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Red Raiders 'Impressed" with Huskers
Tech survives "screwy slug fest" with strange fourth down play
by Evan Bland
October 11, 2008
LUBBOCK, Texas – Graham Harrell wasn’t even planning on making the pass that kept Texas Tech unbeaten.
With Nebraska and the Red Raiders knotted at 24 points apiece and only minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, No. 7 Texas Tech faced a fourth-and- four play from its own 36-yard line.
The quarterback led the offense back onto the field, fully intending to draw the Husker defense offside.
“I tried to, and we didn’t,” Harrell said. “But I guess the center felt like we did and he snaps it. It’s on him.”
Tech center Stephen Hamby hiked the ball to Harrell, who scanned his options before hitting wide receiver Michael Crabtree deep down the right sideline for a 47-yard gain.
Five plays later, the Red Raiders capitalized with a touchdown to take a seven-point lead with 3:45 to go in the final frame. They would eventually win 37-31 in an overtime thriller.
Texas Tech coach Mike Leach didn’t expect his quarterback would be passing in such a perilous situation.
“But not everybody viewed it that way,” Leach said. “(Harrell) and Crabtree stuck with it and made it work.”
In prevailing in overtime, Tech survived a game in which it possessed the ball for just 19:48, while the Huskers consumed more than 40 minutes of the game on offense. Leach called the disparity a “relatively useless stat,” but said he was disappointed Nebraska ran more plays (80-48) and collected more first downs (29-16) than his group.
The longtime coach said the game was among the strangest he’d ever been a part of, calling the duel a “screwy slugfest,” and just the latest in a series of wild games between the two teams.
“I haven’t been in one like this, where you have, on both teams, the highlights that you have and yet no real rhythm to either side,” Leach said.
Harrell said the game’s biggest oddity was the lengthy amount of time he spent on the sidelines.
“It sucked, but that’s the game plan a lot of teams have against us,” Harrell said. “And Nebraska, (Saturday,) played it better than anyone I’ve ever seen since I’ve been here.”
While the Red Raider defense was allowing a season high in points and passing yards (357,) Leach was happy his offensive group stayed focused enough to score points on five of six possessions following a game-opening punt.
“Offensively, we had huge chunks of yards but had to sit there for a long time,” Leach said. “I don’t know if somebody went over and told them jokes or had a video game. Nowadays there are buttons you can push 24 hours a day if you want to push buttons.”
The coach said he was “impressed” by Nebraska, adding that he didn’t feel his team came out flat by any means.
The Tech defense, which spent the majority of regulation on the field, forced the first turnover of the game when cornerback Jamar Wall intercepted a Nebraska pass in overtime.
Wall said he was following NU quarterback Joe Ganz as he rolled out to the right, then defended against a possible run.
Instead, Ganz’s attempt to throw the ball away ended up in Wall’s chest. After a brief bobble, the corner jumped out of bounds with the ball and Texas Tech’s perfect record intact.
Harrell said his squad was lucky to come away with the win.
But the Heisman Trophy candidate was still grinning from ear to ear after the Red Raiders’ third straight win over the Huskers.
“We got a lot of respect for those guys,” Harrell said. “They play harder than anyone in the country and they did a great job (Saturday.) Luckily for us, we came out on top.”
Red Raiders 'Impressed" with Huskers
Tech survives "screwy slug fest" with strange fourth down play
by Evan Bland
October 11, 2008
LUBBOCK, Texas – Graham Harrell wasn’t even planning on making the pass that kept Texas Tech unbeaten.
With Nebraska and the Red Raiders knotted at 24 points apiece and only minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, No. 7 Texas Tech faced a fourth-and- four play from its own 36-yard line.
The quarterback led the offense back onto the field, fully intending to draw the Husker defense offside.
“I tried to, and we didn’t,” Harrell said. “But I guess the center felt like we did and he snaps it. It’s on him.”
Tech center Stephen Hamby hiked the ball to Harrell, who scanned his options before hitting wide receiver Michael Crabtree deep down the right sideline for a 47-yard gain.
Five plays later, the Red Raiders capitalized with a touchdown to take a seven-point lead with 3:45 to go in the final frame. They would eventually win 37-31 in an overtime thriller.
Texas Tech coach Mike Leach didn’t expect his quarterback would be passing in such a perilous situation.
“But not everybody viewed it that way,” Leach said. “(Harrell) and Crabtree stuck with it and made it work.”
In prevailing in overtime, Tech survived a game in which it possessed the ball for just 19:48, while the Huskers consumed more than 40 minutes of the game on offense. Leach called the disparity a “relatively useless stat,” but said he was disappointed Nebraska ran more plays (80-48) and collected more first downs (29-16) than his group.
The longtime coach said the game was among the strangest he’d ever been a part of, calling the duel a “screwy slugfest,” and just the latest in a series of wild games between the two teams.
“I haven’t been in one like this, where you have, on both teams, the highlights that you have and yet no real rhythm to either side,” Leach said.
Harrell said the game’s biggest oddity was the lengthy amount of time he spent on the sidelines.
“It sucked, but that’s the game plan a lot of teams have against us,” Harrell said. “And Nebraska, (Saturday,) played it better than anyone I’ve ever seen since I’ve been here.”
While the Red Raider defense was allowing a season high in points and passing yards (357,) Leach was happy his offensive group stayed focused enough to score points on five of six possessions following a game-opening punt.
“Offensively, we had huge chunks of yards but had to sit there for a long time,” Leach said. “I don’t know if somebody went over and told them jokes or had a video game. Nowadays there are buttons you can push 24 hours a day if you want to push buttons.”
The coach said he was “impressed” by Nebraska, adding that he didn’t feel his team came out flat by any means.
The Tech defense, which spent the majority of regulation on the field, forced the first turnover of the game when cornerback Jamar Wall intercepted a Nebraska pass in overtime.
Wall said he was following NU quarterback Joe Ganz as he rolled out to the right, then defended against a possible run.
Instead, Ganz’s attempt to throw the ball away ended up in Wall’s chest. After a brief bobble, the corner jumped out of bounds with the ball and Texas Tech’s perfect record intact.
Harrell said his squad was lucky to come away with the win.
But the Heisman Trophy candidate was still grinning from ear to ear after the Red Raiders’ third straight win over the Huskers.
“We got a lot of respect for those guys,” Harrell said. “They play harder than anyone in the country and they did a great job (Saturday.) Luckily for us, we came out on top.”
