The NY Fishwrap Needs A Proofreader! It's Baron Batch," Not Baron Butch!

Since 1967, this blogger has supported the Texas Technique Red Raiders (usually called "Faiders" in his e-mail about the team). The Red Raiders' win over the UT-Austin Longhorns was huge in the gridiron history of the school "on the dusty plains of West Texas." However, this big win is history, as they say, and the Raiders/Faiders next must play the Oklahoma State Cowboys (actually Aggies) whose main supporter is T-Bonehead Pickens. The football lore of Texas Technique contains numerous instances of a BIG WIN followed by a BIG LOSS to a lesser team. The lot of a Texas Technique fan is not for the faint of heart. If this is a (fair & balanced) struggle to save civilization as we know it, so be it.

[x NY Fishwrap]
No. 6 Texas Tech Upsets No. 1 Texas
By Thayer Evans

LUBBOCK, TX — For nine years, Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach has toiled here on the dusty plains of West Texas, often being regarded as a football madman directing a sideshow.

His team has been more known for its spread offense, which some consider gimmicky, and his eccentric personality has been celebrated in YouTube lore.

But with No. 6 Texas Tech’s 39-33 upset of top-ranked and previously undefeated Texas on Saturday night in front of a record crowd of 56,333 rowdy fans at Jones AT&T Stadium, Leach took his team from a novelty act in a remote college town to the center of the college football universe.

After falling behind, 33-32, for the first time with 1 minute 29 seconds remaining, Red Raiders quarterback Graham Harrell directed a 6-play, 62-yard drive to win the game on a 28-yard touchdown pass to double-covered wide receiver Michael Crabtree with one second left.

On the previous play, a pass by Harrell deflected off the hands of Texas Tech wide receiver Edward Britton and was dropped by Texas safety Blake Gideon.

“This game had a lot of ups and downs,” Leach said. “This is one where both sides have to literally coach every second.”

The victory is the biggest in Texas Tech history, its first over a top-ranked team, and puts the Red Raiders squarely in the midst of the national championship chase along with No. 2 Alabama (9-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) and No. 3 Penn State (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten). It also gives hope to teams like No. 4 Oklahoma (8-1, 4-1 Big 12), No. 7 Southern California (7-1, 5-1 Pacific-10), No. 5 Florida (7-1, 5-1 SEC) and No. 9 Oklahoma State (8-1, 4-1 Big 12).

More immediately, Texas Tech’s victory muddles the race in the Big 12 South division. And for the Red Raiders (9-0, 4-0 Big 12) to remain in contention, they will have to navigate two treacherous games, against Oklahoma State on Saturday and at Oklahoma on Nov. 22, before ending the regular season against Baylor. Leach said this victory would be fun for only a few more hours.

“Oklahoma State is now the biggest game in the history of this year,” Leach said.

Saturday’s game also shook up the Heisman Trophy race. Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy had been the clear front-runner, but he can now see Harrell and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow in the rearview mirror. McCoy was 20 of 34 for 294 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception, moving ahead of the former Texas quarterback Major Applewhite (8,353 yards) on Texas’ career passing list with 8,452 yards. Harrell was 36 of 53 for 474 with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions.

“He did a tremendous job of holding it together,” Leach said of Harrell, adding later, “I think after tonight if you don’t have Graham Harrell on your Heisman list, you probably should add him.”

Texas (8-1, 4-1 Big 12) had been trying to become the second team to beat four top 11 teams in a row; Notre Dame did it in 1943.

“There is a lot of football left to play, and we’ve got to move on,” McCoy said. “We’ve got to put this behind us.”

Leading by 22-6 at halftime, Texas Tech punted on its first possession of the second half and surrendered a 45-yard punt return for a touchdown by Texas wide receiver Jordan Shipley with 10:26 remaining in the third quarter.

But less than three minutes later, McCoy tried to find Shipley just beyond his own 20-yard line and had his pass intercepted. It was returned 18 yards by Texas Tech strong safety Daniel Charbonnet for a touchdown and a 29-13 advantage.

But Texas scored again near the end of the third quarter on a 37-yard touchdown pass by McCoy to wide receiver Malcolm Williams to pull to 29-19.

That was the start of Texas Tech’s near unraveling. The Longhorns blocked a 42-yard field-goal attempt by Matt Williams, who was asked to walk on to the team after winning a kicking contest at halftime of the Sept. 20 game against Massachusetts. On the next play, McCoy tossed a 91-yard touchdown pass to Williams to cut Texas Tech’s lead to 29-26 with 11:00 left.

But the Red Raiders remained calm on their next possession and capped a 13-play, 55-yard drive with a 42-yard field goal by Donnie Carona to extend their advantage to 32-26 with 5:45 remaining.

Texas answered right back on tailback Vondrell McGee’s 4-yard touchdown run for a 33-32 lead with 1:29 left, its lone lead of the night. But it would not last.

“I knew we had plenty of time,” Harrell said of the winning drive. “I knew we had the players to do it out there, so it’s a situation you look forward to.”

From the outset Saturday night, Texas struggled. On its first offensive play, from its 2-yard line, tailback Chris Ogbonnaya was tackled in the end zone for a safety, giving Texas Tech a 2-0 lead.

After Texas’ ensuing kick, Texas Tech scored on Williams’s 29-yard field goal with 6:47 left in the first quarter.

After a 60-yard Texas punt, Texas Tech took over at its 4 and meticulously drove 96 yards in 10 plays and scored on tailback Baron Butch’s 3-yard run for a 12-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Texas stalled again on its third possession, but pushed Texas Tech back to its 17-yard line with a 67-yard punt. That hardly slowed the Red Raiders.

Facing third-and-14 from Texas’ 32, Harrell held the ball for almost 10 seconds and retreated to near midfield before completing a 14-yard pass to crossing wide receiver Lyle Leong near the right sideline for a first down.

On the next play, he threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Eric Morris to extend Texas Tech’s lead to 19-0 with 9:39 remaining in the second quarter.

“It was just one of those nights where many things didn’t happen for us,” Texas Coach Mack Brown said.

Texas finally scored with 5:27 left in the second quarter on Hunter Lawrence’s 43-yard field goal, which was set up by the recovery of a Texas Tech fumble at the Red Raiders’ 29.

The teams traded field goals in the final 1:37 of the second quarter, leaving Texas Tech ahead by 22-6 at halftime.

Texas Tech is 9-0 for the first time since 1938 and has an 11-game winning streak. The Red Raiders snapped a five-game losing streak to Texas.

Texas Tech outgained Texas in total offense, 579-374. The Longhorns’ pass defense entered the game ranked 110th in the Football Bowl Subdivision and was allowing 265.5 passing yards a game. Crabtree had 10 receptions for 127 yards.

After his winning touchdown, in an atmosphere Leach described as being “kind of like a British soccer match,” Texas Tech fans ran onto the field three times prematurely before the game ended on Texas’ failed attempt to score on laterals on the kickoff return. A sign read, “OUR TIME OUR HOUSE.”

[Thayer Evans covers sports in the Southwest for The New York Times Houston Bureau.]

Copyright © 2008 The New York Times Company

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