Clayton Tune struggled against Texas Tech in a big way. He threw four interceptions, was sacked four times, and looked completely rattled for much of the game. There’s no doubt he did some things well in the first half but he continues to make many of the same mistakes that have plagued him since 2018.
Tune does not get through his progressions fast enough which means he misses opportunities and risks negative plays with an underwhelming offensive line. I believe he’s better outside the pocket and, when given the opportunity to take off, he changes the way teams defend him. But letting him run happens only sporadically and when it does, it is typically early in the game. Then, Dana Holgorsen abandons it and defenses easily adjust.
In the Texas Tech game, Tune’s throws were hyper-focused on five yards or less. In all, 22 of his 27 completions (81.5%) were throws of five or fewer yards.
“He had some interceptions but completed a lot of passes and ran the offense,” Holgorsen said.
For accurate representation, we chart how far the ball travels in the air and not the ultimate distance of a play. HD means “hit defender” in the hands:
20 of his 38 attempts were from the right hash to that sideline while 15 of his 38 passes were from the right hash to the sideline within five yards of the line of scrimmage.
Clayton missed on four throws inside 5 yards: a drop on the very first play, a throw behind Kesean Carter in the 3rd quarter, and two INTs. One of the interceptions Tune threw bounced off of Trahan’s hands and right to a defender. That’s unlucky.
The third quarter might have been Tune’s worst-ever. In that period, he completed just three passes, all behind the line of scrimmage, took two sacks, and threw two INTs including a pick-six. Dana Holgorsen called that throw “inexcusable on every level possible.”
Besides the 4 interceptions, two first-half passes hit defenders right in the hands. If you eliminate the one that bounced off Trahan, that means 5 throws were “turnover-worthy.” If you also take away the ball that was thrown away, Tune had 5 turnover-worthy throws out of the remaining 36 passes (13.9%).
Going back to the bowl, Tune has taken eight sacks in the last two games and thrown 7 interceptions. That’s 17.9% of the time he wanted to pass (not counting drop-backs where he scrambled). Of the eight sacks, four came on drives that resulted in punts, three in INTs, and another was on a fourth-down play.
In the opener last year against Tulane, Tune was 10/19 (52.6%) on balls thrown 6+ yards downfield. Over the first three games last season, he went 37/59 (62.5%) on those throws.
Against Tech, Clayton was 5/11 (45.5%) on passes of 6+ yards. Four of his misses hit a defender in the hands or were intercepted. Tune also missed a wide-open Christian Trahan 25 yards downfield on a pitch-back trick play in the 3rd quarter. He did fine Nathaniel Dell for a 23 yard TD (the ball traveled 30 yards) and Seth Green for a nine-yard score (ball traveled 17 yards).
Dana Holgorsen came into the season expecting Tune to be better on “long” throws but it just did not happen against Tech.
“I could not be happier with where Clayton is at, at this point,” Dana said in mid-August. “He’s been dead-on for eight straight practices. He’s been great, he’s been consistent, he’s been a leader, he’s been accurate. “We’ve never completed more deep balls than we have up til this point.”
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