Texas Football 2017: 3 Takeaways from loss to Texas Tech in Week 13

2. For both teams, the defense bailed out offensive struggles.

This game was much less of an offensive explosion than was expected. In fact, both teams were held under 30 points and that was not at all what many predicted going into the match up. For both the Red Raiders and the Longhorns, it was the defense that bailed out their offenses.

It seemed that every time Tech forced a turnover, Texas found a way to force them to once again punt the ball away. Tech found ways to keep the Texas offense off balance and unable to establish any successful stretches throughout the game. As a result, this game was also a lot closer than many expected.

For both the Longhorns and the Raiders, the defense will be important as they prepare for bowl games against teams outside of the Big 12. These are teams that tend to focus more on defense than the Big 12 does and as a result may be an issue for both the Raiders and the Longhorns. Regardless though, the defense for both teams were assuredly the most effective units for each squads in this one.