Just a good, old-fashioned 80-point game in Big 12 play. OSU's 45-35 win over Texas Tech wasn't pretty, but it was fun.
It was hard to watch Davis Webb in the fourth quarter. Webb was ready to return from an injury to his left shoulder and looked crushed when Texas Tech's doctors refused to let him play. It seems likely he suffered a dislocated shoulder and unless further tests reveal additional damage, it's a safe bet we'll see him on the field again soon. It was brutal watching him pace the sideline on the edge of tears before composing himself and helping coach/motivate his backup, true freshman Patrick Mahomes. (Mahomes, understandably, looked unprepared and panicked in his first action. He got happy feet and didn't trust his pocket presence in his spot duty in the fourth quarter. He's better than he looked, but if Webb doesn't return to the lineup next week against K-State, Tech has reason to be very concerned.) Webb is the same guy who, as a kid, used to draw up plays for his dad's high school team and eventually became his quarterback. He did everything you could ask in his situation and you can bet he earned the respect of his teammates tonight. OSU did what most expected tonight, but Webb's attitude and demeanor earned him a lot of respect with his teammates.
Penalties remain a killer for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders had gotten progressively better at limiting penalties through their first three games, but against their best opponent in 2014, you saw them slip back into old habits. The 16 flags and 158 yards were both new highs for a Kliff Kingsbury-coached team at Texas Tech. This is something Tech has been dead-set on fixing since he arrived, and it's not happening. Baylor ranked last in the Big 12 in penalties a year ago, but Tech isn't good enough to outweigh the kinds of mistakes it made on Thursday. Those penalty yards don't include yards lost when a kickoff returned for a touchdown and a 37-yard punt return that were both erased by penalties. "It's on me. I haven't got it fixed. That's on the head coach," Kingsbury told the radio broadcast after the game. There's no excuse for Texas Tech to be regressing from last year's team.
Goodness gracious, Daxx Garman is fun to watch. Garman has surpassed Clint Trickett as the Big 12 quarterback who most loves to throw it deep. He averaged 21.7 yards per completion. At some point, Garman has to hone his accuracy on mid-range throws, but it seems like this is just his personality as a passer. OSU has the athletes on the outside in Marcell Ateman, Brandon Sheperd, James Washington and Jhajuan Seales (who went without a catch, surprisingly) to catch those passes down field. Running back Tyreek Hill even ran underneath a gorgeous 50-yard touchdown pass. Poor ball skills and cover skills from Texas Tech's secondary aided Garman's final stat line. He'd commit a lot more turnovers against a better defense, but you can't be too displeased with 370 yards and four touchdowns in his second career start after getting very few reps in practice before this season.
A bowl game feels far away for Texas Tech. A look down the schedule reveals just how difficult reaching the postseason will be for the Red Raiders. They'll have to win four of eight remaining games in Big 12 play and even Kansas may not be a sure thing, considering its running game may be a difficult matchup for Tech's front seven. Tech faces Iowa State in Ames and every single game on Texas Tech's slate the rest of the way is one it could lose. Without vast improvement, Tech may fall as far as 4-8.
