Commentary: Style not necessary in a rock fight

Texas Tech is not yet, and may never be, a football program where style points in a win are required. Red Raider fans should never be tempted to dismiss a Big 12 victory no matter if at times it seems disjointed.

If it were style that fans were looking for, they should have gone to Raider Alley a few hours before Saturday afternoon’s game as Shaquille O’Neal, with the stage name of the Big Diesel, was spinning music for a mosh pit of revelers.

As for the actual game, when Arizona State came to Lubbock last Saturday for its first Big 12 game, Tech won a rock fight, 30-22. It wasn’t an ugly win, but one where the Raiders won on toughness and not trickery, won on substance and not style. This was against an undefeated and improved 3-0 Sun Devils team.

As Tech put together its second consecutive solid performance to improve to 3-1, it was the kind of effort that Raider coach Joey McGuire said he daydreams about.

“When I close my eyes, and I think about football, this is what I think about,” he said.

Not 600 yards of offense, not outscoring the other guy, 54-49, not a last-second field goal, but doing enough in every phase of the game for a hard-earned win.

“It’s playing off each other, complementary football, the special teams have to go out and make big kicks, physical defense and the best back in the country to finish it off,” McGuire said to put specifics on his ideal football game.

Often in losses, it’s the Raiders who have more yards. Saturday, ASU outgained Tech, 376 yards to 334, and over the last 52 minutes outscored the home team, 22-16. And that’s fine because Tech did what it needed to do for the win.

Three times the Raiders defense held on downs. They stopped ASU on fourth-and-1 at the Tech 14, limiting the Sun Devils to 1 yard on their last three plays. Tech also held on fourth-and-1 from the ASU 48 in the third quarter and fourth-and-9 from the Tech 32 in the last period. All three times, the Raiders had a 14-point lead.

“It’s like Coach McGuire said, it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet but that’s like a turnover,” said linebacker Ben Roberts, who had a game-high 11 tackles. “It gets your offense back in a good situation. To be able to get off the field and no one has scored points is a happy feeling.”

The Raiders defense also forced the game’s only turnover with a C.J Baskerville interception at the ASU 38 that set up a touchdown and a first-quarter 14-0 lead. But the biggest tip of the cap goes to the front seven.

They helped limit the Sun Devils to just 94 yards on the ground. Cam Skattebo, a bowling ball tailback, was held to 60 yards on 18 attempts. His only big play of 61 yards was on a pass reception. Running quarterbacks usually have their way with Tech, yet Sam Leavitt could never find much running room with 28 yards. Pressure in the pocket against Leavitt was as good as it’s been in four games.

This was the same defense that just three weeks ago Abilene Christian rolled all over the field against with an unsightly 615 yards and 51 points.

Special teams added three field goals from Gino Garcia and Reese Burkhardt, and the offense did enough. It was an uneven effort throwing the football. Behren Morton was under heat and hurt by four drops, finishing 24 of 44 for a season-low 201 yards.

But Tahj Brooks rushed for 117 yards and his runs at key moments helped Tech maintain a two-touchdown lead until the last 1:44. This was behind a work-in-progress offensive line.

Take those Big 12 wins however they can be taken. No. 13 Kansas State was surprisingly rolled by BYU, 38-9. Colorado’s last-play Hail Mary 43-yard pass tied Baylor in regulation, and the Buffs won 38-31 when a Baylor running back lost a fumble in the end zone from the CU 1.

Though not a conference game, TCU, in the national championship just two years ago, gave up 66 points to metroplex rival SMU and head coach Sonny Dykes was ejected. K-State, Baylor and TCU would have taken a rock fight win like Tech’s in a millisecond.

Tech is 1-0 in Big 12 play for the second time in two years. The last time the Raiders were 2-0 was in – wait for it – 2013. Standing in the way is Cincinnati on Saturday, the last of three consecutive home games. The Bearcats, at 3-1, have already matched last year’s win total and crushed Houston, 34-0.

It’s likely not to be all that pretty either, and that hardly matters at all.

Jon Mark Beilue writes about sports for The Eastern New Mexico News.