PREVIOUS COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF ENTRIES: 50 | 49 | 48 | 47 | 46 | 45 | 44 | 43 | 42
41 | 40 | 39 | 38 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 |
21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4
Texas Tech's 2016 football season will begin in exactly three days with a Sept. 3 kickoff against Stephen F. Austin.
Today, we continue our Countdown to Kickoff series with a notable way the number three relates to Red Raider football.
3: Cody Hodges, Baker Mayfield, Steven Sheffield and Davis Webb all finished their Texas Tech careers with three rushing touchdowns.
Texas Tech quarterbacks in the Air Raid era have always done most of their scoring damage through the air, but most of them accounted for a not-insignificant number of rushing touchdowns.
Patrick Mahomes rushed for 10 touchdowns in 2015 alone. Graham Harrell accounted for 12 touchdowns on the ground during his career, while B.J. Symons and Seth Doege both ran for six while wearing the Double T and Kliff Kingsbury logged five.
The most common rushing TD total? Three. Of the Red Raiders' 11 different starting quarterbacks during the Air Raid era, four finished their careers with three rushing scores.
Cody Hodges rushed for a score in 2005 wins against Florida International, Kansas and Texas A&M. Steven Sheffield ran for two touchdowns in a 2009 win over Nebraska - he sustained a foot injury in one of those attempts that limited him for the rest of that season - and another in a 2010 win against New Mexico. Baker Mayfield logged touchdowns on the ground against SMU, Kansas and Kansas State in 2013. Davis Webb ran for a score in a loss against Arkansas in 2014 and two more the following season against UTEP.
Tomorrow: 2 - We look at the pinnacle, so far, of Texas Tech's football history.
