To the extent Joey McGuire has been any sort of polarizing figure during his first three years as Texas Tech football coach, it stems in part from his risking fourth-down attempts in his own end of the field. When the Red Raiders come up short, he hears about it.
Fourth downs played a pivotal role Saturday in the Red Raiders beating Arizona State 30-22 in a Big 12 opener at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Sun Devils’ going 0 for 3 on fourth down might not have won Tech the game, but it sure allowed the Red Raiders to breathe easier throughout.
Tech foiled ASU on fourth-and-1 from the Tech 14-yard line in the first quarter, on fourth-and-1 from the ASU 48 in the third quarter and on fourth-and-9 from the Tech 32 in the fourth. The stops at least temporarily prevented the Sun Devils from cutting into Tech leads of 14-0, 24-10 and 30-16.
“Fourth down, getting those stops is huge for the momentum of the game, too,” Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez said. “Keeping everybody in the game, feeding off each other. We’ve talked a lot about complementary football, so getting those stops and the offense being able to go down and make some points from it is huge.”
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Both teams are 3-1.
Tech didn’t try to convert a fourth down on offense.
“Are y’all shocked? … That might be a first,” McGuire said, though it was actually the fourth such instance in his 30-game tenure.
With ASU at the Tech 14 in the first quarter, cornerback Maurion Horn crashed off the edge and stopped running back Cam Skattebo inches short of the line to gain. That was redemption for a rough series for the corners with Macho Stevenson having been flagged for pass interference and Horn and Jalon Peoples…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/fourth-down-stops-texas-tech-015133074.html
Author : Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Publish date : 2024-09-22 01:51:33
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