Texas Tech Red Raiders Offensive Players to Watch vs. Ole Miss
HOUSTON, Tex. -- With the buzz of early signing day dying down, for now, it is time to preview the TaxAct Texas Bowl.
The Ole Miss Rebels have spent the last few weeks preparing to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Texas Bowl, their final game of the 2022 season.
The Rebels finished the regular season 8-4, and the Red Raiders finished 7-5. While Ole Miss had a brief quarterback competition at the beginning of the year between sophomores Luke Altmyer and Jaxson Dart, which ended with Dart winning the job, while Texas Tech had three quarterbacks operating under center throughout the season.
Sophomore Donovan Smith saw action in every game and led the Red Raiders in every passing category. Freshman Behren Morton played with Smith at the beginning of the year, and senior Tyler Shough paired up with Smith down the stretch. The Red Raiders are led by first-year coach Joey McGuire, who previously spent time as an associate head coach and linebackers coach with the Baylor Bears.
Ole Miss and Texas Tech have met six times since 1986, and the Rebels lead the series all-time with a 4-2 record. Their last meeting was in the 2018 season opener and the Rebels won 47-27.
Here is an overview of the Texas Tech offense Ole Miss will have to stop if it wants to secure its first victory in over a month. The Rebels and Red Raiders are set to kick off at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday in NRG Stadium.
2022 Offensive Leaders
Passing: QB Donovan Smith
2022 stats: 1,505 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 66.1 completion percentage, 133.9 QBR
Smith played in every regular season game but also split snaps between two backup quarterbacks. Freshman Behren Morton played with Smith at the beginning of the year and threw for 1,117 yards, seven touchdowns, and six interceptions. The third wheel was senior Tyler Shough, who recorded 1,062 passing yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions.
I'm predicting Smith to start the game for the Red Raiders, but you never know who they might throw in to try and switch things up.
Rushing: RB Sarodorick Thompson
2022 stats: 132 carries, 670 rushing yards, six touchdowns, averaged 5.1 yards per carry
Thompson led Texas Tech in rushing yards this fall with 670, but junior tailback Tahj Brooks recorded more carries (133) and rushing touchdowns (7). Together, the tandem totaled 1,271 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns.
At the quarterback position, Smith also proved to be a rushing threat out of the pocket. Smith finished with 116 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns in 12 games.
The Red Raiders have options in their rushing attack which will certainly factor into their matchup with Ole Miss. It will be interesting to see if the Rebels made any adjustments to their run defense over the break, which was porous at times during the regular season.
Receiving: WR Jerand Bradley
2022 stats: 43 receptions, 656 receiving yards, five touchdowns, averaged 15.3 yards per reception
Bradley, a massive 6-5, 215-pound freshman, led the Red Raiders in receiving yards (656) and touchdowns (5), but senior receiver Myles Price finished first in receptions with 48.
Bradley will be the guy to keep an eye on as he is easily one of if not, the biggest guys in the Texas Tech receiver room.
Overview
The Red Raiders finished their season with an overall balanced offensive attack, amassing 25 passing and rushing touchdowns. Texas Tech averaged 307.0 passing yards per game, 152.5 rushing yards per game, and 33.6 points per game.
While they do not blow you away in any category specifically, the Red Raiders have a solid offense full of athletic playmakers which should provide an interesting bowl matchup for an Ole Miss defense that surrendered 24.17 ppg this fall.
You can follow Ben King on Twitter at @BKing_2023.
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