Texas Tech’s defense may have given up a season-high 26 points in Friday’s 28-26 win over Houston, but inside the program, the bigger takeaway was how much cleaner and more complete the unit looked in its strongest outing of the season.
The Red Raiders did it against a ranked opponent, and they did it with more of their key pieces finally on the field. For a No. 11 Texas Tech team that has been waiting to get healthy and settled, that mattered as much as the final score.
One of the biggest boosts came from veteran safety Brendan Jordan, who returned from suspension and played for the first time this year. Another was outside linebacker Trey White, making his Red Raider debut while working his way back from a preseason injury. White arrived with 20.5 career sacks from his time at San Diego State, and even though he wasn’t at full strength, he liked what the night showed.
“I definitely wasn’t 100 percent myself out there, and I know that, but when you’re able to push through the pain for your team and you got to do what you got to do sometimes, top 25 matchup. That’s why I came here for games like that,” he said. “And so, I definitely have a lot to work on and I know I’ll be way better in the weeks to come as I get healthier and healthier.”
White and fellow first-year Red Raider linebacker Adam Trick teamed up for a sack early in the second quarter, and that play helped force a fumble that true freshman linebacker LaDamian Guyton recovered. The turnover flipped the momentum and helped ignite a 28-10 Texas Tech run.
White said the chemistry between him and Trick has been building for months.
“I think we just practice so much with each other throughout summer, spring, and then fall camp. I feel like we play really well off each other,” he said. “We kind of know each other’s tendencies and the way each other rush, so I feel like it’s no mistake that we’re able to have really good games together when we’re in.”
The numbers backed up the eye test. Texas Tech held Houston to 175 rushing yards and 283 through the air, a step forward from the previous week at Oregon State, when the Red Raiders allowed 134 more passing yards.
Defensive coordinator Shiel Wood said the unit is moving in the right direction as players settle into bigger roles, especially younger ones like Guyton.
“Again, we’ll just get better. You look at a young guy like LaDamian Guyton, second game for him, he made a tremendous jump in his production and his play from his first game against Oregon State to Friday night against Houston, and I think for a young guy like that, he’ll just continue to get better,” he said.
“So collectively as a whole, getting Trey White back was great. Jamond Mathis is doing some really good things.
Ansel (Nedore) and Charles (Anderson) as well, so we got some depth there, like we have in a lot of spots.”
Jordan also had a familiar perspective on the group’s potential. He played last season with a defense that featured Skyler Gill-Howard, Romello Height, Lee Hunter, Jacob Rodriguez and Cole Wiesniewski, all of whom are now in the NFL, and he believes this year’s group has the pieces to stay among the nation’s best.
“They’ve been doing so good, they’ve been improving every week and ever since last year, they’ve been improving every day, so it was good to see them go out there and play alongside them, “he said, while speaking about his teammates. “It’s going to keep getting better, and as good as they are, as good as the secondary is going to be, so I love them. They’re going to do good.”
Texas Tech’s defense now turns to Sam Houston State, with kickoff set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Galaxy Stadium.
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