2007 Texas Tech Football Picks & Predictions
Once again with Jimmy Boyd’s 2007 Texas Tech Red Raiders preview and college football predictions article you will find a team that will be potent at putting up points but a team that will have trouble stopping the better opponents this year. Graham Harrell has proven he can run this spread offense and he’ll be even better at it than he was a year ago, but the front seven on defense has just one returning starter, and with the problems the team had stopping the rush a year ago it isn’t going to be any easier this year. The team has to travel to Oklahoma State in September, then heads to Missouri in the middle of October. The toughest pair of games though come to end the season. The Red Raiders make a trip to Texas before getting a home game against the Oklahoma Sooners. This team is good and will probably be playing in a bowl game to end the year, but a 7-5 season seems likely and they won’t be anywhere near ready to contend for the the Big 12 Championship birth award to the South division’s champion.
Harrell showed he deserved the starting job last year when he threw for 4,555 yards and 38 touchdowns compared to only 11 picks as a sophomore. The scary thing for opponents is that he should be even better as a junior, just as he improved heading into the last couple of games in which he threw for 519 yards against Texas and 445 yards in the comeback bowl win over the Golden Gophers. Shannon Woods is also a junior who is big on offensive talent. He had 152 carries for 926 yards and 10 touchdowns last year, but even more impressive is how he added 75 catches for 572 yards receiving. The problem area if there is one is at receiver, where two of last year’s top stars are gone. There are four guys though that all have plenty of talent, because receivers love coming to the pass-happy Mike Leach part of Texas. Another question mark is on the offensive line, a unit that lost four starters from a year ago.
The defense is a concern, especially up front where the ends are solid but have trouble getting to the passer, and the tackles are unknowns or question marks at best. This unit gave up more than 151 ypg against the rush last year, and this year that number could go up and not down. Linebacker is filled with more question marks as Kellen Tillman, granted a sixth-year by the NCAA, is the only guy returning. The good news is that the Red Raider secondary should stop opposing offenses from throwing for too many yards. The safety spots are solid with the talented Darcel McBath, who picked off three passes last year, and the hard-hitting leader in Joe Garcia. This will be the strength of the defense.
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