One of the odd developments for the Texas Tech football team this season has been the my-turn/your-turn way the Red Raiders handle placement kicks.

Between them, Gino Garcia and Reese Burkhardt are 11 for 11 on field goals with Garcia making eight, Burkhardt three. They've not only not missed, but they'd probably have a decent percentage kicking at those eye-of-a-needle narrow Arena Football League goalposts. For five weeks, it's been one of the most mutually productive Red Raider arrangements since DuShetter, the Tim Tadlock baseball tandem that deployed Dylan Dusek as an opener and Ryan Shetter as the primary pitcher.

For context, Eastern Michigan's Jesus Gomez leads FBS kickers with 12 field goals made. Three other kickers have made 11, same as the Tech tandem.

Now raise your hand if you predicted Texas Tech would near the season's midpoint with more attempted field goals than fourth downs. You have to scroll down some these days to find the Red Raiders at a modest 3-for-10 when they go for it.

Related: Texas Tech football's Joey McGuire second-guesses himself over 4th-down gambles

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Texas Tech football's change of philosophy

Joey McGuire is backing off some on that thing that has divided Tech fans over his first 2-plus seasons, though perhaps more on account of game circumstance than a true change in belief system. In Big 12 wins over Arizona State and Cincinnati, Tech kickers went 3 for 3 on field goals — both weeks, first Garcia making one, then Burkhardt, then Garcia again. In both games, the last field goal came in the fourth quarter and extended one-possession games to two.

"It's a seven-point lead. Well, let's take the 10-point lead," McGuire said Monday. "Fourteen would be great. You might say, 'We're going for it right here or it's better to go for it,' but hey, let's kick the field goal to keep the 10-point lead. Keep playing off of that to where you're not getting to that one-score (margin)."

McGuire said he's also sent out punter Jack Burgess at times when he might have gone for it during his first two years. Previously, he's adhered closely to Championship Analytics Incorporated, which tailors game-situation recommendations to past percentages and opponents.

It's been the source of misconception among the skeptics. For instance, Championship Analytics isn't the product of a football nerd. Its director of coaching development is Rob Ash, who went 247-137-5 as a small-college head coach. Also, the information is updated each week and customized to the opponent. The down-and-distance recommendations to go for it against North Texas aren't the same as the down-and-distance recommendations to gamble against Ohio State.

How Texas Tech football still plays by 'the book'

The fact McGuire's been more risk-averse this season is not to say that he's burned "the book." Tech went for fourth-and-1 from its 44-yard line Saturday, and Cincinnati blew up a Tahj Brooks run play.

"It's still good," McGuire said of the relationship. "We still have the book. We've actually moved the book to the sideline (from the press box, where a staff member relayed numbers the past two seasons), and it's worked out the last two weeks because now I'm not talking over people on the headset. I can talk face to face."

He might stick more closely to the book on Saturday when Tech plays at Arizona (10 p.m., FOX). One of McGuire's takeaways from his offseason's self-study was for him and his staff to recognize and better adapt each Saturday to the kind of game they're in.

With Tech's 122nd-ranked scoring defense and Arizona's explosive pitch-and-catch combo of Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan, McGuire recognizes that punting and piling up field goals might not get it done in Tucson.

"If it turns into a scoring fest, we've got to take more chances," McGuire said, "to make sure we're scoring with them."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Is Joey McGuire truly changing approach to 4th downs? | Don Williams