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ARLINGTON — On a day when he took the NCAA lead in touchdown passes, Seth Doege had a few throws he probably wanted to take back.
For as productive as Doege’s been the last two years as Texas Tech’s starting quarterback, the Red Raiders were defending him after a four-turnover performance in a 52-45 overtime loss to Baylor.
Tommy Tuberville didn’t even wait for the question. The Tech coach just came right out and addressed it.
“Seth, a lot of people will say, ‘Three interceptions,’” Tuberville said. “But I tell you what: I’ll take that kid to battle anytime, because he’s trying to make plays and has made a lot of plays. He’s one of those kids that, he’ll take it harder than anybody.”
Presumably so, although Tech officials declined post-game interview requests for Doege. The senior from Frenship played delivery man on a 13-catch, 186-yard day for flanker Darrin Moore and a nine-catch, 113-yard game for Eric Ward. His three touchdown passes all went to those two.
But in a game decided in overtime, Doege’s three interceptions and a lost fumble loomed large. Baylor linebacker Eddie Lackey ran back one of the misfires for a touchdown, and the fumble came with Tech on the Bears’ doorstep.
“Keep your head up,” Moore said he’d tell Doege. “It’s a team game. It’s not his fault. We all had our part in this loss. Just tell him to keep his head up.”
Doege started the day tied for second in the FBS for touchdown passes. Three more gave him 38, one ahead of Geno Smith from West Virginia and Rakeem Cato from Marshall.
The Red Raiders could have reveled in that had Doege been a split second quicker with one throw.
Tech was at the Baylor 8 late in the first half, trying to add to a 21-7 lead. On third down, Doege rolled right under pressure and Moore came open in the end zone for what would have been an easy throw.
Instead, defensive end Chris McAllister hit Doege from the back side before he could get the ball out, and Lackey recovered the fumble.
“That was the thing that kept us in the game, let us settle down,” said Baylor coach Art Briles, who won his second game in a row against Tech after losing three straight by a touchdown apiece.
Moore ran a slant at the snap, then broke the route as the Bears denied him the inside. He was crossing the end zone right in front of Doege, who couldn’t get his arm cocked in time.
“Seth saw me,” Moore said. “As he was heading to the right, he was picking his hand up to throw the ball and somebody hit it out.”
The series before, safety Sam Holl picked off a deep throw down the middle for Eric Ward. Lackey returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter and snagged another that deflected off the helmet of Tech tackle Terry McDaniel. That one came near the end of regulation, but Bears kicker Aaron Jones missed a 48-yard field goal that would have been a last-play game winner.
Lackey’s TD gave Baylor its first lead, 35-31, on the first play of the fourth quarter.
“We had good pressure,” Lackey said. “He was rattled, running around back there. I was going to add on and go flying over there, but our D-line had them contained, so I tried to step back under the curl (route). I don’t think he saw me, and it ended up in my hands.”
Doege wound up 30 of 40 for 359 yards. But the four turnovers were the most he’s had since last year’s 41-34 loss to Kansas State, when he also was guilty of three interceptions and a lost fumble.
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Comments (21)
Add commentI Know You Hate To Hear The Truth..But
What happen to that SO CALLED #1 Defense in the nation...hahaha You give up 674 yards.
what do you expect with
what do you expect with tubby. tubby does not support his players so they dont play hard for him.
how did leach ever win
with nothing but 2 and 3 star players? How did he ever win, why can this guy not with with 3 and 4 star players. Maybe the stars mean dip [filtered word] in college and coaching or lack of it matter more
Blame Game
Let the blame game begin. Injuries, you irrational fans, it was the injuries. The QB, you irrational fans, it was the QB. Just cannot wait for DW to blame the fans. The AJ should reprint all the distortional headlines and articles from December 2009 through to the load of crap we'll see this offseason. The Avalanche from BS Mountain!
Is the Birther coach fired yet?
Why not?
Simply pathetic!
Simply pathetic!
Tech Is The Conference Jester
And is here for the amusement of King Hance and the rest of his minions...
Tech football
Dictionary definition of bottom feeder: "A person with low standards, like smeone satisfied with scraps and low quality." With the progress made at OSU, TCU, Baylor and Kansas State and the lack of any appreciable progress in this program in the last 3 years this definition seems to aptly describe our football program!
Ignoring the Tech haters with a rational assessment
Same old negative whines from the same Tech haters.
What I saw was an exciting game that turned on a couple of turnovers, Could have gone either way. Too bad we lost. Too bad I'm not young again. Too bad about a lot of things that are a lot more important than a kids game.
I see big improvement in this year's team. Fifth in the Big 12 isn't anything to be ashamed of. If we continue with the good recruiting years that we've had, we'll develop better reserves so we don't go downhill when the late season injuries mount up.
Congradulations to the team and coaches for an entertaining season. We could of won some that we lost, and we could have lost some that we won. Kind of sounds like life.
I Am A Red Raider Through and Through
Have been for a long time. And I mean a very long time.
But I can read the English language and I can add arabic numerals.
Accordingly:
1. After having read e-mails printed by THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS after Decemer 30, 2009; I know that Kent Hance and his despicable cronies lied to us about their conspiracy to fire Coach X and to cheat Coach X out of pay for work completed.
2. I know that Tubs' three year conference record is 9-17. I know that Coach X's conference record the three years before he was defrauded was 16-8. X was 20-6 all games the two years before being defrauded.
Because of my ability to read and add I am aware no greater harm has ever been done to a big time athletics program than that perpetrated by Kent Hance, Alan White, John Scovell, Larry Anders, Jerry Turner, and Jim Sowell versus Texas Tech, its fans, and its supporters.
As a Red Raider thru and thru, I have been ashamed of the conduct of our leadership and inner circle virtually every day since December 30, 2009. And they're still there.
Humiliation perpetrated upon us by these men was the state of the program December 30, 2009; and it is the state of the program today.
I admire all young Techsters. You will live to see these men finally release our school from their death grip.
Until then, you may expect absolutely no progress.
@billtt
I guess I saw a different game. However, you see things differently than most. People who are upset with the current coach and the current administration are haters to you. However, in actuality, they are actually lovers of Tech who want to see Tech get out of the doldrums and the bottom of the pack and become great again academically and athletically.
There were two or three plays yesterday where Baylor made long gains because our defense was not correct. There was the one pass play where the nearest defender was 20 yards away. That is poor coaching.
billtt
i think you don't know how to count. we might finish 7 or 8 just a little better than Iowa and Kansas. you need to see all those other teams have 1 more game to play. Say good bye to getting picked for a bowl game too.
Such a disappointing game. I
Such a disappointing game. I wouldn't really say that it is the coaches fault, giving up 4 turnovers really doesn't give you a chance to win. The beginning of the game looked like a Tech blow out, then the turnovers came. All I have to say is that I am sick and tired of the spread offense.
Let's Man Up and Blame a Kid for Our Failures
Doege made a number of mistakes. However, if you check you will find that neither he nor any of the other players who made mistakes in the game are being paid two million bucks a year to manage a successful program. There is only one person who is, and yet he seems never to acccept responsibility for anything that goes wrong. I know this is standard procedure for Tubby, but it seems particularly graceless for him to blame a college kid for his failure. Tubby has delivered three consecutive seasons with losing records in conference games after a stretch of 24 years under three different head coaches when TTU had a grand total of two years with losing records in conference. Tubby can point fingers all he wants. He and Hance still own this.
RRFL
So you think if they were smart they would run a different type off offense? Like what? Tubs committed to that offense when he came here. "Its worked for years at Texas Tech, we'd be crazy to change it". An then he hired the boy genius to run it." Only we're gonna call it NASCAR. And then after we've dominated the big 12 for a couple, we'll start playing the air raid siren like they did when that coach who told the greatest man alive to "f himself" was here. And well be putting up twenty something points a game". Of course he came here to win championships and he was just trying to get the GA off the field.
Cursed!!!
Boston Red Sox suffered for years (1918-2004; 86 years) with the "Curse of the Bambino" after selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees. Wonder how long the "Curse of the Pirate" will haunt Texas Tech?
Air Raid
The reason why the team hasn't done well in my opinion is because Tuberville came into this position knowing that he would have to run the spread to keep all the fans happy. I personally don't like the spread, I would really like it if Tech ran a pro-set style offense. It seems like the team is heading in 10 different directions instead of one. I know deep down inside that Tuberville want's to be a ground and pound, but he wants to keep the fans happy; which is dumb. It just doesn't seem like Tuberville is fully committed to the spread, and it shows. The air raid works wonderful in the beginning of the season when you aren't playing anyone, and especially when everyone is healthy. I wish he would just run his own offense instead of having to appease the fan base, I would have more respect for him if he did.
and the air raid works fine
and the air raid works fine with other teams all throughout the season. if you have a coach that is not an idiot
Air Raid did work well, but
Air Raid did work well, but it was good for 3rd/4th place in the big 12. Yeah its a lot better than where we are now, but I want Tech to do better than where we've been in the past.
That fact is the spread works best when....
The fact is the spread works best and is most potent with a dual threat/ athletic throwing, QB(ie Vince Young, Colt McCoy, RGIII, Johnny Football), or has a good running game. We don't have either this year. Doege is a great kid, but he is not a dual threat/ athletic QB, and makes too many mistakes when flushed out of the pocket. I would rather he just try and run for no gain or a few yards, than throw a pick 6. Brewer might be the answer to that, and I hope we get that other dual threat QB, I think Gillens (or something like that) is his name. We are going to have more depth and one more year under Kaufman, to add more wrinkles to the defense. I think Williams is only going to get better and Washington is going to be a great back too. We have some great receivers coming out of their Red-shirt seasons. Things are looking great, but the Big XII is not getting any easier. I think it is the deepest league in Division I, so if we still win and are successful it will show how far we have come. Go Tech beat Minnesota!!
Perfect Scenario
Keep tubs to recruit but dont let him near the practice field. Keep Kaufman, pay Leach what you owe him hire him back and turn him loose with Brewer as OC, hire Sonny Dykes to run it all. Alumni pay Hance to leave and he goes to a home for wealthy douchebags. Neil Brown can coach JV 6- man ball out at Ropes. I know its stupid, but compared to what we have?