HuskerfaninOkieland Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 NE Statepaper 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.” Quote Link to comment
hskrfan4life Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 NE Statepaper 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.” They should be impressed cause we got our a$$es kicked by mizzou and we come back and regroup and take #7 Tech to the wire. Just wish we could of came on top, but i see the promise land in the distance Quote Link to comment
junior4949 Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 No offense, but what did you expect them to say after lowly NU takes #7 TT into OT? They're after ratings and rankings right now after #1, #3, and #4 go down. Quote Link to comment
General Blackshirt Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 I guess i didn't realize that they went 4-5 on scoring after that opening possesion. Not saying anything against our defense, but it didn't sound that bad while listening to the game. We need to cut down on that a bit. Quote Link to comment
skersfan Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 I understand what you are saying jr49, but I listened to the game on their station, XM radio. Leach spent a whole lot of time talking about how impressed he was with the coaching, the attitude and the amazement at how they fought. He did not say it, but you got the feeling they were expecting a very easy game after the Missouri loss. He rattled on and on about the team playing with heart and dedication. It really sounded sincere. Quote Link to comment
huskerfaninbuckeyehell Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Who cares what leach thinks in a few weeks his team will be at the bottom if not out of the top 25. Quote Link to comment
melscott62 Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Who cares what leach thinks in a few weeks his team will be at the bottom if not out of the top 25. he's a good coach, and I doubt they will be out of the top 25. I see them losing to texas, and ou, but thats about all. and its not like they cant beat those to either... they almost knocked of texas last year on the road, and did beat OU. of course the could also lose to KU or OSU. who knows...... but they should be in all of those games Quote Link to comment
robsker Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 No offense, but what did you expect them to say after lowly NU takes #7 TT into OT? They're after ratings and rankings right now after #1, #3, and #4 go down. I'd guess he could have said nothing. The comments seem earnest. That he said that we play harder than anyone in the country, while probably hyperbole, is still a great compliment. If Bo can elicit such effort out of his players, as the talent level ultimately goes up, the results on the filed will come. We'll be back --- probably not this year or even next, but the year after that NU should be a ranked team and competitive. Quote Link to comment
BIGREDIOWAN Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 You know I'm glad they are saying these things about us and that's fine, but what really irritates me is they run a 40 some yard play that wasn't even planned! They were trying to draw us offsides and we get smoked on that play. That hurts! Quote Link to comment
captain obvious Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Tech will lose 3 games this year. Quote Link to comment
huskerfaninbuckeyehell Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Tech will lose 3 games this year. maybe 4 Quote Link to comment
melscott62 Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Tech will lose 3 games this year. based on what? Quote Link to comment
huskerfaninbuckeyehell Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Tech will lose 3 games this year. based on what? Based on thier D is piss poor and yes they will score but they will play teams who will score more than NU did and be able to stop them 2 or 3 times where NU could not. Quote Link to comment
melscott62 Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Tech will lose 3 games this year. based on what? Based on thier D is piss poor and yes they will score but they will play teams who will score more than NU did and be able to stop them 2 or 3 times where NU could not. and who would that be? texas and ou... they beat ou last year and almost beat taxas at their place. those are certainly winnable games for them with that offense. okie state shut down MU , but their d has looked suspect in almost every other game. proclaiming that the are going to lose is nonsense. they are a good team and they have a good shot at winning every game they play. I dont think they will go undefeated, but I do think 2 losses is realistic Quote Link to comment
captain obvious Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Nope, they'll lose 3. Quote Link to comment
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