Texas Tech D-Line Won The Battle In The Trenches En Route To 5 Sacks Against Arizona

Texas Tech Defensive Coordinator Shiel Wood and his group set the tone up front, dominating the line of scrimmage in a 34-26 win over No. 22 Arizona.

The Red Raiders were coming off a stunning 37-24 loss to Cincinnati last weekend. The consensus is that nothing could go right for the Texas Tech offense; the defense was also optimal throughout the game.

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Cincinnati ran all over a defense that made a living stopping the run. 255 rushing yards for the Bearcats, including the first rushing touchdown scored against Tech this year.

Unfortunately for the Red Raiders, the next week was against arguably the most potent offense in the Big 12, and Texas Tech was the popular upset pick.

Nobody told that to Shiel Wood's defensive line.

On Saturday, we saw the Texas Tech defense that everyone expected to see this season. 

The Red Raiders were swarming all over the backfield and constantly putting pressure on Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita, forcing several errant throws, and sacking the senior five times.

This five-sack performance is the second-highest of the season for Texas Tech after their six-sack day against Arizona State on Oct. 17.

Sure, Fifita was able to scramble and make a couple big plays, including a 94-yard touchdown, but these plays were few and far between. 

Once Texas Tech moved to more of a containment look outside of the box, big plays were eliminated.

Six different Red Raiders were credited with sacks, which was a far cry from last week in Cincinnati, where Tech had two sacks altogether.

The Red Raiders now stand tied for ninth in the country in total sacks at 21, with On3 mid-season All-American DT AJ Holmes leading the way with 6.5.

When they weren't preventing Fifita from throwing the ball downfield, the d-line was preventing the Arizona run game from getting anywhere on the ground.

Arizona offensive coordinator (and former Texas Tech QB) Seth Doege was consistently giving the ball to his backs on first and second down throughout the game.

While Arizona did end the game with two rushing touchdowns, all of their trips into the red zone were because of the passing game.

The Wildcats finished the game with 12 total rushing yards on 30 carries. Lead back Kedrick Reescano had 18; however, Noah Fifita had -25 because of sacks, and Giovanni Richardson had -4, not being able to get through the Texas Tech front.

READ MORE: Texas Tech Benches Will Hammond, Turns to Tommy Castellanos

With Thomas Castellanos leading the offense to 34 points in the game, the Red Raider defense didn't need to have a pick-six to get the job done this week. 

The Red Raiders now look to next week's matchup against the West Virginia Mountaineers, another elite rushing team. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. CT in Lubbock.