Red Raiders upset #1 ranked Longhorns

Texas Tech blew a 22-6 halftime lead as Texas mounted a furious second half comeback to lead 33-32 with just over a minute to play.  Then, in one of the wildest finishes of the 2008 football season, Red Raider QB Graham Harrell moved his team 62 yards in six plays before he found Michael Crabtree in the end zone for the game winning TD with 1 second to play.

The Red Raiders got off to a quick start running off 19 unanswered points to begin the game on two TDs, a FG and a safety.  The first half was a nightmare for the Longhorn offense as they could only muster two field goals against the stout Tech defense.

A Jordan Shipley 45 yard punt return shortly after halftime appeared to revive the Longhorn offense that brought the team back despite giving up a interception return for a TD midway through the third.  Colt McCoy threw for two TD passes before Vondrell McGee’s four yard run put the Longhorns up by a point with 1:29 to play.

That was all the time that Harrell needed against a Texas defense that has been porous all season.  Still, the game came down to a risky pass into double coverage that was snagged by All American wide receiver Crabtree for a 28 yard TD strike.   Texas was unable to hit the jackpot on the ensuing kickoff, and Texas Tech had beaten the #1 team in the country.

Despite the last second victory, the Red Raiders dominated the game statistically.  They amassed 31 first downs to Texas’ 18 and owned the time of possession battle by a substantial margin (36:53 to 23:07).  The Red Raiders gained 579 yards of total offense to the Longhorns’ 374, holding a 474 to 294 yard edge in the passing game.  Tech also won the rushing game, running for 105 yards to Texas’ 80.

Texas has home games against Baylor (11/15) and Texas A&M (11/27) and a road game at Kansas (11/15) remaining on their schedule.  Texas Tech, meanwhile, has a tougher road hosting #8 Oklahoma State next Saturday.  A bye week will follow before they travel to #6 Oklahoma on 11/22.  They’ll conclude their regular season on 11/29 hosting Baylor.