Red Raiders Prepare for OU, Big 12 Championship

Leach Coaching Team to Best Football Season in Texas Tech history

Nov 19, 2008

Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach has to get his team past Oklahoma and then get a win over Baylor.

Once the Red Raiders get into the Big 12 Championship, the road to Miami and the national championship seem like the perfect end for the unprecedented, thus far perfect season.

Leach, known as ESPN’s “mad scientist” behind Texas Tech football’s unprecedented rise to the No. 2 spot in Division 1 rankings, is staying focused despite the national championship talk that’s getting closer with each win and Heisman candidate Graham Harrell, his senior, three-year starting quarterback.

Under Leach, Harrell has 14,759 yards and 125 touchdowns to his credit. Statistics for the 2008 season, compiled by Texas Tech Athletics when the team was 10-0 and just finished with its second consecutive win over a Top 10 opponent, showed that the Red Raiders outscored their opponents by more than double – 47.9 to 22.2 points throughout the season.

The Raiders, who are frequently billed as the No. 1 passing offense in the nation, also are outrushing their opponents, gaining 1,410 yards and losing just 84 yards rushing; their 10 opponents up to Nov. 9 have racked up 1,331 yards rushing and have lost 257. Although Harrell’s offense attempts to run the ball less often, their attempts have turned into yards gained more often; the average run for Tech gained just more than five yards, while their opponents have averaged a 3.4-yard gain against the Red Raider defense, and Tech has twice as many touchdowns from rushing as do opponents.

But the biggest difference for the West Texas football team isn’t in the stats; it’s on the scoreboard: 56-20 against No. 9 Oklahoma State, 39-33 against No. 1 Texas, 63-21 at No. 19 Kansas. The Red Raiders have put 66 touchdowns on the board this season. They are one of five undefeated teams in the nation.

In week 12 of the BCS standings, Alabama and Texas Tech held onto their Nos. 1 and 2 rankings in every poll, with the implied result: hold onto the winning streak, and the two unbeaten teams will face off in Miami in January. Alabama has to hold onto its undefeated season against No. 4 Florida. Can the Raiders do it? The next challenge is No. 5 Oklahoma in Oklahoma; a win will put Texas Tech into the Big 12 championship, most likely against Missouri. And then, the Red Raiders will swarm Miami for the biggest of the biggest games this season.

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