The Texas Tech football injury report released Monday was the shortest it’s been since the first week of the season. Free safety Chapman Lewis, who hurt a hamstring in against Cincinnati, is the only player listed as questionable.
The Red Raiders healed during the open week, especially in the secondary. Looks like cornerbacks Bralyn Lux, who’s missed three games, and Jalon Peoples, sidelined for the past two, should be available. So should backup safeties Jordan Sanford and Joseph Plunk who, like Lewis, were hurt in the first half of that Cincinnati game.
When Tech needed a safety to step up 10 days ago at Arizona, little-used Devynn Cromwell started and made nine tackles, opening coaches’ eyes to another possibility.
“If we do get Chappy back, which I think it’s trending that way,” Tech coach Joey McGuire said Monday, “I do like that Devynn played the way he played, because I want to play him more and that’s only going to make us faster as a defense.”
More:Texas Tech football midseason report: MVPs, positive trends, challenges ahead
More:Ranking Texas Tech football’s top portal additions, transfers making impact elsewhere
The Red Raiders are closer to shipshape in the defensive backfield. Good timing.
Tech is 5-1, tied for the Big 12 lead at 3-0, and to the extent Red Raiders had an Achilles’ heel the first half of the season, it was pass defense. They’re fourth from the bottom in the FBS, giving up 308 yards per game.
In the post-Texas, post-Oklahoma Big 12, there’s no juggernaut left on the Tech schedule, but also no pushover, in part because even some of the struggling teams are throwing the ball well. That starts at 3 p.m. Saturday with Baylor, Coronado graduate Sawyer Robertson having given the 2-4 Bears a spark with eight touchdown passes in his past three games.
“I think he’s really helped open them up,” Tim DeRuyter said. “They’re throwing the ball much better now.” The Tech defensive coordinator added, “It doesn’t appear that he’s got great speed when he runs, but he’s very elusive.”
Among Tech’s remaining opponents, TCU, Colorado and Oklahoma State rank fifth, seventh and 16th in the FBS in passing offense (insert your Alan Bowman wisecrack here).
More balanced Iowa State has two top-notch receivers: Jayden Higgins, 39 catches for 505 yards and five touchdowns and Jaylin Noel, 29 catches for 528 yards and three TDs. Higgins had a seven-game streak with a TD reception snapped Saturday at West Virginia.
“Where we’ve got make some big improvements,” McGuire said, “is three out of our next four opponents throw the ball — and want to throw the ball — more than they run the ball. Iowa State is a really good football team, and they’re very balanced and they’re very good.
“But Baylor, when you look at their passing yards versus rushing yards — TCU, the same — that secondary needs to be healthy. We’ve got to get better at being physical with receivers. We were better last week. We can’t take a step back, and that comes with the secondary and the linebackers.”
Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders and two-way sensation Travis Hunter might be the most dynamic pass-and-catch combo in the country. TCU touts Josh Hoover and Jack Bech in that regard, Oklahoma State Bowman and De’Zhaun Stribling (provided Bowman hangs on to the job). Hoover, Sanders and Bowman are Nos. 4, 5 and 17 on the FBS passing chart.
Maverick McIvor from Abilene Christian and Brendan Sorsby from Cincinnati exposed the Red Raiders’ vulnerabilities on the back end.
McGuire had a saying during his time at Cedar Hill: Close games are “where you earn your chicken fried steak.” Over the next month, DeRuyter and DBs coach Marcel Yates will need to do that a lot.
