Red Raiders Limited 'Special' Ole Miss RB Quinshon Judkins in Texas Bowl Win
The Texas Tech Red Raiders allowed some big-time performances to star running backs this season, something that was somewhat forgotten after Wednesday's 42-25 win over the Ole Miss Rebels at the TaxAct Texas Bowl.
Clearly, there was a trend for a Texas Tech defense that allowed the fourth-most rushing yards in the conference (166.4)
But this trend hardly followed the Red Raiders during the convincing win over Ole Miss. Tech held Rebels freshman running back Quinshon Judkins, the SEC's leading rusher this season (1,567 yards), out of the end zone while limiting him to his third-lowest rushing total of 2022. He finished with 23 carries for 91 yards and two grabs for 16 yards.
"I thought our defense played really well stopping the run," Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said. "They're as good as anybody we faced. ... And that kid's really special."
The Rebels averaged the third-most rushing yards per game in the country this season (256.6), which trailed only the run-heavy offenses of Air Force and Army. The defensive performance by the Red Raiders was a bit of an outlier considering some of the star running backs that have run over Tech this season.
Before he lost a game-sealing fumble, the Red Raiders allowed Texas Longhorns running back Bijan Robinson to gash them with 16 carries for 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The next game, electric Kansas State Wildcats running back Deuce Vaughn had 23 carries for a season-high 170 yards.
And as Big 12 play continued, the opposing performances only got better.
Baylor Bears ball-carrier Richard Reese had 36 carries for 148 yards and a three scores in a 45-17 blowout over Tech. TCU Horned Frogs' Kendre Miller then had 21 rushes for 158 yards and a score against the Red Raiders before Kansas' Devin Neal had 190 yards on the ground in Lubbock a week later.
But despite what happened in the past, McGuire's defense focused on the present and came away with an impressive win to cap off what should certainly be considered a successful season in Lubbock.
"We just kept talking about getting the ball down, making them drive the field," McGuire said. "And we felt like we could capitalize on a mistake or us knocking the ball out. And the guys did a great job."
After having a 4-5 record through nine games, the Red Raiders pulled off four straight wins and now have tons of momentum headed into the offseason.
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