2017 Texas Tech Red Raiders Football Team
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The 2017 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented
Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...
in the
2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2017. The regular season began on August 26, 2017, and end ...
.
Kliff Kingsbury Kliff Timothy Kingsbury (born August 9, 1979) is an American professional American football, football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played c ...
led the Red Raiders in his fifth season as the program's 15th head coach. The Red Raiders played their home games on the university's campus in
Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...
at
Jones AT&T Stadium Jones AT&T Stadium (commonly referred to as "The Jones") is an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Built in the style of Spanish Renaissance architecture, it is the home field of the Texas Tech Red ...
, and competed as members of the
Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...
. They finished the season 6–7, 3–6 in Big 12 play to finish in eighth place. They were invited to the
Birmingham Bowl The Birmingham Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game played annually in Birmingham, Alabama. First held in 2006, the game is owned and operated by ESPN Events. The University of Alabama at Birmingham ...
where they lost to
South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...
.


Personnel


Spring game

Texas Tech's 2017 spring game was held at The Ford Center at The Star in
Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Collin County, Texas, Collin and Denton County, Texas, Denton counties. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (DFW) and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth In ...
on April 1, 2017. The Red Raiders are the first collegiate football program to hold an event at The Star.


Schedule

Texas Tech announced their 2017 schedule on December 13, 2016. The 2017 schedule consisted of 6 home games, 5 away games, and 1 neutral site game in the regular season. The Red Raiders hosted Big 12 foes
Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
,
Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...
,
Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...
, and
TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...
and traveled to
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
,
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
, and
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. Texas Tech played Baylor in
Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...
at
AT&T Stadium AT&T Stadium is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. It is also the home of the Cotton Bowl Classic ...
for the 76th meeting in their
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
. The Red Raiders hosted non-conference games against
Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...
and
Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...
and traveled to their other non-conference opponent
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
.


Season summary


Eastern Washington

The Red Raiders entered the game with quarterback Nic Shimonek making his first career start for Texas Tech after former Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes II was drafted by the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
in the
2017 NFL draft The 2017 NFL draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...
. Shimonek started the game by completing 14 straight passes and exited the game in the 3rd quarter, finishing 26/30 for 384 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions. Red Raider backups McLane Carter and
Jett Duffey Jett Duffey is an American football quarterback. He played college football for the Hampton Pirates football, Hampton Pirates and Texas Tech Red Raiders football, Texas Tech Red Raiders. Early life Duffey attended Lake Ridge High School in Mans ...
went 3/3 for 49 yards, 1 touchdown and 2/2 for 16 yards, respectively. The Red Raiders received the opening kickoff and started at their own 25-yard line, but a delay of game penalty pushed them back to the 20. Shimonek was sacked on 3rd and 7, forcing the Red Raiders to punt on a
three and out ''Three and Out'' is a 2008 British black comedy film directed by Jonathan Gershfield and starring Mackenzie Crook, Colm Meaney, Gemma Arterton, Imelda Staunton, and Kerry Katona. It premiered in London on 21 April 2008, and was released in the U ...
. The Eagles started at the Texas Tech 39-yard line following the punt, but Nic Sblendorio fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Texas Tech's Douglas Coleman III. The Red Raiders failed to capitalize on the turnover and punted from the Eastern Washington 43-yard line. The two teams traded punts before Tech scored on a Justin Stockton 25-yard run late in the 1st quarter with Michael Ewton making the PAT. Eastern Washington opened the second quarter by marching down field to the Texas Tech 4-yard line, getting their first score of the day on a 22-yard field goal from Roldan Alcobendas to trail 7–3 with 10:32 left in the first half. The Red Raiders responded to the field goal on their next possession with Shimonek finding Derrick Willies for a 75–yard touchdown reception to lead 14–3 after Ewton's PAT. The Eagle's made it to the Tech 31-yard line and decided to go for it on 4th and 1, but couldn't pick up the first down. After the
turnover on downs In gridiron football, a turnover on downs occurs when a team's offense has used all its downs but has not advanced the ball enough to earn another set of downs. The resulting turnover gives possession of the ball to the team on defense. Backgro ...
, Shimonek threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to
Keke Coutee Key'vantanie "Keke" Coutee (born January 14, 1997) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver. He played college football at Texas Tech Red Raiders football, Texas Tech and has played in the National Football League (N ...
to widen their lead to 21–3 following the PAT. The Eagles responded to the touchdown on their next possession with a 22-yard pass from Gage Gubrud to Terrance Grady; with Alcobendas making the PAT Eastern Washington trailed Texas Tech 10–21 with 4:07 left in the half. The Red Raiders would score another touchdown to lead 28–10 at halftime. Texas Tech scored two offensive touchdowns in the 3rd quarter, one a 1-yard run from
Tre King Tre King is an American football running back for the Tulsa Oilers of the Indoor Football League (IFL). He played college football for the Texas Tech University. Early life King was born as one of five siblings in Wichita, Kansas and went to W ...
and another one a 4-yard run from Justin Stockton. With 3:09 left in the 3rd quarter, Guburd threw an interception to Willie Sykes who returned it 33-yards for a pick six, extending Tech's lead to 49–10 following Ewton's PAT. Texas Tech backup quarterback McLane Carter entered the game late in the 3rd quarter, ending the drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass Quan Shorts late in the 4th quarter. The Red Raiders ended their next two drives by turning over on downs. The Red Raiders won their season opener 56–10, improving to 5–0 in season openers under head coach
Kliff Kingsbury Kliff Timothy Kingsbury (born August 9, 1979) is an American professional American football, football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played c ...
. The Texas Tech defense held Eastern Washington, a team that has won 3 out of its last 5 games against FBS opponents, to only 10 points and 301 total yards while forcing 3 turnovers.


Arizona State

Kickoff was delayed for an hour due to thunderstorms in the Lubbock area. The Sun Devils received the opening kickoff, with Michael Barden's kick going out of bounds. Arizona State started at their own 35-yard line, making it all the way to the Texas Tech 23-yard line before the drive stalled out. Brandon Ruiz tried for a 41-yard field goal, but missed. The Red Raiders took over at their own 23, but couldn't pick up a first down and punted the ball. Arizona State made it to the Texas Tech 26-yard line, before bringing out Ruiz for another field goal attempt. This time Ruiz's kick, a 44-yard attempt, was good, giving the Sun Devils a 3–0 lead midway through the 1st quarter. Despite a slow offensive start, Texas Tech scored 21 unanswered points to lead 21–3 at the end of the 1st. On Arizona State's next offensive position they scored their first touchdown on a 3-yard pass from
Manny Wilkins Manny Wilkins Jr. (born November 5, 1995) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL). He played college football for Arizona ...
to Kyle Williams. On the drive, Texas Tech's defense committed 4 penalties. The Red Raiders almost scored on their next possession, but Desmond Nisby fumbled the ball just short of the goal line. The Sun Devils scored following the fumble recovery to trail 17–21 with 5:34 left in the half. Following miscues by both the defense and offense on previous drives, the Red Raiders scored on a 10-yard pass from Nic Schimonek to fullback Mason Reed. Texas Tech's defense stopped Arizona State's offense on the following drive, forcing the Sun Devils to punt from their own 38-yard line. On the punt, Michael Sleep-Dalton's punt was blocked by Ja'Deion High, who recovered the ball at the Arizona State 27-yard line. The Red Raiders scored quickly following the blocked punt, extending their lead to 35–17. The first half ended with Wilkins being sacked by Mychealon Thomas for a loss of 11-yards. Texas Tech's offense struggled in the 3rd quarter, while the defense gave up 3 touchdowns to the Sun Devils. After trailing by 18 at halftime, Arizona State tied the game 45–45 after a 21-yard pass from Wilkins to
N'Keal Harry N'Keal Harry (, '; born December 17, 1997) is a Vincentian-Canadian professional American football wide receiver. He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils, where he twice received first-team All-Pac-12 honors, and was selecte ...
with 9:52 left to play. The two teams traded punts before the Red Raiders retook the lead following receiver
Dylan Cantrell Dylan Cantrell (born June 29, 1994) is an American former professional football tight end. He played college football at Texas Tech and was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers as a wide receiver in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL draft. Colleg ...
's 3-yard touchdown run. On the next possession, Arizona State made it to their own 37-yard line but a false start penalty and Wilkins being sacked by Zach Barnes and Eli Howard pushed the Sun Devils back to their 17-yard line, bringing up 4th and 30. Wilkins tried a deep pass to Harry, but it was incomplete and Arizona State turned the ball over on downs, giving the Red Raiders a 52–45 victory.


Houston

Texas Tech closed non–conference play against instate and former
Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...
rival Houston. Houston received the opening kickoff with their first drive ending in a
Kyle Allen Kyle Allen may refer to: * Kyle Allen (American football) * Kyle Allen (actor), American actor and ballet dancer See also * Allen (surname) {{human name disambiguation ...
pass being intercepted by
Dakota Allen Dakota Devon Allen (born November 2, 1995) is an American former professional football linebacker who played four seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. He also played junior co ...
. Texas Tech scored 3 off of the turnover with Michael Ewton making a 32-yard field goal to give the Red Raiders a 3–0 lead. The Cougars committed a total of 5 turnovers in the game while the Red Raiders only had 1. In a defensive battle, Texas Tech beat Houston 27–24, improving to 3–0 for the first time since 2013. With the victory, the Red Raiders ended the Cougars' 16-game home winning streak.


Oklahoma State

Texas Tech received the opening kickoff, but the drive ended in a Dominic Panazzolo punt from the Red Raiders' 33-yard line. Oklahoma State started at their own 37-yard line before scoring on a 14-yard pass from Mason Rudolph to James Washington to take a 7–0 lead. The Red Raiders punted once again on their next possession with the Cowboys starting at their own 30-yard line. Oklahoma State made it all the way to the Texas Tech 19-yard line before a Rudolph pass was intercepted by DaMarcus Fields and returned 95-yard for a touchdown to tie the game 7–7. Receiving the ball back, the Cowboys made it all the way to the Red Raiders' 5-yard line before the drive stalled out. Matt Ammendola tried for a 22-yard field goal, but the kick failed after hitting the right upright. Following the missed field goal, Texas Tech scored their first offensive touchdown of the game on a 3-yard pass from Nic Schimonek to
Dylan Cantrell Dylan Cantrell (born June 29, 1994) is an American former professional football tight end. He played college football at Texas Tech and was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers as a wide receiver in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL draft. Colleg ...
. The Cowboys scored a touchdown on their next two possessions to lead 21–14 with 3:49 left in the half. To end the first half, Michael Barden made a 24-yard field goal as time expired.


Kansas

The Red Raiders scored 2 touchdowns in the 1st quarter after the Jayhawks failed to convert on 4th down. During the 3rd quarter, Texas Tech kicker Michael Barden missed his first field goal of the season on a 44-yard attempt.


West Virginia

The Red Raiders entered the game ranked at #24 in the AP Poll, their first ranking since week 11 of the 2013 season. Texas Tech kicker Michael Barden missed 3 field goals during the game: from 43, 23, and 37 yards.


Iowa State

The kicking problems continued for Texas Tech with the Red Raiders using 3 different kickers throughout the game. Michael Ewton missed an extra point; Matthew Cluck missed a 35-yard field goal; and Michael Barden made an extra point.


Oklahoma


Kansas State


Baylor

Texas Tech received the opening kickoff, with receiver
Keke Coutee Key'vantanie "Keke" Coutee (born January 14, 1997) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver. He played college football at Texas Tech Red Raiders football, Texas Tech and has played in the National Football League (N ...
returning it 92 yards for a touchdown. Baylor responded on the next drive with Charlie Brewer finding Gavin Holmes for a 4-yard touchdown pass. On the ensuing kickoff, Quentin Yontz returned Jay Sedwick's kick for 22 yards to the Texas Tech 47-yard line. The Red Raiders ended the drive on a 1-yard touchdown run from Tre King. The two teams traded punts on their next drives. After the Texas Tech punt, Baylor started at their own 35-yard line. The Bears made it to the Texas Tech 9-yard line when Brewer fumbled the ball with
Dakota Allen Dakota Devon Allen (born November 2, 1995) is an American former professional football linebacker who played four seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. He also played junior co ...
recovering it for the Red Raiders. Texas Tech scored a touchdown following the Baylor fumble on a 5-yard pass from Nic Shimonek to T. J. Vasher. Baylor turned the ball over on downs on their next possession at the Texas Tech 1-yard line. The Red Raiders only made it to their own 31-yard line before having to punt. The Bears made it back to the redzone, but Brewer's pass was intercepted in the endzone by Vaughnte Dorsey. Texas Tech took a knee to end the first half with a 21–7 lead. Baylor received the second half kickoff before going
three-and-out A down in gridiron football is an attempt by the offensive team to run a play to advance the ball, while the defending team simultaneously attempts to halt their advance. The down is a distinguishing characteristic of the game compared to oth ...
and punted from their own 29-yard line. Texas Tech made it to the Baylor 1-yard line before Tre King fumbled with the ball being recovered by Jordan Williams for Baylor. The Bears turned the ball over on the next drive when Brewer was sacked at the Baylor 35-yard line and fumbled the ball; Mychealon Thomas recovered the ball at the Baylor 21-yard line. The Red Raiders scored 3 points off of the turnover with a 39-yard field goal from Clayton Hatfield. Baylor scored a touchdown on their next drive with a 6-yard pass from Brewer to Pooh Stricklin. On the following kickoff, the Bears attempted an
onside kick In gridiron football, an onside kick is a kickoff (under American and Canadian rules) or punt (under Canadian rules only) deliberately kicked short in an attempt by the kicking team to regain possession of the ball. This is in contrast with a t ...
that was recovered by Texas Tech at the Baylor 47-yard line. The Red Raiders started the drive at the Baylor 32-yard line after a catching interference penalty against Baylor. Texas Tech scored quickly with Shimonek throwing a 30-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Batson. Baylor started their next drive at their own 25-yard line. The Bears made it to the Texas Tech 40-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs after Brewer threw 4 incomplete passes in a row. Baylor attempted their first field goal attempt midway through the 4th quarter with Connor Martin making a 34-yard field goal. The Bears fumbled for a third time in the 4th quarter, with David Coleman III recovering it for the Red Raiders and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown. Following the fumble touchdown, Baylor answered back on their next drive with a 3-yard pass from Brewer to Denzel Mims. The Bears attempted another onside kick, with the Red Raiders recovering it at their own 49-yard line. Texas Tech ran the ball to end the game with a 38–24 victory. The Red Raiders extended their win streak against the Bears to 2 games and snapped a four-game losing streak on the season. Texas Tech scored 17 points off of turnovers and forced four turnovers: one interception and three fumbles.


TCU

The Red Raiders' only score of the game came during the first quarter on a 22-yard field goal from Clayton Hatfield. The drive went on for 21 plays, the longest drive of the season in all of college football by snap count. Hatfield later missed a 20-yard field goal that went nowhere near the goal post, going far wide left. The Saddle Trophy was re-introduced for the rivalry after being absent for 46 years.


Texas

McLane Carter started at quarterback for the Red Raiders. Carter went 11/16 for 175 yards in the 1st quarter, but only completed one pass in the 2nd quarter. Carter was pulled in the 4th quarter, finishing 16/37 for 237 yards with 2 interceptions and one rushing touchdown. Nic Shimonek came in at quarterback with his first pass going 52 yards to
Keke Coutee Key'vantanie "Keke" Coutee (born January 14, 1997) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver. He played college football at Texas Tech Red Raiders football, Texas Tech and has played in the National Football League (N ...
. Shimonek's second pass was a 13-yard touchdown reception to T. J. Vasher. Shimonek finished 4/8 for 96 yards with 2 touchdowns. After trailing 10–20 at halftime, the Red Raiders staged a comeback for a 27–23 victory over the Longhorns.


South Florida (Birmingham Bowl)


Statistics


Scoring

;Scores against all opponents ;Scores against the Big 12


Offense


Special teams


Weekly awards

* Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Player of the Week :Nic Shimonek (week 3 vs. Arizona State) * Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week :
Dakota Allen Dakota Devon Allen (born November 2, 1995) is an American former professional football linebacker who played four seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. He also played junior co ...
(week 4 vs. Houston) * Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week :Ja'Deion High (week 3 vs. Arizona State) * Big 12 Newcomer of the Week : DaMarcus Fields (week 5 vs. Oklahoma State) :Desmond Nisby (week 6 vs. Kansas)


Rankings


References

{{Texas Tech Red Raiders football navbox
Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...
Texas Tech Red Raiders football seasons
Texas Tech Red Raiders football The Texas Tech Red Raiders football program is a college football team that represents Texas Tech University (variously "TTU"). The Red Raiders competes as a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (for ...