of possession. And Sheffield wanted his last pass back.
Texas Tech quarterback Steven Sheffield, center, looks to throw against Oklahoma State after replacing Taylor Potts during the first half of their game Saturday, Nov, 14, 2009 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. (Geoffrey McAllister/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
Texas Tech's Taylor Potts, center, reacts after throwing an interception on the first drive of the first half against Oklahoma State Saturday, Nov, 14, 2009 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. (Geoffrey McAllister/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
Oklahoma State's Perrish Cox, right, intercepts a Steven Sheffield pass intended for Texas Tech's Adam James, left, during the first half of their game Saturday, Nov, 14, 2009 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. (Geoffrey McAllister/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
OSU linebacker Patrick Lavine’s 21-yard interception return gave the Cowboys a 24-10 lead with 8:06 left in the game. Sheffield had been noticeably hobbling on his surgically repaired foot – last week in practice and during the game – and Leach decided not to push it after that.
Leach said starter Taylor Potts was “OK’’ but “wasn’t real dynamic.’’
“They’re both inconsistent,’’ Leach said, “and at some point we’ve got to just be consistent and consistent at other positions. We dropped too many balls. We missed some holes at running back. Up front, I thought we had great protection at times and then there’d be times where we weren’t so great.’’
Potts was replaced midway through the second quarter, but came back in after Lavine picked off Sheffield’s pass toward the left sideline and ran it in. Potts hustled the Raiders downfield for a 24-yard touchdown pass to split end Edward Britton. The 80-yard drive took only 67 seconds and pulled the Raiders back within 24-17 with 6:59 left.
The Cowboys ran off most of the clock off after that.
“Just basically had too many flat spots,’’ Leach said when asked why he switched back to Potts in the fourth quarter. “I’m just tired of flat spots. That’s not just quarterback play. That’s line and receivers and all that other business.’’
In the first half, Tech held Oklahoma State to 95 yards, just 36 on the ground. But after the break, the Cowboys went back to doing what they do best, challenging Tech to stop what’s been the Big 12’s best rushing offense for going on four years.
Oklahoma State finished with 243 rushing yards, and Robinson (19 carries, 99 yards) was a big part of it. He was trying to finish the job in the final two minutes when cornerback Jamar Wall and Robinson collided on a violent helmet-to-helmet hit that left both down and dazed. From the Tech 14, Robinson was running a bootleg when Wall came up and smacked him at the around the 6. Both eventually got up – and Tech got the ball, because Robinson fumbled on the play, and defensive end Brandon Sharpe recovered at the 12.
Tech had 1:39 left, but made it only as far as the OSU 49 before Tramain Swindall dropped a pass on fourth-and-4.
“That drive reminded me of that Texas drive (last year) when we scored in like a minute, 29 (seconds), but it didn’t turn out like we planned,’’ receiver Detron Lewis said. “On the offensive side, we started too slow. That’s the reason why we were in that situation at the end of the game where we had to come back.’’
Down 10-7 at halftime, Oklahoma State surged ahead with two time-consuming drives that ended with a field goal and a go-ahead touchdown by Keith Toston. The first march consisted of 19 plays and 73 yards, taking 8 minutes, 8 seconds off the clock. It included four third-down conversions, but the Raiders forced the Cowboys to settle for a 26-yard field goal that tied the game at 10.
The next time they had the ball, the Cowboys unleashed a 15-play, 66-yard drive that consumed 6:03. Two runs by Robinson – for 13 yards on third-and-12 and for 19 yards to the Tech 15 – positioned the Cowboys for the payoff, a 1-yard run by Toston that made it 17-10 with 12:57 left.
“I’ll take (the blame) for him running out of the pocket,’’ defensive end Daniel Howard said. “You can put that on my back. That’s my fault. That’s my responsibility.’’
Sheffield entered to start Tech’s fifth possession, at the 8:55 mark of the second quarter. It was four weeks to the day after he suffered a broken bone in his left foot in a win at Nebraska. Leading up to Saturday, Potts took a majority of the snaps in practice and Sheffield a limited number, but Leach made the switch after Potts skipped a pass short for Jacoby Franks on third-and-11.
Sheffield was still hopping around on the foot.
“Some of that’s (because of) a remedial shoe,’’ Leach said. “I don’t know how much of that is pain and how much is a Forrest Gump shoe we gave him just for fun.’’
Sheffield’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Alex Torres at the 3:05 mark of the second quarter put Tech ahead at halftime. The touchdown came on fourth-and-goal, and outside linebacker Andre Sexton had Torres blanketed with coverage.
Austin Zouzalik’s 26-yard punt return to the Oklahoma State 32 set it up.
Before that return and Sheffield-to-Torres, it was a first half of missed opportunities for Tech, which managed only three points from three other trips inside the OSU 30. Matt Williams missed a 43-yard field goal, made one from 34 and cornerback Perrish Cox intercepted a Sheffield pass on a series that reached the 20.
“We should have capitalized on the times we had good field position,’’ Lewis said. “We should have capitalized, and we didn’t.’’
The Cox pickoff was a fine individual effort as he reached over intended receiver Adam James to grab the pass just inbounds at the OSU 2. It was one of two interceptions for Cox, who picked off Potts to end the first series.
Robinson’s 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Hubert Anyiam put the Cowboys on top 7-0 late in the final minute of the first quarter.
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Putting Sheffield in and leaving him in was cruel, risking career and permanent injury to a player for a football game is insane, Coach Leach needs to be fired for such stupid actions he is not fit to be a college coach…
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Garyount, you are an idiot.
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Defense played hard and my hats off to the defensive players and Ruffin. The effort was tremendous. You guys kept us in the game. The offense has been suspect all year and the lack of confidence by Leach in a QB has hurt the offense. Also, the receivers have dropped more passes this year than pas years. The concentration is not there. It is time to send a message to the receivers. If you drop a pass, you come out of the game.
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ABSOLUTELY AGREE!!!! I have supported Leach but no longer! He should not coach another game for Tech. Sticks should have never played tonight and his career was risked by his coach, who is supposed to have his best interest in mind. I will not support this team untill Leach goes to work for ESPN!
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its fans like garyount that give tech fans a bad name if we won that game you would say leach is a awesome college coach but because we lost now hes not fit to be a college coach you should think before you speak because i agree with coppellraider you are a idiot
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More dropped balls! Im not a huge fan of Potts but I have never seen so many dropped balls!!!! This year better prove that Tech isn’t the “system QB” offense that has been suggested so far! Had any of our past QB’s been leading this game, I bet there would be a totally differnent result. I’m rambling, but does anyone not wish for a Kigsbury/ Wes Welker pairing the way I do? I find our loses this year extremely hard to watch bc of our obvious lack of leadership! This crap better be resolved after this season! One of our best teams shows another total Collapse!!!
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Art Briles Please!!!
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Why does Tech throw short of the first down marker in the hurry up offense? Anything beyond 10 yards stops the clock? 55 yard to go…52 seconds on the clock…and you run up the middle? That play cost Tech 30 seconds. Not smart play calling. All passes have to be beyond the first down marker or toward the sideline to stop the clock. Plus, the constant running up the middle on first down? It was only picking up 2 yards and putting Tech in a whole everytime. Learn during the game Leach! If it isn’t working…stop doing it! The offensive coordinator and linebackers coach…both need fired!
I think Leach has a great system he just doesn’t know how to use it. He doesn’t know how to clear out or freeze the linebacker or the defensive backs. Not enough mis-direction or fakes.
Jamal Wall…excellent play at the end! Gave Tech a chance only for stupid play calling to lose it.
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Every player on the field is one play away from a career ending injury. I guess Leach was an idiot for letting Batch play with a bum elbow too. Bet Gary never played football with passion.
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The AGONY of defeat….a red raydor’s realitys
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Oh, also, Garyount and CG are TRULY stupid! I was in the student section when Dykes’ job was called for! I saw Leach come in! If you think Tech could be anywhere close to where they are if Leach left, then please go away!!! Leach has brought you all of the success you enjoy today! If you think, for one second, that Tech could recruit a decent runningback, decent reciever, and a decent quarterback every year then F you! Our success is TOTALLY dependant on Leach!!!
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seriously guys. You can’t blame leach for playing a qb that is willing to do what he can for his team to win. I guess leach is an idiot for leaving bj symons in the second half of the season and setting the all time single yard NCAA record? Didn’t hear any compaints then. Why now? You have other issues with leach and it’s understandable. But don’t use shefield as your sole reason why you have issues.
As for this game, there was no rhythm, dropped balls and a 2nd half colamps. Period. We got out played tonight. And hopefully wall and Robinson are ok.
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Defense again the positive story….No qb or o-line met expectations….receivers dropped the ball…..defense in the end gave Tech a chance….but again offense failed to execute…I’ll will wait till next year but what an odd year….leadership on offense has not shown its usual face…Leach has a new challenge….the hill is high again – beat OU and Baylor. 6-4 could as easily been 9-1….what a shame….
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Burt …I agree with you about Leach’s teams bringing a lot of excitement to Lubbock helping them to rebuild the stadium etc. I just think he needs to allow someone who played the game and better understand it…run the offense. He should be head coach but get an offensive mind to take over the offense. Mack Brown does it and so do a whole lot of other big schools. It is a great offense…I just believe it is not being used properly.
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cg do you watch college football? do you know anything about football? come on, art briles would be good for us if we wanted to bask in iowa state-esque meteocrity. I don’t think the program is totally dependent on leach, more on the assistant coaches,
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The defense played great, we should win every time when the D holds the opponent to 17 points. Indecision on who should be qb, bad play calls (run the ball with 30 seconds left and no timeouts at midfield?!?!?!?), bad throws, and dropped passes cost us this one. Once again, it’s coach Leach’s fault…. so fire him? No, that’s a stupid idea… he needs to get it together though. After years of great qb’s, we all of a sudden don’t seem to have the talent/leadership that’s been there in the past and coach should have seen that coming. Congrats to OSU, they played a good game. Hopefully Wall and Robinson are ok after that hit at the end.
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wow! i never thought that the “pirate” would make the “sticks” walk the plank!
A team cannot win the game with a crippled quarterback! period! I am a huge
Leach fan, but that loss to osu completely falls on leach and the rest of the
coaching staff!
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Oh and hey forty, I’ll be LMAO when tcu jumps you in tomorrows bcs poll. You have talked all this noise all year bit you guys can win out and still not play in the national title. A blow out win over Utah is better than a blow out win against Baylor. On that note you play nobody that can help you with that and honestly, you need everybody you beat to win out just to help you in the polls. Otherwise see ya in the feista again. No that will be funny !
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not even the blatant bias of craig james helped you out, I wonder if leach would have stayed in his office instead of promoting his silliness on espn, you all might have won!!!
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CJ,
Did the State School (retards) allow you to post this week? Art Briles???? Does Houston miss him?? Did Houston miss a step w/o Art Briles??? You F’ing Retard! You need to get on board w/ the fact that we have the best coach for Tech! If Sheffield had been healthy during the Aggies, and Ok St., then you’d be typing a different story!
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Why do the longhorn fans come here looking for a fight? Thank goodness for them the posting is anonymous I guess. I have never understood even in game week why someone would want to go pick fights with fans of other teams.
I guess it is that kind of fan that gets his manparts ripped out by Sooner fans in a bar, then has to resort to posting in anonymity on message boards.
Support your own team. Go where the news for your team is. Get lost.
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all you morons that are calling for leach’s job are freaking morons. yes we lost to tonight but it isn’t the end of the world. let sticks rest this week and hopefully he will be ready for a tough oklahoma next week.
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I was there also Burt. While I don’t know enough about you to call you stupid, I do know what I’ve seen on the field this year. All it would have taken to beat Houston was a field goal that would have been closer than an extra point, and I supported him. Then he wasn’t able to reach them against A&M and I supported him. Tonight, I know Sticks wanted to play, but did you watch the game? Stick’s game is his ability to move around. He couldn’t do that and you think his head coach didn’t know that. You don’t put someone out there hoping for a fairy tale. By the way, he now gets paid alot for a coach who is six and four with talented players. It’s ok to demand better coaching from someone who just got a boatload of money. Comes with the territory.
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Bones don’t heal in 4 weeks and screws are not as strong as bone. I know Sheffield has a big heart but Leach has to ignore that. I know about broken bones and screws first hand. Sheffield will not be any more mobile next week then this. Sit him out Oklahoma and Baylor and hopefully we will have him for the Bowl game. Those screws can be ripped out easily and then he is back to square one. Not worth the risk and yes…Leach should know this. Leach did not have Sheffield’s best interest at hand. Sheffield never should have played tonight.
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Well said CG!
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I tend to agree with move to take potts out and sticks in. Sticks started strong, got us a td which everyone is forgetting, and then he went south. He should have been taken out sooner but it wasn’t like potts was lighting up the scoreboard either. The real problem is that the offense just couldn’t adjust to each style of play and we kept the defense on the field. We lost guys. Don’t make it worse than what it really is. If you want leach gone, odds are you have wanted him gone beyond tonight. I suppose we are also going to crucify swindal for dropping his second crutial pass to keep the game going or the overthrown ball to britton? Why stop there, both qb’s turned it over 3 times….and it’s leach’s fault? They still have to make the plays no matter who is calling the shots. The d did a good job but a wounded offense put them in a bad position.
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fire leach yesterday
the guy has no clue why his offense sputters when it does, which is waaaay too often for a gimmick offense
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Some of you people are really sick. Sticks had no business playing tonight. I care about Sticks and he is worth more to me next year or in a Bowl game later this year (when he has recovered) than hobbling around and risking a career ending injury. The guy has bolts in his foot for goodness sakes. I can go with Leach trying him to see how he got around on the field for a series or two but when you leave him in, seeing him struggling to get around and getting hit the way he was just shows you Leach doesn’t really care about anyone but himself. There’s no excuse for it. This isn’t the NFL where you are getting a high dollar salary to perform.
I still like Leach but what he did tonight was poor judgment and I’m being nice by saying that. You have other options behind Sheffield — Use those options.
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Burt is harsh. I was trying to be nice. There is nothing wrong with a fan being critical of a coach and holding him up to the standards he(Leach) has set. I don’t think Leach has done a good job this year. This team should have a better record than it does.
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Tech has already clinched bowl eligibility, and they DO get to count the win over North Dakota. You can count the win against only one FCS opponent. Any subsequent victories against FCS opponents do not count towards bowl eligibility, and therefore a team must win 7 regular season games (e.g. Kansas State).
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Shuttling passing QB’s, especially two with such different styles and arms, is low percentage football. The defense was playing well enough to stick with Potts and grind this one out instead of risking Sheffield. With so many weapons on offense Leach could have found a way to win. This loss is on him. He had two weeks to prepare for this game.
Just for the record, the resident huffer, “forty_acres_THEhomeOFwinner” (aka “eiko mahooo” and other aliases) also trolls the Austin and Dallas newspapers posting unstable stuff about the Longhorns, Aggies, etc.. He’s even known for going on children’s web sites to drool and slime.
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Leach did what he had to do to win by playing Sticks. The whole team sucked for most of the game. There was no urgency or excitement. Right now, Tech doesn’t have enough wins to go to a bowl game because the North Dakota game doesn’t count. So, yes by not playing Sticks, then we might as well forfeit the rest of the year. Leave Leach alone, you Wanker Heads!
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Tech fans should prepare for a 6-6 season. TG f.or “next year”
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You guys want to play against TCU & Boise State! Get real, your not in their league.
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The straight shooter said back in Aug. that we’d have 6 wins headed to Dallas to play Baylor with a bowl berth on the line. Wish I’d been wrong. But this was Okie State’s year with its senior line. Same for Texas. Tech will have a good shot in 2010 with a healthy, consistent QB. Tech has little chance next week against OU at visitors’ dream-time kickoff of 11 a.m. All advantages in OU’s favor.
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Its elementary….Tech has an above average team. Unlike in the recent past… we are unsettled at qb, o-line(2 qb’s have been hurt), and wide reciever(dropped passes bad routes)…previous strengths. The defense is much improved…previous weaknesses…..stupid penalties and mistakes…consistant history.
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It’s a game, you play with the game pieces you have, bottom line is we don’t have many! Bad move playing Sheff hind sight 20/20, pull Potts settle him down, put in 7, sheff in his condition never should have been an option. DO NOT PLAY SHEFF ANY MORE THIS YEAR! My view we got out coached, period. With our QB’s in question we needed to run the ball more, that’s means o-line needed to step up and block. Our D was on the field the entire game, flat worn out in the end. “I’m a man” put it on us! OSU’s game pieces were much better than ours, especially Zack Robertson, what a player! Mattress Mack Bowl here we come, our Insight, but mattress sounds better cause that’s more comfortable for our team as we are flat on our back!
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soapsuds and all of you asking for Leach’s job you are cluelss. You need to implement a 24 hour rule and not comment on sleep. I was not happy with some of the coching decisions, but i have lived here all my life and remember the years of Spike Dykes and having people do the same things. You are fickle fans, Leach has brought more attention and noteriety than any money could ever pay him for. Ask enrollemtn what they think of Leach. You knoow why Hnace made the deal happen with Leach….He is one of the major reasons we might getto 40K.
You think Leach makes too much money. First quit comparing it to your salary. When Dykes was here even during the two good seasons we would be amazed if we got 40000. Now we average 56000 and have been able to raise the money do to the excitment to get above 60000. Ever put a pen to how much revenie that is? Also Spike consistently had us in the Alamo and Gallery furniture bowls. Ever done the math on the diffrence between those bowls and the Holiday and Cotton. You mention he should have been in the office last week not promoting his activities. Any idea what we as a Uiversity make on those activities? Not to mention the students we reach that are not in our normal recruiting.
So Leach ore than pays for himself. You Aggie fans…. I mean Raider fans that want to constantly be asking to firs coaches might want to take a look at all of our othr athetic programs that lose money and Leach has to pay for them as well. Especially the large sucking sound that comes from the United Spirit Arena. It is simple business…..
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By playing Sticks last night we insured that he won’t play this week against OU! ThankGod since this crappy O-Line would probably get him slaughtered! Blame the QB’s all you want but the real problems on this team have been the O-line sucking, and the fact that our defensive coaches cant seem to adjust the game plan to compensate for halftime adjustments by the other team. Sometimes it almost feels like we spend all week planning our D one way and when the other team does something sneaky like adjust to our plan at half we just collapse and allow the 3rd quarter “Tech Killing Drive”!
I guess thats why everytime they cut to Ruff in the second half of ball games he always looks dazed and confused! For all of you impressed by our D, take a good look at the stats compared to the stats of almost half or more of all of the other big time teams…we. But better than that, just look backout how it has collapsed time after time with big games on the line!!!!
2010 will be better, but we are still in 2009 and so far it sux!
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Can’t stop a running quarterback. Few can. End of story.
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Two very close teams. The home team won. Same goes for Austin.
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Only way to compete with OU is have a pass rush.
If Red Raiders have no pass rush it will be another 65-21.
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Potts has been a major disappointment for most of the season. Even the broadcasters were pointing out how he was throwing off his back feet in the first half and thowing off target. I don’t know if it’s a qb coaching problem or just Potts. Sheffield is our best qb, but he was too injured to play well. Maybe, we should have tried Doege instead. It also didn’t help that the receivers dropped several critical passes. On defense, we’re always beaten by a running qb. I knew we were finished once they changed their plays to run the qb.
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I very much like Leach as the coach, and I absolutely want him to stay for a long time. However, as good a coaching job as he did last year, he has been that poor this year. The worst part about all of the quarterback shuffling, is that it will continue into next year. Neither has played well enough to earn the spot outright. Leach should have gotten behind the starter he chose (Potts) and stuck with him and let him develop, just as he did with Harrell as he was throwing away games in his first year as a starter. The injuries obviously affected that, but Leach could make it clear who the starter is instead of all that “game time decision” nonsense. Finish strong Raiders, and get it together for next year.
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We need to figure a way to tell the offense every time they go out that there is just 2 minutes left in the game or half. They play deferently during those times!
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Erratic – that’s the word for Tech offense & defense.
You can just see it coming on the offense. When the offense moves flowing & quickly they do well. When they stand around & take forever the play is terrible.
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Shane is correct. We got used to scoring 50+ points last year and if the offense is not clicking at that level, Leach cans the QB. He has changed QB’s so many times this year my head my head is spinning (did I repeat myself?). How can an offensive team be a cohesive unit when the team doesn’t know who the starter from one possession to the next. How many dropped passes will it take for Leach to bench a receiver? Leach’s strength as a Coach has been to settle on one QB and stick with him. Why the change this year??? ADVICE TO LEACH. PICK A QB TO BE YOUR STARTER. STICK WITH HIM. SUPPORT HIM. LET THE TEAM KNOW YOU SUPPORT HIM. CALL PLAYS THAT SUPPORT THE CAST OF PLAYERS WE HAVE AND THE STRENGTHS THEY BRING TO THE TEAM.
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Is the Red Raider cinema still in business ?
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It hasnt been all bad, with a few passes taken back and some dumb decisions eliminated we would still be undefeated. This season is just going to be mediocre but, next season is the one. Just watch. If any tech fans want to feel better today, go to the game video and watch Jamar Wall knocking the crap out of Zac Robinson over and over. I know that made me feel better and the hit was legal, unlike others ive seen this year. I am going to go on a campaign to make TEXAS TECH the national champs next year. Its all in the mind. This time next year all Tech fans will be glad that they are Tech fans.
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Various observations:
Craig James, even though son Adam is a Raider, doesn’t seem to understand this Tech team! These young athletes on defense weren’t “gassed” in the second half–OKState’s QB was simply outrunning them on the keeper play. James wants viewers to believe that theTech players aren’t in shape….it wasn’t Houston humid\hot in Stinkwater last night! These guys are in shape!
I wish Leach would quit trying to pull the defense offisides, when it is fourth down and whatever. No one has fallen for “the long count” in years–all Tech gets is a five-yard penalty. Just punt the ball!!!
Why are balls continually to be thrown to Ed Britton? Drop city. Throw it elsewhere.
Has Zac Robinson awakened yet from the Jamar hit? Isn’t Robinson a senior?
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I guess I wonder why the receivers than have been dropping passes all year are not subjected to the same treatment the quarterbacks have been this season. From what I can see, the main problem with the offense is that there is no receiver out there with the talent of a Welker or a Crabtree, or Hicks for that matter. Add in an offensive line that isn’t nearly as good as usual and the result is what we have been seeing this year. But, in my opinion, Potts beat out Sheffield in the spring and was the NCAA’s leading passer when he got the concussion (see comment above about offensive line play) and, call me old school, but a starter does not lose his starting job due to injury.
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I hear you loud and clear shane
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Garyount, you are an idiot along with every single one of you that are calling for Leach’s head.
Get a clue about college athletics…players with injuries play when they can. If Tech wins you’d all be talking about the heart and character of Sticks, but now Leach should just leave Lubbock.
Go look at the revenue and attendance for the years prior to Leach. That nice looking stadium, the great facilities, the big time exposure….all thanks to Leach.
Tech lost another CLOSE game to a ranked team on the road…it happens. OSU had a favorable schedule like we did last year. Those two teams are VERY close. Next year Tech should be able to make another serious run at a Big 12 title.
Hmm, how many times could we say that with previous coaches who stayed in Lubbock for the long haul?
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Okay Hipocrits lets not start turning on Leach after about this time last you all were talking about him being the best coach ever. Leach will ALWAYS have the support of Lubbock so if you do not like that then it is not to late to jump on the Horned Frogs bandwagon. B.T.W Great win TCU! Now, Leach said that the team was inconsistent. True, but so are his decisions. I am sorry ladies and gentlemen but Stix is not a starting qb…HE is a GREAT BACKUP and I am very comfortable knowing that he is there behind Potts but Potts is our starter and Leach needs to quit his BS and talking about game time decisions because this team is without a consistent leader and so far since coming back from the concussion Potts has done a good job of managing the game. Remember he was the qb that drove the length of the field as opposed to stix having the ball in OSU territory for most of the first half. Second half stix did not do nothing. Stix, if you are hurt go down and do not take a 19 yard loss….To many stupid decisisons on his part that has nothing to do with a foot injury….Obviously he could run cause he was going backwards just fine. Potts is our guy and Leach needs to pull his head out of his, well you know, and let Potts do his job. My hat goes off to that Kid because it takes alot to come back in after being benced and cold to lead our team and give us a chance to win the game. Where the freak are the tennis ball machines we heard so much about in 2005 and 2006. These recievers are dropping to many passes. I wish somebody would keep count of how many dropped passes the qb’s have because Potts would not look as inconsistent of those stats were made available. Taylor Potts is our man to lead this team to potential Big 12 Championship. Let him due his thing and let him do it for 4 quarters. He has not had a chance to play an entire game since his concussion. Leach teaching inconsistencies and let Talylor lead the Red Raiders. Stix foot injury is no excuse for poor decision making unlike Potts concussion. Let him do his job. Ohh and by the way. Leach is not the only one that makes the decisions to play a player. It comes from the coaches, medical staff, and the player himself. So you idiots that are asking for Leaches job should really consider that.
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Sheffield IS the better QB but people bash him because of his injury?? Fact he should not have played at all his injury was clearly not better. After he got hit and limped off the field he should have been taken out I felt sorry for him. Next year I strongly believe we will come back a better team. We do have the talent and the ability to have a season like we did last year, the problem with our fans are when we lose you just give up that is not a fan. You have to keepn faith and not just talk crap on your team when they lose and praise them when they win that is not a fan!!
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Calling for Leach’s head is ridiculous. Just because he couldn’t repeat last season doesn’t mean we need to change. Look at Colorado if you want to see a school that seriously has to question their coach.
Changing coaches (or losing Leach to a higher paying job) would ruin the chances Tech should have next year. With Robinson leaving OSU, McCoy leaving UT, and OU rebuilding, we’ve got our best chance at the South in some time. Get Sticks healthy and we’ve got a strong chance at some great success next year. Especially now that we dropped TCU off the schedule.
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What a bunch of knuckleheads, if we lose a game you ask for the coaches job or you will no longer support him, well have a nice trip, we won’t miss your negative arse. Have you not figured it out yet, everywhere we go thay have record crowds, and you can bet they didn’t show up to see your whiny butt. Some of the greatest minds in football didn’y play, Bill Walsh, Lou Holtz just to name a couple. So for all you computer coaches that are true idiots and don’t want to support the team, have a nice day. BTW ask Sticks if wanted to play, you bet your sweet bippy he did, you couldn’t hold him back with a team of horses, unlike some of you fair weather nerds, you see he has a pair and unfortunate that you have lost yours. If the shoe fits ,wear it, bunch of nimrods, that’s what you are, Nimrods
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Jeff & DD : Maybe we can give Leach a raise & keep him.
I bet a lot of people would like to see him get a raise.
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Leach is the best ever at TTU but Sticks had no business playing last night. He seems to be the accepted team leader but this is just a game and it’s certainly not worth risking a career ending / life altering injury. And what astonishes me the most is Leach substituting a gifted but lamed/injured QB for the season’s starter who incidentally won the Leach’s blessing and the job in the spring. What has changed so much between spring and now that would cause the coach to sub a lamed QB for the one he chose in spring?
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I laugh when I see Tech fans saying that the Raiders need to hire a new offensive coordinator when Leach has been coordinator of a national champion. Beleive me, as an Ok State fan, I can tell you we were quaking in our boots thinking of having to face a Leach offense. Give him a little time and a healthy qurterback as he will win big time. I remember two years ago when this post was calling for Graham Harrell’s scalp after OSU alipped up on Tech. Oh, the fainthearted fans.
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O.K., enough is being said about Leach ,yes he needs to be held accountable for this season, but calling for his head is not the answer. The defense has somewhat improved (they ARE making some stops, which when we have our normal offense is more than enough to win games). I can remember the year we had the DEAD LAST defense in the country so this year’s D is light-years better! THE TRUE PROBLEM IS THE OFFENSIVE LINE! It doesn’t matter who you have at QB, RB, and WR if your line sucks. What made Harrell and Batch so awesome last year? The line. There is no excuse for the line to be giving up that many sacks, pressures and not moving the L.O.S. when there are 3 seniors on it. As far as recruits leaving because of this season, fine….let them leave. If they decide after one or two games that they don’t want to play for Leach then they probably wouldn’t have panned out anyway. Just because you’re listed as a 4 star athlete doesn’t always mean you will pan out. For those asking about the QB situation, Jacob Karom could push for playing time next year but it more than likely will be Sheffield. Don’t get your hopes up for next year’s supposed “Big XII South Championship” push. We’re replacing 1/2 of our defense including most of the DE’s and LB’s as well as the entire right side of the O-Line. Here’s to the next 7-5 or 8-4 season!!!!
P.S: Mike, if your reading this, PLEASE stop trying to draw team’s offsides, it’s just getting embarassing and also…why in the heck would you run a shovel pass in the 4th Qtr with no timeouts?
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Just to give a history lesson, the expansion of the stadium took place under the Spike era. True Leach was the first to play there, but plans and funding was underway under Spike….
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You fair weather fans who call for Leach’s replacement must not have been around for Rex Dockery and Jerry Moore. Leach has brought excitement, winning seasons, 9 consecutive bowl games, record-setting attendance, and national exposure. Yes, this year has been a disappointment, but it is really going according to what was expected going in. I am excited about next year, with a strong defense and, hopefully, a much better offense.
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Karl, Amen to that. I was in the Tech band during Jerry Moore’s time in Lubbock. Our famous battle cry in September was HELP JERRY’s KIDS borrowed from Jerry Lewis’ telethon because Tech was so bad then.
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I see and have read, or partially read, so many stupid and poorly thought-out posts on here. I said out loud the other night in the 2nd half that the defense looked gassed and not four seconds later Mike Patrick and Craig James said the exact same thing. Now why were they? NO IDEA! But clearly they were. Maybe their strength and conditioning coach is not really doing the job he should if they’re all so out of shape that soon, when they’d not been heavily taxed in that first half at all.
There were some poor choices made: inserting Sticks (at all), taking Potts out, play selection, defensive strategies, etc., but they all did enough to lose – coaches, players, all of them.
Is this program better with Leach? Likely. But could another guy take over if he left and have success? Certainly! We’re in the state of Texas with a fertile recruiting ground and the program is still fairly well up and running.
We think we have problems, and think how 0U must feel. They’re going through the same thing with all of the injuries and inconsistencies and their losses have been even closer than ours, yet they have the same record.
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I must say, I am very disappointed in reading most of these comments. But that makes sense as we are a school that literally ran off the most winningest coach in school history, it is only fitting that the same year his replacement breaks the record that people are calling for the this guys job, too. Do I feel that this team has under performed? Absolutely, but in the big scheme of things, I truly believe that this program is still progressing to a new level. I believe that Tech will never be better than an 8 win program without a top defense. The last three years our defense has improved so much. In fact this year when our offense has been sputtering and extremely inconsistent. The defense has stepped up to make play after play, that has not happened here in a long time. Do I think Leach was foolish bringing in an injured player, probably. Even last year when all the UW, Tenn, and Auburn fans wanting Leach, I was not worried, he has done a great job here, but we went six years prior to his arrival without a losing record. Members of this year’s graduating class were four years old the last time Tech endured a losing season. This team still could end the season strong with a win over OU and Baylor. I really never doubted we would lose to OU, and I still think we will win the final two games of the season. When this happens what will every naysayer be talking about. Remember this team was picked to finish 5th in the South, and all but one of our loses were to ranked teams. I fully support these players and applaud a great effort, and I realize that sometimes you just don’t get all the breaks.
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