LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Kansas coach Mark Mangino first saw Mike Leach’s spread offense at Kentucky, remembers the havoc it created for opposing defenses.
He witnessed Leach’s sandlot-style system up close at Oklahoma, the two assistants helping turn the Sooners into a national championship team under coach Bob Stoops.
Mangino has watched the mad genius of mayhem hone his offense the past eight seasons at Texas Tech, using his lab in Lubbock to transform what was once considered a sideshow into one of the most unstoppable forces in college football.
Now, faced with the daunting task of trying to slow the eighth-ranked Red Raiders, Mangino is going to take a novel approach: go after them straight up.
No gimmicks, no new schemes like some of Texas Tech’s other opponents have tried. Just the same fundamental principles the No. 19 Jayhawks have used all season.
ifferent looks that they don’t normally do, they get into more trouble than the people who just try to play the defense they’ve been playing all year,” Mangino said. “You’re teaching 11 guys all new things and I think it’s foolish to do that.”
Conventional thinking says the best way to stop the spread is to get pressure on the quarterback, taking advantage of spaces between offensive players by sending linebackers and defensive backs on blitzes.
Texas Tech would seem particularly susceptible to this approach; its lineman are spread farther apart than any other team in college football – maybe anywhere – nearly three yards away from each other before the snap.
It just doesn’t work against the Red Raiders.
Quarterback Graham Harrell has been sacked once in seven games, in part because of his quick release and ability to move around the pocket, mostly because Tech’s linemen are so adept a maintaining their gaps in pass protection.
“We know how each other works and we know what to do to help each other out.” Tech guard Brandon Carter said. “The offensive line is so close, we can just look at each other and know what each other is going to do.”
meone is going to get open.
Just keeping up with the Red Raiders is tough. Texas Tech sends so many receivers into the pattern – Harrell has completed passes to 15 different players – it’s like trying to keep track of a class full of kindergartners once the recess bell has rung.
This seemingly chaotic scheme sets up one-on-one matchups across the field, even against teams running zone defenses against them, putting a premium on open-field tackling.
Miss a tackle against Texas Tech, it’s usually disastrous; the Red Raiders are loaded with players who can turn a short gain into a long touchdown.
“When you face a spread offense it leaves less of a margin for error,” Kansas safety Darrell Stuckey said. “If you go up against a team that runs a power offense where they want to run the ball all the time, you can have errors and still make a tackle or still get in the gap. You can’t make errors and all of a sudden try to cover someone who wasn’t covered already.”
Texas Tech’s offense has always been tough to stop under Leach. The Red Raiders have led the nation in passing five times the past six seasons, produced the eight best seasons for total offense in school history.
What makes Texas Tech so difficult to contain this year is its improved running game.
Once an afterthought, the run has become a newfound toy at Texas Tech, a way to take pressure off Harrell.
le talents of Baron Batch and Shannon Woods, Texas Tech has gone from being the nation’s worst rushing team a year ago to 62nd this season at 138.6 yards per game.
The Red Raiders are still a pass-first offense – 343 pass attempts to 175 rushes. They do make the most of their opportunities, though, averaging 5.5 yards per carry – 11th in the nation – and scoring 20 touchdowns on the ground.
Gamble against the run now and the Red Raiders will likely burn you.
“I think it’s scary (for opponents) to have to put more people in the box against us, to have to respect our run game all of a sudden, to know that in short yardage we’ll run it right up the middle or wherever we really want to right now,” tackle Rylan Reed said. “It’s great.”
So how do teams stop Texas Tech? That’s what everyone’s trying to figure out.
Nevada was one of the few teams able to get consistent pressure on Harrell, forcing two interceptions, holding him to 19-of-49 passing. Texas Tech won 35-19.
Nebraska gave the Red Raiders their toughest challenge so far, using a ball-control offense to keep the ball away from Tech’s offense. Even with Harrell held to 284 yards passing, Texas Tech pulled out a 37-31 overtime win two weeks ago.
M took a unique approach last week, rushing three, dropping eight defenders into coverage.
It didn’t work.
bus – a whopping 14 seconds on one snap – and picked the Aggies apart for 450 yards and three touchdowns in a 43-25 win.
Now Kansas will try going straight at the Red Raiders.
“You always want to have a new wrinkle or two, a different look or two, but we have to do a good job of teaching our kids within our system and getting them prepared in that fashion,” Mangino said. “I don’t think a whole new defense is the answer. I think it’s a recipe for disaster.”
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Associated Press Writer Betsy Blaney in Lubbock, Texas, contributed to this report.
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