The Red Raiders must work hard for Texas Tech to defeat Washington State

Texas Tech faces a tough test today at Washington State. It's the first away game of the season, and the program has placed a lot of emphasis on that throughout the offseason.

You may recall that head coach Joey McGuire even went so far as to meet with Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell in the offseason to get tips on winning on the road. Now we'll see if the focus on winning on the road pays off.

Tech struggled on the road under McGuire for a variety of reasons, some of which were beyond his control.

Consider that in seven of McGuire's eight road losses at Tech, he either played the entire game without his starting quarterback from Week 1 or lost his starting quarterback during the game. The only exception was last season, when Tyler Shough played the entire season opener at Wyoming.

Additionally, Tech has faced stiff competition outside of Lubbock during McGuire's tenure, with five of its eight road losses coming against ranked teams, including two matches in 2022 against a team ranked No. 7 in the national polls (Oklahoma State and TCU).

On the other hand, self-inflicted problems have also contributed to Tech's road losses under McGuire. For example, Tech lost the ball three or more times in half of McGuire's road losses.

Tonight, however, the program can begin to change its away history. Washington State isn't necessarily an intimidating place to play, as the Cougars' stadium only holds around 32,000 fans.

In addition, today's opponent is in the process of rebuilding after a 5-7 season in 2023. In addition, their starting quarterback, sophomore John Mateer of Little Elm, Texas, is making only his second career start and his first against a Power 4 team.

In other words, the task before the Red Raiders tonight is not impossible. If this team can iron out its mistakes from Week 1, it could leave the Pacific Northwest with a win. But to make that happen, these three Red Raiders will have to take their game to a new level tonight.

We don't know for sure if senior corner Bralyn Lux will play tonight, but after the game against Abilene Christian, McGuire said his best defensive back would be available for this game.

That's why most expect the former Fresno State transfer to play tonight, even though he was on Texas Tech's official injury list this week. If he plays, he'll have to be as advertised.

Last week, his replacement, sophomore Jalon Peoples, did not perform well in Lux's spot. He was repeatedly targeted by ACU and was often beaten by double plays or simply because he was out of place. Despite playing virtually the entire game, he made just four tackles and had just one pass defensed in his first collegiate appearance.

After that game, McGuire said Lux's absence was a big problem. Although he praised Peoples for his effort, he said it would have made a big difference if Lux had been on the team.

There's no doubt that Lux is Tech's best corner. He's also the program's most experienced corner. If he can play this week, he'll have to prove he can deliver on his promise, and he'll have to bring some stability and maturity to the Red Raiders' defensive backfield, because Washington State has a deadly passing attack.

Another player on this week's injury list is star running back Tahj Brooks, who is questionable due to an arm injury. McGuire said Brooks's decision will not be made until Saturday night.

Therefore, the Red Raiders will likely need more from junior backup RB Cam'Ron Valdez. Even if Brooks plays, he likely won't be healthy enough to carry the ball 25 or more times.

So Valdez and the other RBs have to fill the void. Behind Valdez in the rankings, however, are two true freshmen, Cam Dickey and J'Koby Williams, neither of whom has played a road game as a Red Raider.

That's why Valdez is so important tonight. He played 17 games as a college player, making him the most experienced backup RB on the roster.

However, he has never played for the college team. If that is what is asked of him tonight, can he prove himself as a reliable runner and blocker? And will he be tough enough to help the Red Raiders win? After all, he has never had more than 12 rushing attempts in a game.

Tech goes into tonight knowing it must do everything it can to protect its defense. One way to slow down WSU's dangerous passing attack is to keep the Red Raider offense on the field by running.

However, the Cougars typically try to stop the run, which means yardage can be tough to come by. Brooks' ability to break tackles would be sorely missed if he can't play. But if Valdez can at least give Tech a solid option at the RB position tonight, even if Brooks can try, then the Red Raiders could play long enough to limit WSU's offense.

Suddenly, Texas Tech is thin at the outside linebacker position. That's concerning considering the Red Raiders struggled to pressure the passer against ACU, managing just one sack that wasn't a real sack but a tackle that forced Wildcats quarterback Maverick McIvor to lose when he executed a designed QB draw on the final play of the game last week.

This week we learned that edge rusher Joseph Adedire will miss the entire year with a knee injury. In addition, Tech already lost Dylan Spencer, another promising edge rusher, for the year during fall training camp.

Additionally, Monday's injury report listed OLB Harvey Dyson as questionable to play this week, so where will Texas Tech's pass rush come from tonight?

That's where Amier Washington has to step in. Fans may remember him as the hero of the win over Cal in the Independence Bowl, a game in which he had two sacks and a forced fumble.

However, he didn't manage a single sack or tackle against ACU. That's not enough, especially since the Red Raiders are now thin on the edge rush position.

The same could be said of Isaac Smith, another edge rusher who couldn't get to the QB last week despite entering the game with high expectations. He and Washington may be the best options Tech has at OLB tonight, and they'll need to find a way to get to the passer or it could be a long night in Pullman for the Tech defense.