Hear the assessment from Red Raiders offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich after an inconsistent effort in the season opener.
LUBBOCK -- Texas Tech offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich was the subject of frustration from an always-passionate fan base online after the No. 12-ranked Red Raiders took down Abilene Christian 33-10 in less dominant fashion than the pregame expectation.
Leftwich's unit moved the ball successfully for much of the game, which is commendable with a new full-time quarterback who is returning from knee surgery. However, the red zone yielded Texas Tech's offense to inconsistency, which was a storyline of Leftwich's first season in Lubbock a year ago.
"We've got to execute better and we got to have a better plan on first and second down,” Leftwich said at Monday's Week 2 press conference.
"Going into it, the whole focus was trying to stay out of third-and-long, and the drives that we weren’t successful down there, you look at it, it was third-and-12, third-and-12, third-and-13 and third-and-14."
The Red Raiders were able to come away with points, nonetheless, with kicker Stone Harrington making four field goals. Those scoring opportunities remained a "frustrating" phase of the game for head coach Joey McGuire.
Quarterback Will Hammond showed a slight hesitancy to take off and run on that knee, which explains his interception at the five-yard line that was forced into a tight window when a first down on the ground was there for the taking.
Leftwich, too, explained his moments of uncertainty with the play sheet, especially inside the 20.
"There were two plays for sure where I maybe called something that I was trying to hit a big play and got a little aggressive there for sure," Leftwich said. "So just doing stuff we’re good at and letting our guys go execute and have easy answers on the play is kind of what we’ve talked about doing."
The Red Raiders travel to Oregon State for their first road game of the season. Against better competition and in an unfamiliar environment, ironing out the offensive game plan and in-game communication will be vital.
"The consistency of us throwing and catching the football, especially when the space gets down tight inside the 10-yard line, is something we’ll definitely focus on and keep trying to get better at," Leftwich pinpointed.
Aside from the stalled red-zone offense, Tech fans grew agitated with the conservative play-calling in a game where there was every opportunity to go for aggressive downfield shots early.
"I thought their defensive coordinator did a really good job playing deep coverage all game," Hammond said of ACU's defense. "Their scheme, their game plan was just make us dink and dunk down the field. We did exactly that. I think they keyed in certain plays that we were running. That's when they were able to get some stops on us."
The other side of that coin is that Tech didn't need to do much to move the ball. Why write in intricate cursive when scribbling in print will do? Going into the matchup with the Beavers, that could bode well for a Red Raiders offense that hasn't yet revealed its full repertoire.
"I thought we did a really good job of not showing a ton of the offense this week," Hammond added. "That was important for us as the season continues to go on. We didn't put much on tape scheme-wise, so I was happy about that. We were able to keep a lot in the bank."
Hammond's interception ended a stretch of 14 consecutive completions in the opener; it came just when Tech began to open up the offense a tad more than the run-heavy opening two series. Hammond ultimately completed 79 percent of his throws (26/33) and totaled nearly 300 yards, numbers that tell less of the inconsistency story.
"I thought he played really well," Leftwich said about his quarterback. "I was really encouraged by a lot of the things, and I thought one of the things, aside from the statistics and completion percentage and all those kind of things, I thought his demeanor was really good."
Hammond urges that the knee "felt great" in his debut since the late October injury last season as a fill-in starter. Leftwich also saw positive things in regard to his QB's mobility.
"I thought he did a great job of moving on from it and having a 'what’s next' mindset like we preach all the time," Leftwich said. "We had a little adversity in the game, and I thought he handled that well and was a really calming presence out there for all the guys."
When it comes to possible dual-threat usage, Tech could turn to Florida State transfer quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who got a couple snaps in the opener but didn't do more than hand the ball off.
Castellanos once ran for over 1,000 yards as a full-time starter at Boston College. He was signed to be an insurance buy behind Hammond, but his introduction into the offense in Week 1 could be a sign of more to come.
"It’s something we’re always looking at and seeing how we can use his legs and his experience really to add value to the offense," Leftwich said. ""He had more of a package the other night. A lot of it was in the low red zone, and a lot of times where we got stuck was not in the low red. But I do think the more and more he gets comfortable, we'll see him at different times of the game."
On the ground, Tech found success with three rushers getting more than 10 carries apiece and each totaling over 40 yards. Leftwich credited Tech's veteran offensive line for creating gaps for the trio of dynamic ball-carriers Cam Dickey, J'Koby Williams and Quinten Joyner.
"I thought they played with great effort and I thought they played with physicality," Leftwich said. "I think there’s, just as any week, a million little details of footwork and hat placement and hand placement, finishing, that turns some of those five-, six-yard runs into 10-, 12-yard runs and you have a little bit more of the explosive output that you’re used to seeing."
Does the young OC expect the adage of a team improving drastically in their second game to come into play here?
"I think it’s true, you always see the best teams make jumps from Week 1 to Week 2," Leftwich said.
"Us just getting better at some of the details we mentioned earlier, [but] I think our run game is going to be in a good spot.”
Texas Tech kicks off against Oregon State at 6:30 p.m. CT in Corvallis on Sep. 12.
