Texas Tech Football Preview 2008

I thought Mike Leach was actually brilliant for leaving Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree behind on Big 12 media day. His reasoning is that they get a lot of attention already, and the team is more than those two players. Furthermore, those two players do not determine the success of their season, they have done their job. But rather, it will come down to whether the other guys play up to their potential. And when he says other he's referring to the worst running game in the nation last year and defense. They finished 3rd in total defense last year and Leach is even more excited about it this year. This unit actually finished first in the Big 12 in passing defense, but it's rushing and scoring defense that really could use some improvement. In their four losses last year, they gave up an average of 45 points. It's Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill's first full season on the job and I expect there to be significant improvement from last year's fill-in position.