Texas Tech had everything stacked against it before its 41-38 upset victory against No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
NORMAN,Okla.– Texas Tech had everything stacked against it before its 41-38 upset victory against No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
The Red Raiders were reeling after a pair of close home losses to ranked foes. They had two injured defensive starters that were unable to make the trip. Tech was a 29-point underdog, playing a team that had won 39 consecutive home games – a streak that dates back to Sept. 3, 2005.
And, on the second play of the game, starting center Justin Keown limped off the field with a knee injury.
Yet the unranked Red Raiders still managed to earn a win – a convincing win – that damaged Oklahoma’s BCS National Championship hopes.
“We pulled it off,” quarterback Seth Doege said. “Everybody didn’t think we could. Nobody except the people that are associated with Texas Tech football had any faith in us winning this game.”
The Sooners became the highest-ranked opponent the Red Raiders have beaten on the road in the program’s history. Tech led by as much as 24, which was 10 points more than Oklahoma had trailed to any team at home since 2006.
Even coach Tommy Tuberville was in shock at what transpired.
“How does something like this happen?” he asked. “Especially after the last two games that we didn’t play very well and had a chance to win both of them.”
The Tech defense gave up just 50 yards in the second quarter and, during a stretch that spanned the second and third quarters, forced six consecutive three and outs.
The Red Raiders used that momentum to build a 31-7 lead that proved to be too much for the Sooners, who twice got within one score of the lead in the second half.
Oklahoma kicker Mike Hunnicutt missed a 28-yard field goal attempt – kicking the ball into the right upright – with 2:52 left in the fourth quarter that turned out to be the difference in the game.
Landry Jones connected on a 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end James Hanna with 1:10 remaining that brought the Sooners within three. But the onside kick that followed fell into the hands of Aaron Crawford, ending the game.
“They’re the No. 3 team in the nation, in some polls No. 1,” Tech free safety D.J. Johnson said. “And having not lost in 39 games, to come out here and get the job done, it just shows how much heart and how much fight we have.”
The opening kickoff was delayed 94 minutes by lightning, and the game – which was nationally televised on ABC -- didn’t end until 12:28 a.m.
The delay gave the Red Raiders an extra hour and a half to think about last year’s 45-7 drubbing at the hands of the Sooners, which junior wide receiver Alex Torres called an “embarrassing” loss.
Tuberville said the team had been thinking about that loss for quite some time.
“I talked about it all week with the guys,” Torres said, “how embarrassing it was, that sense of failure when we came out here and didn’t perform the way we knew we can. … We wanted to show everybody what kind of team we really do have. Like I’ve said before, we’re a real resilient team and we have a lot of fight in us.”
Torres was integral in building Tech’s large lead. The junior racked up 94 yards on four catches, three of which were touchdowns.
Two of the touchdowns came on perfectly executed tunnel screens in the first half. Doege found Torres for a 44-yard catch and run that put Tech up 7-0 little more than a minute into the game, then ran the exact same play midway through the second quarter for a 30-yard touchdown. That score put Tech up 21-7.
Offensive coordinator Neal Brown was right on the money calling the plays when he did, executing both when the Sooners’ defensive front blitzed.
“We got them in a down and distance where I felt like they would blitz,” Brown said. “And we caught them in two blitzes on both those big plays for touchdowns.”
Donnie Carona made both of his field goal attempts, connecting from 37 and 40 yards.
Doege finished with 441 passing yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Sooners entered the game with the 11th-ranked scoring defense in the nation and gave up more points than they had in their last three victories combined.
Tech, which ranked 111th in rush defense, surrendered a 55-yard run on Oklahoma’s first series. Then the Red Raiders gave up only 69 yards on the ground the rest of the way.
“They whipped us in every part of the game,”Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. “I told the players we were definitely outcoached and outplayed.”
It’s a signature victory for Tuberville, who in his second year at Tech was still trying to win over a divided fan base.
“It’s a huge game for recruiting and for national stature,” Tuberville said. “Obviously you don’t read too much about Texas Tech, haven’t seen too much on TV. I bet you see it the next few days.
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