Texas Tech Football: Furious late rally comes up short against Texas

2. Undisciplined play falls on Kingsbury’s shoulders 

There’s no denying that Texas Tech, despite the 5-5 record, has shown improvement from a year ago. Enough improvement that Kliff Kingsbury should comfortably be off of the hot seat, particularly when you factor in all the extenuating circumstances that have plagued his team this season, particularly with injuries at the QB position.

Statistically, the defense still isn’t good, but it’s obvious to anyone watching that they’ve made major strides on that side of the ball, particularly in the trenches. They still have a ways to go in the secondary to be where they want to be, but the progress has been noteworthy.

What remains is that Texas Tech is still very undisciplined, consistently coming up with penalties and turnovers during inopportune moments. It plagued them two weeks ago in a loss to Iowa State, and it was their undoing against the Longhorns Saturday night.

The Red Raiders out-gained their rivals from Austin, but turned it over three times to Texas’ 0, and were flagged for 89 yards worth of penalties. On Texas’ first touchdown drive, Tech was flagged for a personal foul on a 3rd and 33, which kept the drive alive for Texas as they ultimately scored a touchdown later in the possession.

Undisciplined football ultimately comes down to the head football coach, and regardless of the improvement in Lubbock this season, Kingsbury deserves criticism for continued unforced errors that have plagued his tenure at his alma mater.