While it’s true that Texas Tech still has a long way to go to merely win its own division—which is by far the toughest in all of college football—Saturday night’s 39-33 high-wire act against the No. 1 Longhorns is the kind of moment that temporarily transcends the standings, statistics, and season-ending awards shows. More will be said about Texas Tech’s future in the coming days and weeks. Saturday night, however, wasn’t about national titles, Heisman Trophies, or BCS bowls. This backyard brawl against a terrific Texas team offered Mike Leach’s Red Raiders a chance to win respect against a distinguished in-state opponent. The hoedown with Mack Brown and company gave an off-the-radar program a chance to become the best by beating the best, in a high-stakes gridiron version of Texas Hold ‘Em. Nothing more, nothing less.
When the smoke finally cleared after this epic duel, here’s what mattered for the lads of Lubbock: Every member of the victorious Tech sideline—coaches, players, and even trainers and waterboys—had participated in a night so magical that it will likely eclipse anything else they’ll ever see or do on a football field. Texas Tech will worry about Oklahoma State in a few days. For now, though, this titanic triumph—achieved in the most heartstopping fashion imaginable—ranks as the kind of achievement that will be passed on to children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren in the coming decades. A win literally achieved in the last second of play—on a Graham Harrell pass that found the smallest of windows, and then Michael Crabtree’s unfailing hands—has already been etched into eternity in Lubbock, and everywhere else where hearts beat and bleed for the Red Raiders.
College football connoisseurs knew the basic story before this big-time battle began: Texas Tech, the newbie to a prime-time November spotlight, would determine the outcome of this game. Texas, loaded with a bunch of big-league wins, did not figure to fold the tent under pressure, and that’s exactly what happened on this seminal Saturday night in the Southwest.
The Longhorns defended their top spot in the rankings with honor and courage, persevering despite seeing many of their teammates drop like flies. Even while prime-time performers such as Brian Orakpo and Quan Cosby got dinged up during this donnybrook, other Horns heroically picked up the slack, mustering all their mental resources in a valiant attempt to stave off defeat. Down 29-13 midway through the third quarter, and constantly on the edge of disaster throughout the second half, Texas summoned up an uncommon amount of willpower—far beyond what normal 20-year-olds ought to possess—to chip away at the Red Raiders’ advantage. A team with injuries at numerous positions dug in with determination, finding a way to make the kinds of plays that had proved elusive for most of the evening.
Stifled for a solid two and a half quarters by Tech’s inspired defense, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy—as if on cue—found huge downfield pass plays precisely when his team needed them. In a heartbeat, that 16-point deficit turned into a 29-26 nailbiter. On the other side of the ball, the Longhorns’ young secondary held tough on two straight Tech drives that penetrated the red zone. By allowing only three points on two sustained marches from an offense it never really stopped, the Longhorns’ defense gave McCoy a chance to steal a win on the road.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, the comeback quarterback came through in crunch time, leading Texas to a go-ahead score with just 1:29 remaining. Destiny seemed to be colored Burnt Orange, and the visitors from Austin stood on the precipice of one of the more improbable victories in the storied history of Longhorn football. The same fourth-quarter forces that propelled Texas past Oklahoma a month ago were alive again in Lubbock, and it was going to take a special display of composure for Tech—its heart wounded by McCoy’s mesmerizing and mythical masterpiece—to wrest this sprawling and spine-tingling sporting event away from the Longhorns’ grasp.
In a sport known for surprises, the biggest shock of all was going to be the No. 1 team’s ability to escape from the almost-certain death it faced late in the third quarter. Tech’s defense—ably coached by coordinator Ruffin McNeill—scored nine points of its own, and won the battle of the trenches for most of the night, but with just 89 ticks left on the clock at Jones AT&T Stadium, the Longhorns—by hook and not by crook—had attained a one-point advantage that, if sustained, would very likely carry them to the BCS Championship Game in Miami.
So it was, then, that Graham Harrell, the unflappable signal caller who had so consistently carved up the Longhorns’ secondary, had to bear the burden of trailing despite having thrown for 412 yards up to that point, and without an interception. So good for so long, and always in front on the scoreboard, Mike Leach’s main man under center now had to sweat bullets, with the biggest game in Texas Tech history on the verge of slipping away. Pigskin pundits wondered if Harrell could handle the heat—from Texas’s defensive line, but also the pressure of this super-sized situation. In the final minute and a half of this awesome encounter, Harrell faced the biggest drive of his very young life.
Looking into a gun’s barrel, Harrell decided to become a hero who will be remembered in Lubbock for generations.
Colt McCoy’s counterpart calmly and coolly led his teammates to the Texas 27 in roughly one minute, entering field goal range and giving his team a chance to win with a kick. But since Mike Leach’s distaste for field goals is well known throughout the sport, Harrell decided to end the game with one of his passes. And while that’s exactly what transpired in the final frantic seconds, the Red Raiders almost lost because of a pass that didn’t turn out the way Harrell planned.
With eight seconds left, an accurate aerial from Harrell bounced off the hands of Tech receiver Edward Britton at the Texas 20, but the tipped ball somehow squirted through the paws of Longhorn safety Blake Gideon. Given new life, most folks in the ballpark expected a 12- to 15-yard toss that would set up a kick. Harrell and his reliable receiver had other plans.
Throwing the intentionally and slightly underthrown ball that’s become a staple of sophisticated modern-day passing attacks, Harrell found the tiny window available near the right shoulder of Texas cornerback Curtis Brown. Crabtree, running his route to perfection, caught the ball at the Texas 4 and stayed in bounds to take the ball into the end zone with a single solitary second pinned to the clock.
A double unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, caused by the wild celebration that ensued, forced Tech to kick off from its own seven-and-a-half yard line, but when the Red Raiders wisely squibbed the kick to prevent Texas from employing a fair catch to set up a Hail Mary, the kind of king-size conquest awaited for decades in Lubbock had finally become a royal reality. Texas Tech, by the smallest margin possible and against an opponent that actually enhanced its stature in defeat, had joined the ranks of the elite in college football. Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree received ample help from their teammates, but in the face of a sad and stomach-punching setback, they became the men who gave a new measure of manhood to Texas Tech football.
Titles and trophies, tiebreakers and TV—these and other aspects of the championship chase will be talked about in the Texas Tech locker room when the Red Raiders prepare for another top 10 opponent from Oklahoma State. Tonight—and after this season eventually ends—there will be only one moment that will linger in the souls of those who call Lubbock home, and who have cheered a team that has toiled long and hard in the shadows of college football, a forgotten land foreign to gridiron glory.
Yes, Texas Tech will surge to the top three in the national rankings with this win. In 2008, the Red Raiders could very well achieve greater things before it’s all said and done. But while one year could bring a haul of hardware to this long-suffering program, tonight’s win will last forever.
One season’s successes have their place in college football. An epic win over No. 1 Texas, achieved with one second left on the clock after a mighty comeback by the Longhorns and their legendary quarterback, deserves a much higher place in the pantheon. The locals in Lubbock will talk about this captivating contest as long as the sun rises to greet the day. The Texas Tech Red Raiders of 2008 have just written their names into the eternal book where the pages of time will never wear thin.
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