The Texas Tech Red Raiders toppled the mighty Oklahoma Sooners late, real late, Saturday night by a final of 41-38. The team from Lubbock got their first win in Norman since 1996 and in the process, at least for the moment, have crushed the Sooners’ BCS Championship hopes. Plenty will be written about OU’s role in this upset as the Sooners started slow, were inept against the Red Raiders, proved themselves to be vulnerable in the secondary and have clear field goal kicking issues.
People are going to talk about Bob Stoops underachieving, about how this affects the Crimson and Cream’s BCS numbers and about the home winning streak being killed. The pundits will ask what was wrong with OU, tell us what Stoops should have done and question if the pressure of it all finally broke this preseason number one Sooners team. Basically this loss will be all about OU’s tumbling in the polls and how it affects the landscape leading into OU’s game against undefeated Kansas State and their future contest against current unbeaten Oklahoma State.
Not here. Not now. Early this morning as the game wrapped up following a near two hour rain delay it is still all about the gang from Lubbock. The team that ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while waiting for the weather to allow them a shot to get on the field and show what only those men in that locker room knew they could do. The team that stuck to their guns and; after losing 45-40 to Texas A&M and 41-34 to Kansas State, finally was able to finish the drill.
They’re the team that beat Oklahoma. Where Florida State, Mizzou and Texas had failed, this Red Raiders team prevailed. If you’re looking at the three point margin of victory or the total yardage differential of just 36 yards or the missed field goals are making a case for OU then you might want to do yourself a favor and watch the game. This was a thorough Texas Tech beating of the Sooners. It wasn’t a fluke defeat fueled by trick plays and turnovers for touchdowns. No, this game was a Red Raiders team working their plan and taking the fight straight to the Sooners, ultimately giving the nations #3 team more than they could handle.
Neal Brown, Chad Glasgow and yes, Tommy Tuberville get the gold stars here. It isn’t about handing down red marks to OU, this is all about a Texas Tech team that put together a beautiful gameplan and unlike so many teams across the nation, they stuck to that plan. Neal Brown’s offense attacked the weaknesses in the Sooners’ pass coverage, most notably back up corner Gabe Lynn while the Glasgow’s defense was aggressive in coverage and bottled up the run.
Sure Glasgow’s defense surrendered 536 yards on the game to the Sooners, but look closer than that people. 340 of those yards, 63% of them, came in the final quarter plus when Bob Stoops’ offense was in desperation mode and trying to claw back from a 31-7 deficit. In building that lead Texas Tech’s defense surrendered just 196 yards. This defense forced six punts on their way to giving up just seven first downs as the 31-7 gap was constructed. Five of those first downs for OU came on one drive, to keep it in perspective. In those nine drives while the Red Raiders offense was lighting up the OU defense, Glasgow’s unit had five drives where they gave up eight yards or less; including two drives where the high powered Oklahoma attack picked up zero yards.
The defense put this team in a position to be successful as the clock became their friend moving through the third quarter. Don’t let stats fool you because for two quarters and a few minutes this Texas Tech defense was as good as any in the nation. As the game wore on their bodies began to succumb to the strain placed upon them, giving areas of opportunity for Oklahoma, but the effort this squad showed must be acknowledged, they played one hell of a ball game.
On offense Neal Brown found a weakness and exploited it like you’re supposed to do. His team ripped and slashed at the vulnerable spots in the OU pass coverage. Quarterback Seth Doege found receiver, after receiver open down the field, the Red Raiders ran “four verts” like it was Hal freaking Mumme and Mike Leach back at Kentucky. The Tech offensive coordinator allowed Doege to pick his sports going horizontal then pushed the passes vertical to put real pressure on OU’s back end defenders.
And the kids on the edge responded to their chances. Alex Torres four catches for 94 yards and threetouchdowns. Eric Ward six catches for 78 yards. Adam James five catches for 75 yards. Marcus Kennard three catches for 75 yards. Cornelius Douglas six catches for 45 yards. Plus seven other guys with the football finding its way into their hands, including Seth Doege with an eleven yard reception for a first down on a throwback from Austin Zouzalik.
This wasn’t a huge game by one kid playing out of his mind. This was a collective effort where everyone got involved and did their job to push Texas Tech to victory. Torres and his three touchdowns were the game’s leading number for the Red Raiders but in the end, with everything on the line and team needing one more score to really put the icing on the cake it came down to senior Tramain Swindall, a kid without a catch all day. And just like the other Raiders receivers the senior just did his job, pulling in the fourteen yard touchdown pass, getting his foot down in the endzone and helping Tech finish the drill.
Sure, Oklahoma battled back, scored 17 unanswered points to get within a touchdown, then scored 14 more to get within a field goal after Tech pushed their lead to 41-24. Sure, the Sooners dominated the final quarter and a half, churning up yards and scoring points with their precision passing game. Sure, they made the final score close and missed a couple chip-shot field goals along the way.
But that’s not what this is about. This is about those men in the black helmets, white jerseys and black pants, they got the job done. This wasn’t a fluke. This was a team with a plan, with a belief and a coaching staff that stuck to their scheme all game. This wasn’t a game that Oklahoma lost. This is a game that Texas Tech won. 41-38. Guns Up!
