Film Study: Texas Tech’s Offense Is More Than Just The Deep Ball

The Oklahoma State secondary will have its hands full when the Cowboys take on the Red Raiders this Saturday. Texas Tech Quarterback Pat Mahomes II leads the nation’s No. 1 passing offense, and the junior is currently averaging 490 yards a game.

The Red Raider offense is a downfield passing attack, but it doesn’t just consist of deep bombs and vertical routes.

Yes, a typical Texas Tech game includes chunk plays like this.

And this.

But their offense as a whole isn’t driven by such plays. Rather, TTU accumulates most of their passing yardage on quick throws that get the ball into the hands of their talented receivers.

Tech does have a quick passing game, but most of their short passes come on run-pass options like this one.

Notice how the receiver runs a quick flat route as opposed to a bubble route. The flat route is quicker and it gets more immediate yardage. The cornerbacks on the blocking receivers have to respect them as vertical threats and therefore do not jam them at the line, allowing the receivers to properly set up their blocks.

Here’s another example, this time with a crossbuck run play and out-go combination to the twins side. The receiver is left uncovered, and in a pass-happy offense filled with RPOs, this is practically giving free yardage to the Red Raiders.

Not all route attachments stretch the defense horizontally; many of their RPOs feature quick-hitting routes downfield. Take this play, for example, that combines an inside zone with a slot skinny slant.

Texas Tech uses these plays at least a handful on every drive. This is important because of how the OSU defense is structured. If you’ve watched the OSU defense closely this season, you might have noticed that they frequently align in their base nickel set with one or two receivers (depending on the formation) uncovered.

Leaving slot receivers uncovered, in many cases, is (as mentioned before) practically giving away free yardage. Even if the linebackers in the box have zone responsibilities in that area, they still have run-first responsibility, and because they have to respect the run threat of the RPO, will often not be able to get to the slot receivers in time if they are thrown to.

If that’s what defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer & Co. decide to do to stop the deep ball, so be it. But they still have to be wary of the potential danger of the short pass.

How will the OSU defense fare against the Red Raiders? Leave your predictions below in the comments!