2021 Week 2: Red Raiders stumble again, lose 13-9 to the Spartans

[rcarlson77]

Another week and another missed opportunity for Texas Tech as they fall short on the road losing to Michigan State 13-9. It was a truly ugly game for both fan bases, as neither team could get much going on offense, but in the end, it was the Spartans who were able to do just enough to come away victorious.

 

Texas Tech would get on the board early in the first quarter as the offense put together a decent drive before settling for a field goal as the drive stalled out at the MSU 24 yard line. After trading possessions, the Spartans would answer with a field goal of their own to even the score at 3-3.

 

The rest of the half would be fairly quiet as both offenses continued to struggle. Texas Tech would miss a field goal from 41 yards out early in the second quarter. Just a few minutes later, Spartan kicker, Maurice Woodson-Luster, would connect on his second field goal of the day to put Michigan State in front by a score of 6-3. That would be it for the scoring in the first half as Woodson-Luster’s second field goal attempt of the quarter would miss.

 

The teams would trade three-and-outs to begin the second half. On their second possession of the half, Michigan State would take advantage of a short field and score the first, and only, touchdown of the day. Spearheaded by a 35 yard pass connection from quarterback Preston Darling to wide receiver David Pryor, the Spartans would reach pay dirt just a few plays later as running back Lucas Mihalik punched it in from two yards out to put the Spartans on top, 13-3.

 

The Red Raider offense would continue to spin its wheels for most of the third quarter. With 15 seconds remaining in the third quarter, kicker Luis Terdoslavich would connect on his second field goal of the day to pull the Red Raiders within one score, 13-6.

 

Again, the teams would trade possessions early in the fourth quarter with neither team able to get on the scoreboard. With just under 10 minutes remaining, the Red Raiders would put together their best drive of the day. Starting from their own 18 yard line, Texas Tech would run a 13 play drive that brought them down to Michigan State 10 yard line. With 3:45 remaining in the game, the Red Raiders faced a 4th and 5 from the 10 yard line. In a call that will surely be questioned, the rookie head coach elected to kick the field goal to make the score 13-9 rather than go for it on 4th down in an attempt to tie the game with a touchdown. The call is easy to question in hindsight, but coach rcarlson77 surely had faith in a defense that had performed well all day. The Red Raiders would get the ball back with 1:50 remaining in the game. But needing to go 81 yards in that span, they simply ran out of time.

 

The Red Raiders head man was asked about his decision after the game. “Look, we had shut them down all day with the exception of one drive. With what we saw from our team, we felt confident we would get the ball back and have a chance to go for the win.” When asked for more detail, specifically why kick in that situation when they would ultimately have to score a touchdown, the coach did not offer much explanation. “In that situation, with all of our timeouts, we felt good about kicking the field goal. That’s all I have to say. Next question.”

 

There will certainly be a lot of chatter amongst the Red Raider fan base about that decision, but in reality, that one decision did not cost this team the game. Their inability to move the ball and to score points was the only reason this game was lost. There’s something to be said about playing two top 10 teams tough, but at the end of the day, the record still says 0-2. The coaching staff will need to figure things out fast if they want to save the season.

 

Offensively, quarterback Reggie Chavis finished the day 19 of 27 passing for 163 yards and two interceptions. Running back Fernando Gonzalez was held in check rushing for 106 yards on 37 carries for a measly 2.86 yards per carry. Both players will need to perform better if the team wants to avoid a 0-3 start. The Red Raiders will take on UNLV (0-2) in Lubbock next week.