So, right to it. The somewhat gory details:
| CATEGORY |
TEXAS TECH |
TT Nat'l Ranking | MICHIGAN STATE | MSU Nat'l Ranking |
| Total Offense | 461.75 yds/game (6.14 yds/play) |
7 | 407.08 yds/game (6.26 yds/play) |
41 |
| Scoring Offense | 36.67 pts/game | 9 | 29.58 pts/game | 44 |
| Passing Offense | 380.67 yds/game (7.43 yds/att) |
2 | 271.17 yds/game (8.28 yds/att) |
26 |
| Rushing Offense | 81.08 yds/game (3.38 yds/rush) |
115 | 135.92 yds/game (4.21 yds/rush) |
79 |
| Pass Efficiency Rating | 142.67 | 25 | 146.09 | 17 |
| Sacks Allowed | 30 (2.5/game) |
92 | 13 (1.08/game) |
16 |
| Total Defense | 348.75 yds/game (4.72 yds/play) |
47 | 364.33 yds/game (5.27 yds/game) |
62 |
| Scoring Defense | 21.75 pts/game | 36 | 25.08 pts/game | 61 |
| Passing Defense | 223.75 yds/game (6.16 yds/play) |
72 | 251.58 yds/game (7.07 yds/play) |
103 |
| Rushing Defense | 125.0 yds/game (3.33 yds/rush) |
37 | 112.75 yds/game (3.37 yds/rush) |
24 |
| Pass Efficiency Def. Rtg. | 116.43 | 34 | 139.16 | 96 |
| Turnover Margin | -6 (.5/game) |
94 | -6 (.5/game) |
94 |
| Net Punting | 34.98 yds | 73 | 36.42 yds | 47 |
| Kickoff Returns | 24.48 yds/return (0 td) |
18 | 26.66 yds/return (1 td) |
6 |
| Penalty Yds/Game | 79.92 | 118 | 55.42 | 70 |
This is clearly not the Texas Tech offense of last season, when Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree and others combined for 413 yards per game and blew everyone not named Oklahoma off the field. But, erm, it's not far off. We've been decent against the run and terrible against the pass, and Texas Tech never runs and always passes, hooray!
Yes, Tech's passing numbers are inflated because of their enormous run/pass disparity, but their very respectable pass efficiency rating demonstrates that the inflation is only slight. And, on defense, commenter/interloper TechFirst seems spot-on: this year's TT iteration isn't the gridiron Loyola Marymount equivalent of the past -- they actually sorta play defense. 36th in scoring defense isn't necessarily anything to write home about but it's far, far better than the 72nd-ranked defense of 2008 (which nonetheless was good enough for an 11-2 record).
Happily, Tech is just as bad in turnover margin as we are -- although they live far less numbly than we do (22 gained, 28 lost, compared to 12 gained, 18 lost for us.) And, they're the 3rd most undisciplined team in the country . . . and we'll take as many 15-yard freebies as we can get.
More after the jump.
Texas Tech's schedule reveals a bit more ambiguity:
| DATE | OPPONENT | RESULT | RECORD |
| September 5 | North Dakota | W 38-13 | 1-0 (0-0) |
| September 12 | Rice | W 55-10 | 2-0 (0-0) |
| September 19 | at No. 2 Texas | L 34-24 | 2-1 (0-1) |
| September 26 | at No. 17 Houston | L 29-28 | 2-2 (0-1) |
| October 3 | New Mexico | W 48-28 | 3-2 (0-1) |
| October 10 | Kansas State | W 66-14 | 4-2 (1-1) |
| October 17 | at No. 15 Nebraska | W 31-10 | 5-2 (2-1) |
| October 24 | Texas A&M | L 52-30 | 5-3 (2-2) |
| October 31 | Kansas | W 42-21 | 6-3 (3-2) |
| November 14 | at No. 19 Oklahoma State | L 24-17 | 6-4 (3-3) |
| November 21 | Oklahoma | W 41-13 | 7-4 (4-3) |
| November 28 | vs. Baylor* | W 20-13 | 8-4 (5-3) |
So, after blowing the doors off Nebraska in Lincoln -- yes, the Nebraska which made regular Texas look utterly awful on Saturday night -- the Raiders returned home and gave up 52 points to a thoroughly mediocre Texas A&M team. But still, 3 of the 4 losses came to ranked teams, so it's not like they've made a habit of blowing games to bad teams. Which we, ah, kinda sorta are. I would like to find a torrent of the Baylor game, however: Baylor has the 95th-ranked defense in the country, and somehow held Tech to only 20 points and 5.5 yards per pass. (Actually, perhaps Pat Narduzzi should be the one looking for that film.)
For a bit more on Texas Tech, head over to Double-T Nation, SBN's Red Raider Blog.