The bad old days of the Texas Tech defense remain painful for those who lived through it first hand.
Just two years ago, in 2016, Tech featured a first-round NFL quarterback in Patrick Mahomes making wondrous plays and still finished 5-7 and missed a bowl thanks to a defense that allowed nearly 555 yards a game, worst in the Big 12.
"When Pat was here," senior linebacker Dakota Allen said, "I know his back was hurting from carrying us."
Nowadays the defense isn't a burden to the offense. If not dominant, it was vastly improved in 2017, allowing 110 fewer yards and 11.