 "Photo: Karl Anderson")
For Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach, seeing three defenses rolled into one makes for a great day at the office.
"The good news is you're moving the ball," Leach said. "Otherwise, they keep running the same defense that they did. You just try to react to it and respond to it."
Alternating between the run and pass, Tech's offense did a good job of reacting to Kansas State's defense throughout the Red Raiders' 58-28 victory on Saturday.
Leach said he noticed the Wildcats played three different defenses throughout the game, giving Tech quarterback Graham Harrell the opportunity to adjust the play as he saw fit.
The first defense was a mixture of coverages with no blitzes, the second threw in the blitz with some coverages and the third defense was pretty much all blitzing, Leach said.
With that type of variation, Leach acknowledged that Harrell's ability to make the right checks was the reason for touchdown plays to Lyle Leong and Michael Crabtree. Also, Tech's first offensive series when it gashed the Wildcats with the run game was a result of Harrell reading the defense.
"(Harrell's) the guy that can do it the quickest because he's under center," Leach said. "On the sideline and on the top, there's a certain amount of guess work with (coaches). It's like, 'Last time in this situation, (Kansas State) did this, they might do that,' so if we call this, and then we actually call it, then it's not that. He can straighten it out and find some way to attack, which he did a good job of a number of times.
"I think that's part of why I think (Kansas State) wanted two safeties (in pass coverage), but then we were able to run the ball well that first series. So then they went one safety, but they wouldn't blitz, but they kept more people around the ball."
On his way to passing another pair of records belonging to former quarterback Kliff Kingsbury, Harrell threw for six touchdowns and ran for another in a 454-yard performance that earned him Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week and Davey O'Brien Quarterback of the Week honors Monday.
Harrell said Tech's ability to run the ball has been helpful for him as a quarterback this year. He leads the nation in passing yards with 2,027, while throwing 18 touchdowns and three interceptions.
"If the box is light, there's not many people around the line, then the run is effective and we're running the ball well," he said. "Now you have to put someone in there, now you're short-handed to defend the pass."
Tech's rushing attack averages 5.4 yards per carry, 144.4 yards per game and has scored 14 total touchdowns this season, which has been a sign of good things to come against teams that have difficulty stopping the run.
Under Leach since 2000, the Red Raiders are 35-9 when gaining more than 100 yards on the ground, and 19-1 since 2005. Not to mention, Tech has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of its first five wins in 2008.
"I think it's the best we've run the ball since I've been here," Harrell said, "or at least since I've played for sure in the last three years. That's huge. The other day I was talking to (Tech special teams coach) Clay McGuire, who played here, and he said, 'I can't remember a game where we rushed for over a 100 yards that we lost.'"
The last time Tech gained 100 yards rushing in a losing effort was in a 13-10 loss to Alabama in the 2006 Cotton Bowl.
Because of Tech's efficient run game, Leach said the offense has implemented a few new sets to give it a new look. During the Kansas State game, on several occasions, Tech had Harrell under center and ran the ball with running back Shannon Woods or Baron Batch as the lone back.
Leach said the changes are not drastic. Instead, they are reshuffling certain players to give a formation a face-lift, dictating what a defense does.
"Sometimes just out of different sets and things, different teams are inclined to put their people in different places," he said. "If you can come up with something that's predictable, you'll try to get them in that position and then go after what you saw."
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