Texas Football: Texas Tech presents a tricky test for the Longhorns secondary
Pulling it all together for a difficult two-game stretch in Weeks 11 and 12 is very important for the Texas football secondary to help this team win again.
Within the past two weeks, Texas football had one of it biggest letdown from any level of its defense since the beginning of the era under head coach Tom Herman. That slide will allow for the team to slip pretty far in the rankings and come close to elimination from a spot in the Big 12 Title Game.
And, the defense for Texas football had its worst stretch of two weeks under the direction of second-year defensive coordinator Todd Orlando in the losses to the West Virginia Mountaineers and Oklahoma State Cowboys. That talented secondary for the Texas Longhorns allowed more than 600 passing yards and eight total touchdowns to the last two quarterbacks it faced.
West Virginia is a bit more excusable for the defensive backfield having a long day. On the other hand, Oklahoma State came out flat for much of the two of its last three games. Oklahoma State fell short against the Baylor Bears and Kansas State Wildcats in two of its last three matchups. The fact that Texas couldn’t hold the Oklahoma State passing game more in check than Baylor and Kansas State is a concerning trend.
On tap for the Horns in Week 11 is a road trip to Jones AT&T Stadium to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Another high-level passing attack in line isn’t coming at an opportune time for this secondary. Since it got shredded in its last two outings, something has to give before Texas Tech takes the field in Lubbock.
An unfortunate advantage given to the Texas defense at the expense of Texas Tech is the injury status of true freshman quarterback Alan Bowman. Per recent Sports Illustrated reports, Bowman is still hospitalized due to continuing complications from a collapsed lung he experienced in a loss earlier in the season to West Virginia.
Bowman is likely to be out against the Horns in this game, leaving backup quarterback Jett Duffey as the projected starter in Week 11. Duffey had to take over in Texas Tech’s Week 10 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners after Bowman reinjured that collapsed lung.
On the season, Duffey has eight total touchdowns and four interceptions. His dual-threat ability is something the Horns can handle if the week of practice to prepare for the game goes better than before. Bowman is a standout first-year quarterback and the Texas Tech offense will miss him this week.
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The issue that still remains for the Texas football secondary is the fact that the Texas Tech receiving corps is still very potent. Texas Tech sports some of the best receivers in the Big 12 between junior Antoine Wesley and senior Ja’Deion High. Texas still needs to deal with that threat effectively in Week 11 to prevent another high-scoring affair working against them.