Texas Tech secured a win for Big 12 dominance against BYU. The undefeated Cougars came to Lubbock and were resoundingly beaten, 29-7. The defense, led by the Red Raiders’ Heisman contender Jacob Rodriquez, showed out. However, the other side of the ball looked fragile at times.

On the November 9 episode of See Ball Get Ball, David Pollack and Brent Rollins reviewed the matchup. The duo was left impressed with what they saw from the Red Raiders. But there’s a caveat in the form of QB1 Behren Morton.

“Like ROI, return on Investment for Texas Tech continues to be really, really good. 9-1 for the first time since 2009,” said Pollack. Texas Tech’s defense has performed superbly throughout this campaign. It allows fewer than 15 points per game. The BYU game was the second time they stopped a team at 7 points, following their season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

But not everything is working as well as Joey McGuire would hope. “Brent, I want to hear you on this because I think their defense is good enough to win a natty. I really like their defense. You do, too. I don’t like their offense for Texas Tech. There’s so much, obviously, Morton’s health is not there. He’s still limping around,” Pollack asked Collins. 

Behren Morton has suffered a host of injuries throughout the season. Starting with a hyperextended knee against Arkansas-Pine in the opener, then a neck injury against Utah, and a right ankle injury against Utah. Compromising Morton’s ability to execute the offense effectively. He has completed just 67.9% of his passes for 1,750 yards with 15 touchdowns and 4 interceptions this season. While enduring eight sacks that have limited his mobility and disrupted Texas Tech’s rhythm throughout the 2025 campaign.

The high number of sacks underlines the issues with their OL, which has struggled for consistency along with the whole offense. Morton’s performance against BYU, where he completed just 17 of 32 passes for 219 yards, embodies the offensive struggles of the Red Raiders. The offense has struggled with red zone and third-down conversion, as they convert only 53.70% of chances into TDs. While they depend on Field goals to score, they scored 5 field goals compared to 2 touchdowns against BYU on Saturday.

Brent said, “Does Morton make it through the season? Because every chance you or every time you see him on the field right now, he is getting hit, dinged up, limping around. Now with Hammond gone, like your backup that was a guy who came in and helped you win the Utah game, that’s a problem for them. But the defense is as legit as it gets.”

Redshirt freshman Will Hammond is out for the season with a torn ACL. Now, they need to find a way to improve their OL protection to safeguard Morton if they want to keep their championship hopes alive. Because even a great defense like theirs won’t be enough to win championships on its lonesome.

Meanwhile, McGuire was all praises for his defenders in his post-match interaction with the media.

Joey McGuire’s appreciation for Texas Tech’s defense

Texas Tech’s defense has become the best in the business over the course of this season. They rank 5th in the FBS in points allowed (13.2 points per game) and 10th nationally in total yards allowed (271.3 per game). Their major strength is an elite rush defense. Visible in their performance against the Cougars as they restricted them to just 67 rushing yards, as compared to their average of 217 coming into the game. Jacob Rodriguez emerged as the leader as he scored 14 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 interception.

“Our defense has played at a high level all year long. One thing that I talked to them about was dominant up front,” head coach Joey McGuire said postgame. “We wanted to stop the run. That’s the No. 1 running back in the Big 12, yardage-wise, LJ (Martin). I love LJ, that’s the No. 1 running back. And then the quarterback (Bear Bachmeier) has been electric with his feet. They have a really good offensive line, and we stopped the run. When you do that, you have a chance to rush the passer. Another thing, we had one (turnover) on special teams and two on defense. We took three, y’all know how much I like that.”

Jacob Rodriguez and co. took his advice to heart as they limited LJ Martin, BYU’s star rusher coming back from a shoulder injury, to a paltry 35 yards on 10 carries. While only allowing Bear Bachmeier to complete just 23 of his 38 passes for 188 yards. Texas Tech shut him down completely as they forced two turnovers at his expense while allowing just 1 touchdown.