Texas Tech University Athletics
Growth Opportunity
September 06, 2011 | Football
FB: Post-Practice Interviews 9-5-11.
September 6, 2011
by Britton Drown
Texas Tech Athletics Communications
Tommy Tuberville didn't say a single word to junior quarterback Seth Doege in the hours leading up to Saturday's season opener against Texas State. It was out of the norm of the second-year Texas Tech head coach--but he felt it was appropriate.
He let the first-year starter, someone who was handed his first starting job since his sophomore year in high school, prepare for the game himself.
Doege wasn't alone in his nerves though. This was an incredibly young Texas Tech squad that was about to take the field for the first time.
Perhaps the tactic worked. After a slow start, in which the Red Raiders fell behind and trailed 10-7 heading into the third quarter, Texas Tech scored 50 unanswered points to blow out the Bobcats 50-10. It was the most points scored by the Red Raiders since scoring 64 against Weber State last season.
Oh, and for Doege? He did just fine. The junior threw for 326 yards on 23-33 passing with three touchdowns.
 | "Football teams get a lot better between their first game and their second game. We have got an open week in here, and it is going to be an improvement week for us. We have really got two weeks to take a huge step." - Chad Glasgow |
It was fun to watch for the second-year head coach and his staff because Texas Tech started seven true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen. At times Saturday night there were as many as eight first-time players under the lights at Jones AT&T Stadium.
"There were a bunch of new ones out there," defensive coordinator Chad Glasgow said after the game with a laugh. "It was fun seeing them finally go play, and it's exciting."
So perhaps it was fitting that the first Red Raider touchdown of the game came on a go-route to true-freshman receiver Bradley Marquez in the corner of the end zone. It was just the spark the team needed after a slow start to the first quarter.
"I feel like the whole team became more comfortable as the game went on," junior receiver Darrin Moore, who caught 12 passes for 221 yards and one touchdown, said.
Following the game, the coaching staff had no trouble admitting there were several players that were fighting off nerves entering the first game of the season, shared between both newcomers and veterans. What impressed them though, was the squad's ability to find a rhythm once the game was well underway.
"I was really pleased with the way our guys responded in the second half," offensive coordinator Neal Brown said. "Our guys never panicked. I thought that was the number one thing. We came out and played the way we should have in the second half."
And now, with a win under their belts, the Red Raiders will have even more time to continue and grow together. The team enters their bye week in just the second week of the season before traveling west to face New Mexico in Albuquerque on Sept 17.
It will certainly provide an opportunity for each of the newcomers to take what they learned in the opener and grow upon it.
"Football teams get a lot better between their first game and their second game," Glasgow said. "We have got an open week in here, and it is going to be an improvement week for us. We have really got two weeks to take a huge step."
It's something that has already begun as the Red Raiders completed a film session and a two-and-a-half hour practice on Monday. After going through the film session, Brown said there are several schemes and personnel he was unable to use during Saturday's opener.
With a week to analyze the season opener and implement new schemes and personnel, the Red Raiders have the opportunity to take a significant step forward before entering their second game of the season.
"We are going to make the most of it," Brown said. "We have got a lot of work to get done."
