Texas Tech's Stout Defensive Line Draws Praise From Big 12

LUBBOCK -- No. 8 Texas Tech is back to looking like the Red Raiders expected under head coach Joey McGuire after a colossal 53-25 victory over Arizona State this past Saturday.

One of the staples the program in recent years has been a stalwart defense that not only make its difficult to move the ball, but also has a knack for taking it out of opponent's hands.

That bruising unit gets its start at the line of scrimmage with a fearsome front that is headlined by Big 12 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year A.J. Holmes Jr. and is a nightmare for opposing offensive lineman to line up across from each week.

Following their latest dominant showing against the Sun Devils, the Big 12 took note of the Red Raiders up front and bestowed with the honor of the conference's Defensive Line of the Week award.

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It marks the first time this season that Texas Tech has claimed the title and is the fifth weekly award from the Big 12 to make it back to Lubbock, with kicker Stone Harrington adding on another this week as the Special Teams of the Week.

In the win over Arizona State, the Red Raiders' defensive line helped generate a whopping six sacks on both Sun Devils quarterbacks Cutter Boley and Mikey Keene that resulted in a 61 yards wiped out for their team.

Those six sacks were the most in a game by Texas Tech and the most in a Big 12 game overall this season.

The Red Raiders had not dropped an opposing passer that often since recording a jaw-dropping nine sacks on Kansas last year, which also happened on Homecoming.

Holmes Jr. claimed the sack crown with 1.5 takedowns, but a trio of Red Raiders on the line made their way to quarterback, as well.

That list includes fellow lineman Mateen Ibirogba and edge rushing pair Trey White and LaDamion Guyton.

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Outside of lighting up the stat sheet, the defensive line was exceptional at the mundane tasks that came alongside preventing any sort of momentum from sparking for the Sun Devils.

As a team, Texas Tech allowed Arizona State to rack up only 35 total yards rushing on 28 attempts for an average of just a yard per carry.

That complete shutdown of the ground game forced the Sun Devils to be one-dimensional for the majority of the afternoon and resulted in many of those aforementioned sacks in a full-circle display.

After another prime outing that proves that this year's defensive front is just as formidable, Texas Tech will look to impose its will once again on the road over Cincinnati this Saturday.