Arrow Beyond the Call - 2008 Texas vs Texas Tech
November, 24 2023
In Star Wars: A New Hope, Obi-Wan advised an eye shielded Luke Skywalker: “Your eyes could deceive you…stretch out with your feelings.” Luke, listening to his teacher, successfully deflected the training drone’s lasers with doubt coming from Han Solo. “I call it luck,” uttered Solo. “In my experience there’s no such thing as luck,” Obi-Wan replied.
College football is a tricky sport. Head coaches swear that good preparation and a game plan trounces luck. But what happens when all the prep goes out the window and your back is against the wall? A little bit of luck never hurts. That certainly was the case when Texas Tech hosted Texas during the 2008 season.
Red Raiders head coach Mike Leach recalled the sting of the team’s 59-43 loss against Texas in 2007. Coach Leach’s postgame press conference was filled with criticism and scorn towards the conference and its officiating crew. Leach speculated that the conference was scheming to put Texas in a BCS bowl to bump up numbers and revenue for the conference.
The history of the rivalry between the Red Raiders and Longhorns is one sided. Since their first meeting in 1928, Texas Tech had won only 14 times with their most recent win coming in 2002. Bitterness runs deep between the schools. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy said, “I can’t stand Tech. I wanted to beat Tech every time and I wanted them to beat them bad.” Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo described the Red Raiders as “a bunch of misfits that weren’t good enough to play at The University of Texas.”
Texas Tech embodied their name under Leach: Raiders. Swashbucklers if you will in Mike Leach terms. The team swooped in on opposing teams, barraging them with passes and overwhelming defenses. Their captain sailed the ball through skies to receivers who boarded and plundered the endzones. The 2008 Red Raiders returned nineteen starters from the previous season. This included the entire offensive line, quarterback Graham Harrell and star wide receiver Michael Crabtree. Harrell finished his ‘07 campaign with multiple NCAA records set by throwing for over 5,000 yards and 48 touchdowns. Michael Crabtree posted 1,962 receiving yards and 22 touchdown receptions in a Biletnikoff Award winning season.
Media coverage for the matchup did not view Texas Tech as underdogs, but as a formidable opponent that could soundly defeat top-ranked Texas. Leading up to the game against the Longhorns, No. 7 ranked Tech outscored their opponents 335-169.
The buildup of emotion was like a ticking bomb. Quite literally as a local television station broadcasted a live countdown for the game. ESPN College Gameday’s first visit to Lubbock sent the campus into a frenzy. Students were setting up tents in front of the stadium as early as five days ahead of the Saturday night kickoff. For one night in November, Lubbock, Texas was the epicenter of college football.
As the sky camera panned over a packed stadium ESPN commentator Brent Musburger announced, “You are looking live at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.” With the stage set and the country watching, the Masked Rider of Texas Tech led the Red Raiders onto the field.
Tech punted on their first series placing the Longhorns on the two-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage for the Longhorns, Tech nose tackle Colby Whitlock stuffed running back Chris Ogbonnaya in the endzone for a safety. The safety set the tone for the first half as Texas Tech asserted dominance with a 22-6 halftime lead. The Longhorn’s offense was stagnant, producing only 88 total yards.
Colt McCoy’s night was up and down. The Heisman hopeful threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns for the night but was also sacked four times. Usually poised, McCoy looked rattled from the opening possession. His jitters did not get better when he threw a potential game-breaking pick-six early in the third quarter.
“You talk about a stadium going crazy? That place was going ballistic,” McCoy said after the game. “Everyone was out of their seats; they were tearing the bleachers apart.”
A punt return touchdown from Texas wide receiver Jordan Shipley cut the score to 22-13. McCoy, now feeling a little confident, compartmentalized and went to work. Texas took advantage of a Tech three-and-out by scoring on the next drive with a 37-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Malcolm Williams. Texas failed the two-point conversion leaving the score 29-19.
A blocked Tech field goal in the fourth quarter gave Colt McCoy the opportunity he was looking for. Texas scored on a 91-yard touchdown reception after a Malcolm Williams double move. The lead was now 29-26. For Texas Tech, the offense sputtered in the second half. Now deep in the fourth quarter, the Red Raiders were having trouble putting away the Longhorns, only kicking a field goal after the Texas score.
Texas finally managed to claw its way back from the abyss as they proceeded to score on an 80-yard drive capped off by a Vondrell McGee touchdown run. The drive left 1:29 in the game. Tech’s game plan has unraveled. Got any of that luck?
Tech quarterback Graham Harrell thought he had plenty of time left. “All we gotta do is run our offense down the field and go win this game,” he told the team. The drive started off well; four great passes moved the ball to the Texas 28-yard line. A tipped ball looked like it was caught by Texas defensive back Blake Gideon, but the replay review showed that the ball bounced off the turf and was never secured giving the Red Raiders one more play.
Harrell took the snap out of the shotgun formation and rifled a pass towards Michael Crabtree with two defenders in his immediate vicinity. One defender was literally hanging off the jersey of the receiver. The electrifying Crabtree shook off the defender and raced down the sideline.
“CRABTREE! PULLS FREE! TOUCHDOWN RED RAIDERS!” called Brent Musburger. Texas Tech took the lead! The clock still showed one second left in the game as Tech fans began swarming the field as if the game was finished. Texas Tech was penalized twice for the initial field storming and another when the referees confirmed the score. With one second left, all Tech had to do is kick the ball and tackle the carrier, but they had to kick from their own seven-yard line.
The squib kick was fielded and after a few laterals the ball carrier was down and for the final time the fans poured onto the field. 39-33, Texas Tech.
A loss to Oklahoma in the following weeks knocked Tech out conference championship contention. The Red Raiders finished the season with an 11-2 record after a loss in the Cotton Bowl. Although the season did not end on a high note, the memory of the Crabtree game is forever etched in the minds of Tech fans.
In Star Wars: A New Hope, Obi-Wan advised an eye shielded Luke Skywalker: “Your eyes could deceive you…stretch out with your feelings.” Luke, listening to his teacher, successfully deflected the training drone’s lasers with doubt coming from Han Solo. “I call it luck,” uttered Solo. “In my experience there’s no such thing as luck,” Obi-Wan replied.
College football is a tricky sport. Head coaches swear that good preparation and a game plan trounces luck. But what happens when all the prep goes out the window and your back is against the wall? A little bit of luck never hurts. That certainly was the case when Texas Tech hosted Texas during the 2008 season.
Red Raiders head coach Mike Leach recalled the sting of the team’s 59-43 loss against Texas in 2007. Coach Leach’s postgame press conference was filled with criticism and scorn towards the conference and its officiating crew. Leach speculated that the conference was scheming to put Texas in a BCS bowl to bump up numbers and revenue for the conference.
The history of the rivalry between the Red Raiders and Longhorns is one sided. Since their first meeting in 1928, Texas Tech had won only 14 times with their most recent win coming in 2002. Bitterness runs deep between the schools. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy said, “I can’t stand Tech. I wanted to beat Tech every time and I wanted them to beat them bad.” Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo described the Red Raiders as “a bunch of misfits that weren’t good enough to play at The University of Texas.”
Texas Tech embodied their name under Leach: Raiders. Swashbucklers if you will in Mike Leach terms. The team swooped in on opposing teams, barraging them with passes and overwhelming defenses. Their captain sailed the ball through skies to receivers who boarded and plundered the endzones. The 2008 Red Raiders returned nineteen starters from the previous season. This included the entire offensive line, quarterback Graham Harrell and star wide receiver Michael Crabtree. Harrell finished his ‘07 campaign with multiple NCAA records set by throwing for over 5,000 yards and 48 touchdowns. Michael Crabtree posted 1,962 receiving yards and 22 touchdown receptions in a Biletnikoff Award winning season.
Media coverage for the matchup did not view Texas Tech as underdogs, but as a formidable opponent that could soundly defeat top-ranked Texas. Leading up to the game against the Longhorns, No. 7 ranked Tech outscored their opponents 335-169.
The buildup of emotion was like a ticking bomb. Quite literally as a local television station broadcasted a live countdown for the game. ESPN College Gameday’s first visit to Lubbock sent the campus into a frenzy. Students were setting up tents in front of the stadium as early as five days ahead of the Saturday night kickoff. For one night in November, Lubbock, Texas was the epicenter of college football.
As the sky camera panned over a packed stadium ESPN commentator Brent Musburger announced, “You are looking live at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.” With the stage set and the country watching, the Masked Rider of Texas Tech led the Red Raiders onto the field.
Tech punted on their first series placing the Longhorns on the two-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage for the Longhorns, Tech nose tackle Colby Whitlock stuffed running back Chris Ogbonnaya in the endzone for a safety. The safety set the tone for the first half as Texas Tech asserted dominance with a 22-6 halftime lead. The Longhorn’s offense was stagnant, producing only 88 total yards.
Colt McCoy’s night was up and down. The Heisman hopeful threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns for the night but was also sacked four times. Usually poised, McCoy looked rattled from the opening possession. His jitters did not get better when he threw a potential game-breaking pick-six early in the third quarter.
“You talk about a stadium going crazy? That place was going ballistic,” McCoy said after the game. “Everyone was out of their seats; they were tearing the bleachers apart.”
A punt return touchdown from Texas wide receiver Jordan Shipley cut the score to 22-13. McCoy, now feeling a little confident, compartmentalized and went to work. Texas took advantage of a Tech three-and-out by scoring on the next drive with a 37-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Malcolm Williams. Texas failed the two-point conversion leaving the score 29-19.
A blocked Tech field goal in the fourth quarter gave Colt McCoy the opportunity he was looking for. Texas scored on a 91-yard touchdown reception after a Malcolm Williams double move. The lead was now 29-26. For Texas Tech, the offense sputtered in the second half. Now deep in the fourth quarter, the Red Raiders were having trouble putting away the Longhorns, only kicking a field goal after the Texas score.
Texas finally managed to claw its way back from the abyss as they proceeded to score on an 80-yard drive capped off by a Vondrell McGee touchdown run. The drive left 1:29 in the game. Tech’s game plan has unraveled. Got any of that luck?
Tech quarterback Graham Harrell thought he had plenty of time left. “All we gotta do is run our offense down the field and go win this game,” he told the team. The drive started off well; four great passes moved the ball to the Texas 28-yard line. A tipped ball looked like it was caught by Texas defensive back Blake Gideon, but the replay review showed that the ball bounced off the turf and was never secured giving the Red Raiders one more play.
Harrell took the snap out of the shotgun formation and rifled a pass towards Michael Crabtree with two defenders in his immediate vicinity. One defender was literally hanging off the jersey of the receiver. The electrifying Crabtree shook off the defender and raced down the sideline.
“CRABTREE! PULLS FREE! TOUCHDOWN RED RAIDERS!” called Brent Musburger. Texas Tech took the lead! The clock still showed one second left in the game as Tech fans began swarming the field as if the game was finished. Texas Tech was penalized twice for the initial field storming and another when the referees confirmed the score. With one second left, all Tech had to do is kick the ball and tackle the carrier, but they had to kick from their own seven-yard line.
The squib kick was fielded and after a few laterals the ball carrier was down and for the final time the fans poured onto the field. 39-33, Texas Tech.
A loss to Oklahoma in the following weeks knocked Tech out conference championship contention. The Red Raiders finished the season with an 11-2 record after a loss in the Cotton Bowl. Although the season did not end on a high note, the memory of the Crabtree game is forever etched in the minds of Tech fans.