If there’s one thing Texas Tech football fans love, it’s a good dose of pessimism.
We’ve already looked at what the perfect best-case scenario would be for the Red Raiders, so it’s only fair if we do the opposite.
What would be the worst case scenario for the 2024 season? If things can go really well, they can also go really, really bad. That’s how it could happen.
The quarterback’s health remains unfortunate for Texas Tech Football
Things quickly go awry when Behren Morton suffers an early-season injury—maybe it’s his shoulder again, maybe it’s something else—that puts the starting quarterback out of action for a few weeks. Cameran Brown takes his place and performs well, but twists his leg on a run in front of the defense, forcing Tech to use a true freshman (Will Hammond) for the second year in a row. Morton eventually returns, but is still not 100%.
The offensive line’s problems are not resolved
With a returning starter in Caleb Rogers also switching positions – where to is still unclear – the offensive line has a lot at stake. McGuire was interested in Toledo transfer Vinny Sciury settling in at left guard. Outside of him and Rogers, there are questions, inexperience and, in some cases, both. That’s proving problematic after the unit was jostled around in the team’s first scrimmage of training camp. In that scenario, the truly best starting lineup never really emerges, leading to a weaker running game and quarterbacks who have to fight for safety on most pass attempts, resulting in an unbalanced passing game.
Offensive becomes too one-dimensional again
It’s not impossible to find balance on offense, but that hasn’t been the be-all and end-all for Texas Tech for a while now. Offensive coordinator Zach Kittley promises to find that cohesion between the running and passing game, but if the offensive line doesn’t get better and Morton gets hurt again, it could make the offense one-dimensional. That could mean either forcing the ball to Tahj Brooks just to break the record or throwing too many passes to keep all the pass receivers happy. Whatever it is, the offense is becoming predictable and there’s no real chance to change it based on circumstances.
Interchangeable depth in defense is not necessarily a good thing
Everyone loves depth. It’s a crucial part of a football team. But sometimes it’s not always best to have interchangeable players. Sometimes you need a few players to stand out from the rest and take the reins of a unit. What if defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter discovers a deficiency in the defense that needs to be filled at some point during the season? Is that really achievable when all the players in a position group are more or less equally talented?
Bowl series comes to an end
Honestly, it would take all of those things coming together for Texas Tech to miss a bowl game entirely. But until the games are played, anything is possible. Based on the easy first half of the schedule, this should be the complete disaster scenario where injuries pile up, neither side of the ball holds up its end of the bargain, and these lame non-league games become more like dentist visits where a root canal is needed. Will that happen? Probably not, but pull on one thread and the whole jersey could quickly fall apart.
