Mike Leach will face a familiar foe on Saturday in Memphis—Tigers defensive coordinator Mike MacIntyre. Leach’s familiarity with MacIntyre was displayed in the Pac 12 when they played against each other every year in the conference’s North division as head coaches at Washington State and Colorado, respectively.
All in all, their teams have played five times—four between Wazzu and Colorado, in addition to a matchup between Texas Tech and Ole Miss in 2002, when MacIntyre was the Rebels’ defensive backs coach on David Cutcliffe’s staff.
With the two coaches squaring off once again in the Liberty Bowl, I decided to go back in time and see the statistical breakdowns of the past contests between Mike Leach and Mike MacIntyre.
2002: Texas Tech 42, Ole Miss 28
- Leach: Texas Tech head coach
- MacIntyre: Ole Miss DB coach
Texas Tech Offensive Stats - 309 total yards
- 270 passing yards
- Texas Tech QB Kliff Kingsbury: 25/38, 270 yards, 2 TD
Looking back at this game, it was wild. While Texas Tech scored 42 points, only 28 of them were scored on offense. The Red Raiders had a pick-six and a punt return touchdown, which made for the additional two scores.
While Texas Tech had a solid offensive showing, it paled in comparison to their averages for the remainder of the season. In 2002, TTU averaged 388.9 passing yards per game—over 100 yards more than their output against Ole Miss—and 38.4 points per game, which ranked 6th nationally. The Rebel defense was stout in 2002, giving up an average of 187.3 passing yards per game and 25.5 points per game (ranking 55th nationally).
All in all, it was a pretty solid defensive showing by MacIntyre’s DB unit and the Ole Miss defense, limiting Texas Tech under their eventual season averages. Nevertheless, Leach and the Red Raiders pulled away with the win.
2015: Washington State 27, Colorado 3
- Leach: Washington State head coach
- MacIntyre: Colorado head coach
Washington State Offensive Stats
- 481 total yards
- 332 passing yards
- 149 rushing yards
- Wazzu QB Luke Falk: 27/35, 199 yards, TD
- Wazzu QB Peyton Bender: 13/22, 133 yards, TD, INT
The Washington State offensive numbers in this game might’ve been better had it not been for the injury of quarterback Luke Falk midway through the contest. One of the notable factors in this game was Washington State’s rushing attack. The Cougars ran for 149 yards on 21 attempts, averaging 7.1 yards per rush. Running back Gerard Wicks totaled 123 yards on 13 carries for an average of 9.5 yards per rush.
Looking at the team averages, the 2015 Cougars averaged 389.2 passing yards per game and 31.5 points per game (48th nationally), in the general ballpark of how Wazzu performed against Colorado. Wazzu was able to exceed Colorado’s ultimate average of passing yards per game in 2015, 218.2 yards per game, by over 100 yards. However, the Buffaloes gave up 27.5 points per game (70th nationally) that season, which fell in line with the Cougars’ offensive showing.
Going back to the Washington State rushing attack, Colorado’s run defense in 2015 was nothing short of abysmal. The Buffaloes gave up an average of 198.7 rushing yards per game, which ranked 99th nationally. Mike Leach wasn’t afraid to exploit a poor rushing defense.
2016: #10 Colorado 38, #22 Washington State 24
- Leach: Washington State head coach
- MacIntyre: Colorado head coach
Washington State Offensive Stats
- 462 total yards
- 325 passing yards
- Wazzu QB Luke Falk: 26/53, 325 yards, 3 TD, INT
Looking at the stats for this one, there should be on number that stands out—Luke Falk’s completion percentage. Falk completed just 26 of his 53 passes for a completion percentage of 49.1%. The Cougars were forced into multiple 3rd and longs, dramatically limiting their offensive production.
The 2016 Washington State passing numbers fell in line with this game, as the Cougars ultimately averaged 362.5 passing yards per game. However, Wazzu’s season average of 38.2 points per gamer (18th nationally) was well above the Cougars’ scoring against Colorado. The Buffaloes had one of the nation’s better defenses in 2016, giving up an average of 193.1 passing yards per game (20th nationally), as well as giving up just 21.7 points per game (20th nationally).
Colorado’s defense simply outmatched Wazzu’s offense in that contest, and that unit was a massive factor in the Buffaloes’ winning 10 games in 2016.
2017: #15 Washington State 28, Colorado 0
- Leach: Washington State head coach
- MacIntyre: Colorado head coach
Washington State Offensive Stats
- 406 total yards
- 212 passing yards
- 194 rushing yards
- Wazzu QB Luke Falk: 17/34, 197 yards, 3 TD
In terms of looking at a typical Mike Leach offense, this game was an anomaly.Wazzu’s rushing attack was extremely productive, totaling 194 yards on 35 carries, just eight fewer rushing attempts than total passing attempts. The Cougars had two running backs, Jamal Morrow and James Williams, average 6.6 yards per carry. Colorado, once again, did a good job limiting Luke Falk’s completion percentage, but that wasn’t nearly enough to stop Washington State’s offense.
The Cougars’ dependence on the run game took away from the passing numbers, which ultimately averaged 366.8 yards per game. WSU’s points per game in 2017 were 30.3 (50th nationally), which is just slightly above the number against Colorado that year.
Similar to the aforementioned game in 2015, Leach wanted to exploit a terrible Colorado rush defense. The Buffaloes gave up an average of 208.3 rushing yards per game in 2017, which ranked 108th nationally. The Buffaloes ended up giving up an average of 28.2 points per game, the same number of points given up against Washington State.
2018: #10 Washington State 31, Colorado 7
- Leach: Washington State head coach
- MacIntyre: Colorado head coach
Washington State Offensive Stats
- 477 total yards
- 346 passing yards
- 131 rushing yards
- Wazzu QB Gardner Minshew: 35/58, 335 yards, 2 TD; 6 rushes, 26 yards, TD
Mike Leach’s best team during his time in Pullman decimated Colorado in what would be Mike MacIntyre’s last season leading the Buffaloes. Gardner Minshew had an extremely productive game, throwing for over 300 yards. This was the only game in which Leach’s offense scored at least 30 points in the five meetings between him and MacIntyre.
The Cougars’ offensive numbers fell pretty close to what they would eventually average—373.5 passing yards per game and 37.5 points per game (15th nationally). Colorado’s defensive averages fell short of their performance against Wazzu in 2018—233.8 passing yards per game and 27.2 points per game (70th nationally).
Final Averages - Leach vs. MacIntyre
- Leach offensive points (vs. MacIntyre): 27.6 points per game
- Leach passing yards (vs. MacIntyre): 297 yards per game
- Leach points (season averages): 35.2 points per game
- Leach passing yards (season averages): 376.2 yards per game
Looking at the final averages, despite his 1-4 record against Mike Leach, Mike MacIntyre has been able to limit Leach’s offenses to well below their season averages, in both points per game and passing yards per game. The scores of these losses indicate that the one missing link was a productive offense. In Colorado’s three losses to Washington State, the Buffaloes averaged 3.3 points per game.
Looking ahead to this Saturday, it’s a tale of two extremes. Mississippi State’s offense has struggled putting up points and being consistent, but Memphis’ pass defense ranks 128th nationally (390.5 yards per game), which is third-to-last in the FBS. It will be interesting to see how both the Bulldog offense and the Tiger defense perform, knowing these two coaches’ familiarity with each other that spans nearly 20 years.
