TUESDAY, SEPT. 3, 2019 VOLUME 94 ■ ISSUE 3
LA VIDA
SPORTS
Recycling rubbish helps preserve Lubbock wildlife.
Begley returns after back-to-back injuries.
PG 3
OPINIONS
ONLINE
INDEX
Movies you might have missed in summer 2019.
Follow the DT on social media @DailyToreador for daily updates about Texas Tech news.
PG 4
ONLINE
PG 5
LA VIDA SPORTS OPINIONS CROSSWORD CLASSIFIEDS SUDOKU
3 5 4 3 5 2
FOOTBALL
Bowman picks up where he left off, leads FBS in passing yards By MAX HENGST Sports Editor
Texas Tech’s sophomore quarterback Alan Bowman topped the Football Bowl Subdivision as the passing leader after he led the Red Raiders to a 45-10 win over Montana State on Saturday. In Tech’s first game under head coach Matt Wells and his coaching staff, Bowman threw for 436 yards, completing 75.5 percent of his passes (40-53). “Alan (Bowman), I thought made some really good decisions tonight,” Wells said after Tech’s win against Montana State. “He had control over the clock, showed some calmness and a poise and I’m proud of him for that.” Although he leads the FBS in passing yards, Bowman only threw for two of Tech’s six touchdowns, but did not throw a single interception in the Red Raiders’ season-opener, according to Tech Athletics. “I think the first thing you look at is your touchdown-to-interception ratio will always be I think a key stat,” Wells said. “Completion percentage can be misleading at times because we’re going to throw a bunch of bubbles and screens. Your completion percentage on bubbles and screens should be 95 percent.” The only game that Bowman threw for more yards in a single game was last season when he threw for 605 yards to lead Tech to a 59-43 win against Houston, according to sports-reference. com. Last season, Bowman appeared in eight games and threw for 2,638 yards, averaging 329.75 passing yards per game. As Bowman threw for 605 yards against Houston, the quarterback set the program and Big 12 freshman passing record for singlegame passing yards, according to Tech Athletics. The previous record-holder also played for Tech as the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player, Patrick Mahomes, threw for 598 yards against Baylor. Bowman started in seven games in 2018 as he became the sixth true freshman in program history to earn the start at quarterback, according to Tech Athletics. The only other true freshmen to start as quarterback were Ron Reeves (1978), Aaron Keesee (1984), Baker Mayfield (2013), Davis Webb (2013) and Patrick Mahomes II (2014). Tech’s offensive coordinator Dave Yost uses
BOWMAN IS BACK Sophomore quarterback Alan Bowman rolls out of the pocket during the game against Montana State on Aug. 31 at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Red Raiders defeated the Bobcats, 45-10. CHASE SEABOLT/The Daily Toreador fewer plays that are quicker compared to Kevin Johns and Clay McGuire’s offense last year, Bowman said. “Less plays, I would say, quicker, less plays but there’s more each play is intricate,” Bowman said regarding Tech’s new offense. “So you can do more with each play but there’s less of them instead of just a lot of different plays, so that’s kind of the difference I would say. Same base stuff.” As Bowman leads the FBS in passing yards the first week of the season, he was the only Big 12 quarterback to rank in the top-10 as Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts recorded the second-most passing yards in the conference after throwing for 332 yards against Houston, according to ESPN. With Bowman’s 436 passing yards, Tech ranked third in the FBS in passing offense as just Temple and Washington State threw for more yards with 507 passing yards each, according to ESPN. Along with Bowman’s dominant passing game, the quarterback recorded seven rushing yards for a single rushing touchdown to grow Tech’s lead against Montana
CAMPUS
State, 45-10. “It’s always kind of a read down there,” Bowman said regarding his rushing touchdown. “But the defense normally kind of has a quarterback (spy) player and all game he was kind of more and more kind of biting down and biting down and then I just kind of took it and no one was there and ran a little too far. Probably could have walked in way sooner, but got in.” Bowman was named the starting quarterback for the 2019 season after making a full recovery last offseason after suffering two straight lung injuries his true freshman season. The quarterback encountered his first lung complication when one of his lungs partially collapsed in the Red Raiders’ game against West Virginia. Bowman was released from the hospital four days after the injury and was back on the field 21 days later to play Kansas. In his first game back from his injury, Bowman threw for the second-most yards of his collegiate career, throwing for 408 yards, leading the Red Raiders to a 46-36
win, according to sports-reference.com. Two games later, Bowman threw for 227 yards with a 80.8 percent completion rate before suffering his second lung injury of the season. Bowman was released from the hospital four nights later after his lung partially collapsed for the second time. As the Red Raiders were near the end of their season, Bowman did not play in another game of the 2018 season. Despite the unexpected end to his season, Bowman would have ranked fifth in the nation as he averaged 329.8 yard per game, but the freshman needed to play in one more game to be a part of the NCAA’s official rankings, according to Tech Athletics. Bowman also ranked second in the Big 12 in his passing yards per game while ranking fifth in the conference in passing yards, despite only appearing in eight of Tech’s 12 games. Bowman and the Red Raiders will continue their season at home as Tech will take on the University of Texas at El Paso at 7 p.m. on Saturday. @MaxHengstDT
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Tech promotes engagement of rural students Culver visits Lubbock, talks NBA future By ADÁN RUBIO News Editor
Whether it be the larger class sizes or the many educational opportunities, college can be intimidating for rural students for different reasons. At Texas Tech, efforts are
made to ensure these students get a worthwhile education. As a way to improve retention and engagement among rural students on campus, different departments at Tech work to provide multiple options for rural students to get involved.
The correlation between student engagement and retention of rural students is one factor people may consider when wanting to help rural students get the most out of their time at Tech.
SEE RURAL, PG. 2
By MAX HENGST Sports Editor
M i n n e s o t a Ti m b e rwolves’ guard Jarrett Culver visited Lubbock one last time before the 2019-20 NBA season to visit his family, the community and the Texas Tech basketball program on Friday. Culver represented Tech basketball over the last two
seasons, helping the Red Raiders make program history. In his two seasons at Tech, he earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons as the Red Raiders’ run ended in the Elite Eight in his freshman season. The following season, Culver was the star of the team, leading Tech to the national championship game for the first time in program history.
MCKENZIE GARZA/The Daily Toreador
The media gathered in the practice gym of the United Supermarkets Arena for a press conference with former Texas Tech star Jarrett Culver on Friday, Aug. 30, 2019. Culver was drafted with the sixth pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
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In his time at Tech, Culver averaged 14.9 points per game while averaging 5.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game as well, according to sports-reference.com. The guard was also drafted because of his effectiveness on both ends of the court as he averaged 1.3 steals and 0.6 blocks per game in his two seasons with the Red Raiders. Culver declared for the 2019 NBA Draft after a breakout sophomore year and was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the first round with the sixth pick, according to the NBA. The Suns traded the former Red Raider during the draft to the Timberwolves, making him teammates with Timberwolves’ stars Karl Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. “It’s been great interacting with (Towns and Wiggins),” Culver said. “They’re great people, great players, so I’m just making sure I learn from them. They’ve been there, they’ve been to that level, so making sure I learn everything I can. It’s going to be a great season.”
SEE CULVER, PG. 6