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As is his custom, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach remained coy Monday about whether Taylor Potts or Steven Sheffield will start the remaining three games at quarterback for the Red Raiders.
Sheffield, who had surgery on Oct. 18 to repair a broken bone in his left foot, may test the foot in practice this week in hopes of playing in Saturday’s 7 p.m. game at No. 17 Oklahoma State.Leach wouldn’t offer any insight into Sheffield’s progress and maintained that whoever starts against OSU will be a game-time decision."We’ll see how it is comes [today]," Leach said, when asked about having Sheffield back at practice this week. "It always is good to have more options. The more the merrier." Others, though, have hinted that Sheffield might not be ready."I know Sheffield, his leg is still tentative," wide receiver Alex Torres said Monday. "I don’t know exactly the whole injury situation and what’s the deal with that, but right now I’m not too sure what [the starting quarterback spot is] going to look like."Potts started the first five games before suffering a concussion and being replaced by Sheffield. In his second start in a win at Nebraska, Sheffield injured his foot, and Potts was back as the starter during a 52-30 loss to Texas A&M on Oct. 24.Redshirt freshman Seth Doege started the next week against Kansas, but he was ineffective in the first half and Potts had a solid showing in the second half of a 42-21 victory over the Jayhawks.Cotton Bowl on the lineIf the Raiders win their final three games against Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Baylor, they will likely earn a return trip to the Cotton Bowl.It’s a goal that the Raiders are thinking about, but it’s not consuming them."It’s definitely in the back of our minds, but we can’t make that our primary focus," cornerback Jamar Wall said. "We can’t go out there wanting to win, we have to go out there competing to win."At the moment, OSU (7-2, 4-1 Big 12) has the inside track on the Cotton Bowl. But if Tech (6-3, 3-2) wins out, then the Raiders would have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Cowboys.But, as Wall insists, first things first."We can’t go to where we want to be unless we beat Oklahoma State," he said. "Then if we win that game we still can’t go where we want to be if we don’t beat Oklahoma and Baylor."We still have to take one game at a time, but knowing in the back of our minds where we could be if we just win these last three games [matters]."A hiccup by the Raiders down the stretch and they could wind up in the Holiday or Alamo Bowl.Tech readyThe Raiders are well-rested after coming of a bye week and should be able to hit the ground running."I wouldn’t complain had [the bye week] been a little bit earlier," Jamar Wall said. "But you can’t complain with a bye week, because you’ve got the whole week off to have bodies well rested for this last half of the season."We have no excuse now to come out and play our hardest these last three or four games."ONLINE: star-telegram.com/collegesDwain Price, 817-390-7760
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