On January 22, 2008, Ruffin McNeill was hired as the team's defensive coordinator. He had held the position in an interim capacity since Lyle Setencich was reassigned during the previous season. After McNeill took over from Setencich, the Red Raiders' numbers for the 2007 season improved in all areas: rushing defense per game (198.1 to 157.1), passing defense per game (206.8 to 190.8), scoring defense per game (28.2 to 24.5), opponent first downs per game (22.5 to 19.9), and opponent third-down conversions per game (47.8% to 39.3%). For the McNeill-coached games, Tech's average yield of 347.9 yards was the lowest allowed in the Big 12 Conference, and the scoring defense was fourth-best in the conference for that time frame.Texas Tech Sports presented by The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
