Texas Tech came up and dominated BYU with a knockout 29-7 victory against them despite visible offensive struggles in the red zone. The Red Raiders were leaning heavily on their defense and special teams to carry the game. Despite Behren Morton’s best efforts, the OL made things tough for them. Now, the win has put them up 2 spots with the 6th spot in the CFP rankings; the struggles might push them down real soon. And that’s not just putting Mack Leftwich but even Morton’s position at stake.

Texas Tech’s offense went flat against BYU. Despite having several chances to score points in the first half, they couldn’t double down on them. BYU’s muffed punt only gave them 3 points, and even though they made three big plays, none of them turned into TDs. That’s exactly why recruiting analyst Jarrett Ramirez is putting Leftwich on high alert. “This is prime bulletin board material for offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich and his unit. If Tech’s red zone struggles can get fixed, the Red Raiders are a legitimate national title contender,” he said.

One thing that’s stopping Texas Tech from being a top 5 team is its red zone struggles, and Leftwich really needs to fix that up before going up against UCF. As CFP chairman Mack Rhoades said, “I think offensively in the red zone they’ve left some points off the board and kicked a lot of field goals. But recently, they’re a really good football team. Their front 7 defensively, we think, is as good as there is in the country. Behren Morton is playing with a bad leg—really, really tough kid. I think offensive is what’s kept them out of the top 4, top 5.”

What’s even more concerning is that quarterback Behren Morton struggled throughout. Completing just 17 of 32 passes for 219 yards with one touchdown. He was also sacked 4 times in the first half and ended the game rushing for -47 yards.

Texas Tech’s offensive struggles go beyond scoring opportunities. While they ran 28 plays inside BYU’s 20-yard line, they often stalled, which even forced Joey McGuire to make aggressive calls. On one drive, they faced 4th and goal at the 2-yard line. Morton’s pass to tight end Terrance Carter Jr. slipped through his hand and ended without a TD.

Even McGuire couldn’t hold back his concern over it as he said, “Yeah, we got to catch the ball,” McGuire said. “Like, we got two touchdowns on the last two plays. I mean, are they tough catches? They’re tough catches, but I mean, we’ve got elite receivers.

Despite all the red zone issues, their offense ranks inside 5th nationally with over 30 points per game. So, if they fix them completely, nobody can stop Texas Tech’s playoff run this season. But with that, Behren Morton also faced another setback.

Behren Morton injury scare

Behren Morton’s fate took a nasty turn against Kansas when he suffered a hairline fracture that affected the lower outside of his leg. But despite that, he battled against BYU for all four quarters behind a lousy offensive line, recording a 53% completion rate, which is his lowest of the season.

But the good news is, despite limiting practice throughout the week, Morton will be playing against Central Florida, as Joey McGuire gives an update: “We’ll definitely limit movement all week to getting going. Our fast Friday would be really the aiming point for where he really amps up and gets going. You know, he feels good.”

He also highlighted that Behren Morton took some unnecessary hits against BYU, too, with two of four sacks being Morton’s own fault due to a pocket drift issue. “You’re (Morton) usually the Alpha,” McGuire said. “You’ve made plays all your life. You’re used to making those plays, and you just got to continue to grow. That’s one of the things that Behren’s going to continue to grow to get better at getting the ball out of his hand.”

But now that he’s returning this week on the field, let’s see if Texas Tech can protect its quarterback or not.