The Texas Tech football team is historically known for its passing, and for good reason. Since the days of head coaches like Mike Leach and Kliff Kingsbury, “Air Raid” has been synonymous with the Red Raiders. And at 11th in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 292.5 yards per game, Texas Tech continues to be one of college football’s most prolific passing teams.
Yet when West Virginia University enters Lubbock for their noon Saturday regular-season finale (FS1), the Mountaineers will focus much of its attention on the Red Raiders’ running back Tahj Brooks. That’s for good reason, too.
Brooks, already the team’s career leader in rushing yards, will try to extend his streak of 100-yard games this season when the Mountaineers (6-5, 5-3 Big 12) and Red Raiders (7-4, 5-3 Big 12) clash.
“Their running back is an elite player,” WVU coach Neal Brown said. “He has been in our league for a long time. He’s been really productive, both in the run game and the throwing game.”
Brooks is Texas Tech’s running game, almost completely. His 1,317 yards on the year is 76% of the Red Raiders’ total rushing offense. He has scored 14 of TTU’s 20 rushing touchdowns. And the coaches give him plenty of opportunities. He ranks first in the FBS at 26.3 carries per game.
In Texas Tech’s 56-48 win last week over Oklahoma State, Brooks had one of his better games of the season, finishing with 133 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries.
It was his 10th 100-yard game of the season, tying the program’s single-season record. His 4,369 career yards bested Byron Hanspard’s career total this season and his 856 career carries has obliterated Ricky Williams’ previous record of 789.
Brooks understands Texas Tech’s long-time reputation, and likes that he has been able to alter that during his career.
“It means a lot, especially coming from this university that’s been an ‘Air Raid’ offense,” he said after the Oklahoma State game. “I feel like I’ve changed the dynamic of this offense. It means a lot to me.”
Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said he can give Brooks that workload for a number of reasons, not the least being his size. At 5-foot-10, Brooks weighs in at 230 pounds.
“I’ve never been around a guy that can be that patient and then all of a sudden go 0 to 60,” McGuire told reporters earlier this season. “And the thing that so many people … I don’t know how you tackle him. He’s got such great balance and his thighs are so big so if you’re hitting him low, a lot of times, you’ll bounce off him. And if you tackle him high, you’re for sure going to bounce off of him.”
The Mountaineers have done well against the run for most of the season, sitting a respectable 50th in the FBS in allowing 135.3 rushing yards per game. Top-end running backs have gotten their yards against WVU in the last two games. UCF’s R.J. Harvey, fifth in rushing in the FBS, gained 130 yards and two touchdowns and averaged 8.13 yards per carry in the Knights’ loss to WVU last week. Baylor’s Bryson Washington, 30th in the FBS in rushing, gained 123 yards and three touchdowns and averaged 6.83 yards per carry in the Bears’ win over WVU.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Koonz said that, despite Texas Tech’s prowess in the air, stopping Brooks is still top priority. If Brooks gets going, he said, the Red Raiders’ passing game can become even more effective.
“That’s when they can get their routine going,” Koonz said. “If Brooks is getting hot and getting good chunk yardage … even if he doesn’t break the wall, if he can get hot and get chunk yardage, get them into second and manageable, get them into third and shorts, that’s when they get really, really good.”
-by Derek Redd
