Texas Tech football 2018 season recap: Red Raiders find QB of future, bid farewell to air raid

When Texas Tech hired Kliff Kingsbury in 2013, he was hailed as an offensive innovator. Kingsbury lived up to that part of the message, but still failed to bring consistent success to Lubbock.

The 2018 season was a perfect microcosm of those frustrations. The Red Raiders got off to a quick start, but struggled to finish late in big games. Quarterback Alan Bowman threw for a boatload of yards in his limited starts, but the offense struggled when he got hurt. Ultimately, the program opted to head in a different reaction.

Now, the Red Raiders are heading in a new direction. Head coach Matt Wells just led Utah State, one of the worst programs in the FBS, to a 10-win season. Now, he will have to impart his culture and vision on a new program in Lubbock.

Here’s our full postmortem and review of the 2018 Texas Tech Red Raiders football season.

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Texas Tech Red Raiders Season Recap

Final record: 5-7, 3-6 Big 12

Head coach: Kliff Kingsbury (35-40, all at Texas Tech)

Coordinators: OC Kevin Johns, DC David Gibbs, ST Adam Scheier

Offensive MVP: WR Antoine Wesley

Because of injuries, the Red Raiders started three different quarterbacks over the course of the season. That didn’t bother Wesley one bit. The 6-foot-5 junior finished second nationally with 117.5 receiving yards per game and posted six 100-yard games. The junior posted a pair of 100-yard games while receiving passes from Jett Duffey, and added a 261-yard game when Alan Bowman was under center.

Defensive MVP: LB Dakota Allen

Texas Tech’s defense didn’t make the giant leap some hoped, but still improved tremendously. When Allen and safety Jah’Shawn Johnson were on the field together, the defense looked outright special at times. Despite missing time with injuries, Allen finished second on the team with 73 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and five quarterback hurries. He should develop nicely into a contributor at the next level.