Texas Tech capped off a roller-coaster 2021 football season by closing a chapter with Mike Leach. The Red Raiders beat Mississippi State, coached by Leach, 34-7 in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Tuesday night. The victory provides Texas Tech (7-6) with its first winning season since 2015. It was the program’s first bowl appearance since 2017, which is why the Red Raiders hired Joey McGuire to replace former head coach Matt Wells during the regular season. 

INSTANT OBSERVATIONS 

Winning in a new way: McGuire was not officially coaching Texas Tech in the bowl game, but he wants his program to run the football and play sound defense. The Red Raiders did exactly that with Sonny Cumbie leading the way one more time as the interim head coach. Cumbie was retained by McGuire as the offensive coordinator, but the former Texas Tech quarterback was hired as the head coach of Louisiana Tech following the conclusion of the regular season. 

A healthy duo of Tahj Brooks and SaRodorick Thompson creates a solid one-two punch for the Red Raiders rushing attack. Mississippi State’s defense allowed 101 rushing yards a game during the regular season. The most rushing yards the Bulldogs allowed during the regular season was 202 against Arkansas. Texas Tech smashed those numbers. Brooks rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Thompson finished with 80 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. The Red Raiders rushed for 260 yards on 44 carries as a team. 

They played equally impressive defense. Mississippi State scored seven points and accounted for less than 200 yards of total offense by the end of the third quarter. The seven points scored by Mississippi State's was its fewest on the season. Quarterback Will Rogers failed to throw for more than 300 yards for the first time in 11 games. 

Donovan Smith deserves a chance: Smith was the third quarterback to play for Texas Tech in the 2021 season. The redshirt freshman from Las Vegas didn’t start a game until Wells’ tenure ended. Cumbie took a gamble against Iowa State on Nov. 13 with Henry Colombi and Tyler Shough injured. Smith responded by completing 25 of his 32 attempts for 322 yards and three touchdowns in a win that clinched bowl eligibility for the Red Raiders. 

Smith responded again in the bowl win. He went 15 of 28 for 252 yards, a touchdown, and zero interceptions. Smith also ran the ball for 30 yards and a touchdown on five carries. He threw for 38 fewer yards than Rogers despite 25 fewer attempts and 17 fewer completions. Texas Tech averaged 16.8 yards per completion compared to 9.1 for Mississippi State. 

The offense will change in 2022 with Zach Kittley taking over for the departing Cumbie. The philosophies are similar, so it won’t be a complete change for Smith and the other quarterbacks, but each play caller craves different traits and brings his own interpretations of the offense. Kittley coached Bailey Zappe and a high-powered offense at Western Kentucky. That offense was predicated on a timing-oriented passing attack that required accuracy. Smith can still struggle with that part of the passing game. He’s a gamer with a live arm, but he’s still growing as a passer. He’ll need to hold off Shough and freshman Behren Morton, a highly rated prep recruit, assuming both stay in Lubbock. He’s done enough in the last six weeks to be at the front of the line.  

Momentum is building in Lubbock: McGuire, a former state champion coach at Cedar Hill High School, possesses a contagious attitude of positivity and purpose that is already infecting Lubbock in a positive way. The 2022 recruiting class shot up the Big 12 rankings ahead of the early signing period. A sixth win was achieved with the win over Iowa State. The fan base was treated to a bowl win and a winning season despite a mid-season change at head coach and a 1-4 record down the stretch of the regular season. 

The college landscape is changing with Texas and Oklahoma eventually leaving the Big 12 for the SEC. That move creates a power vacuum in the conference that any team can fill. Texas Tech looks at Baylor, where McGuire served as the associate head coach prior to his move and sees a road map. The Bears won the Big 12 in 2021 and played in two of the last three championship games. McGuire and the Texas Tech brass thinks the Red Raiders can compete on that same level with improved talent and stability at head coach. McGuire hopes to provide both.