Red Raiders Lead Nation in Shutouts
November 12, 2000 | Football
Nov. 12, 2000
LUBBOCK, Texas - While the offense shined in Saturday's 58-0 Big 12 Conference win over Oklahoma State, the Red Raider defense became the only team in the nation to shutout three opponents this season.
Texas Tech has recorded shutouts over Louisiana-Lafayette (26-0), Baylor (28-0) and Oklahoma State (58-0), and held another opponent - North Texas - without an offensive score. The Red Raiders allowed a defensive touchdown on an interception return in a 13-7 win over UNT.
"I'm proud of the attitude and effort our guys have put forth this season," Tech Associate Head Coach and defensive coordinator Greg McMackin said. "This has been a great group to coach. The coaches and myself have enjoyed coaching them this year. They're a fun group to be around.
"The position coaches have done a great job preparing the players throughout the year," McMackin added. "The effort, attitude and concentration has been as good as I've been around during my career."
The three shutouts this season lead LSU and TCU, which have two shutouts each during the 2000 campaign. Texas Tech also set the Big 12 record in shutouts with its win over OSU. The last time a Texas Tech shutout three opponents came during the 1949 season when that squad turned away four opponents.
Anchoring one of the top defensive teams in the nation are four players with 100 or more tackles and a unit that has 19 sacks and 88 tackles for loss. The Red Raiders have picked off 13 passes, recovered 13 fumbles and deflected 70 passes. The pass defense has ranked among the top three in the nation throughout the season, while Texas Tech has ranked as high as No. 1 in both total defense and scoring defense.
Individually, sophomore middle linebacker Lawrence Flugence (Klein, Texas) leads Texas Tech and the Big 12 with 129 tackles, which also ranks fourth nationally. He also has four sacks and 10 tackles for loss. Preseason All-American Kevin Curtis (Lubbock, Texas) is second on the team with 113 tackles. The junior strong safety has made his presence felt this season, not only in the secondary, but in the backfield as well. Curtis has 14 tackles for loss and two sacks. Against Oklahoma State, Curtis picked his second interception of the season for his first career touchdown.
In addition to Flugence and Curtis, senior linebacker Dorian Pitts (Lubbock, Texas) has 107 tackles, 15 for loss. Against Oklahoma State, Pitts dropped five Cowboys for lost yardage and sacked the OSU signal caller twice. Senior defensive back Mark Washington (Sweeny, Texas) is fourth on the team with 106 tackles. He has one interception this season and a fumble recovery.
The Red Raider defense has provided a little offense this season as well. The unit has scored three touchdowns, two on interception returns and one on a six-yard fumble return. Flugence added a special teams touchdown, returning a blocked field goal attempt 79 yards against Oklahoma State.