Game at a Glance: TTU 45, AM 25
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"I felt like Shannon (Woods) had done a lot of lifting to
get the ball down there. Given the fact that he worked his way down there, I
felt like he deserved a touchdown. My only regret is that Harrell snatched the
touchdown."
- Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach
It was truly a game of two halves for the Texas Tech defense.
Through the first two quarters, Texas A&M amassed a season high 274 yards of
offense and 23 points. During the second half, however, the Red Raiders held the
Aggies to a meager 37 yards of offense, with 15 of those yards coming on the
last play of the game.
"I thought that everything that could go wrong did in the first half," explained
Tech head coach Mike Leach after the game. "We allowed ourselves to get
frustrated. Part of it is going out there and just running around and expecting
good things to happen. We did that in the second half.
"In the first half, it was just a bunch of little things, a bunch of lame stuff
with the coaches and players. In the second half, there was nothing magic. We
just relaxed and expected good things to happen."
And they did.
The Tech offense opened the third quarter with a nine play, 77 yard drive that
was capped by a 3-yard Graham Harrell touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree. The
rout was on at that point.
"They started picking up on our blitz a little bit in the second half and
figuring out where we were going, so it was a little harder in the second half,"
said A&M defensive end Michael Bennett.
Aggie head coach Mike Sherman echoed those sentiments.
"We couldn't put it together in both halves," he said. "We played well in the
first half, but not in the second."
After a week in which a lack of halftime adjustments against Nebraska was the
focus, that clearly was not an issue for the Red Raiders this week.
"There was no panic at halftime," said Leach. "I was proud of them for that. It
was more of relaxation session.
"I just told them, 'Relax and don't get frustrated. We don't want bad body
language. Expect good things to happen. It can't be as bad as the first half,
and we're only down by three.'"
KEY PERFORMERS
Sophomore RB Baron Batch had a big day for the Red Raider offense as he led the
squad with 87 rushing yards and tallied three receptions for eight receiving
yards. His two touchdowns on the day marked the first multiple-TD game of his
career. ... While Batch's 7.5 yard per carry average over the first five games
is impressive, the sophomore back has upped that average over the last two with
8.0 yards per rush on 23 carries against Nebraska and Texas A&M. ... Senior QB
and Heisman Trophy candidate Graham Harrell became the only quarterback in
school history to win three games against rival Texas A&M. The last Tech QB to
win multiple games against the Aggies in a career was Joe Barnes in 1972 and
1973. ... Harrell finished the day 44-56-2 for 450 yards and five touchdowns
(three passing, two rushing). He now has 1,183-1703-30 for 13,443 yards and 114
total touchdowns. Harrell is now 41 passing yards away from passing Philip
Rivers for fourth all-time in NCAA passing yards.
NOTES
Senior CB L.A. Reed made his first career start on the defensive side of the
ball today replacing Brent Nickerson who had made all six starts at the position
this season. ... Today's attendance at Kyle Field was 86,012 and the
10th-largest crowd in A&M history. ... Today's win gives Texas Tech their first
7-0 start since 1976. ... Mike Leach now holds a career record of 72-37 and a
38-29 record in the Big 12. ... Red Raider fans can start thinking about their
holiday travel plans as Texas Tech became bowl eligible with the win over Texas
A&M. The Red Raiders became bowl eligible for the 15th-straight season today and
that is the best mark in the Big 12 Conference. ... Texas Tech has now won
four-straight over rival Texas A&M and 11 of the last 14 against the Aggies.
Tech's four-game win streak in the series is its longest since winning a school
record six-straight between 1968-1973. ... Texas Tech's 3-0 start in conference
play is just the fourth 3-0 start to league play in school history (counting
Border, Southwest and Big 12 Conferences). The last time Tech started out 3-0 in
league play was 2005 and that team went on to finish 9-3 with a loss to Alabama
in the AT&T Cotton Bowl. ... Texas Tech trailed 10-7 after the first quarter and
that marked the first time this season that the Red Raiders have trailed at the
end of any quarter. ... Prior to today's game the Red Raiders had only trailed
for a total of 2:40 all season long and that was all at Nevada back on September
6. The Red Raiders trailed Texas A&M for a total of 6:58 in the first half
today.
NEXT UP
Oct. 25: Texas Tech at Kansas, 11:00 a.m. on ESPN or ESPN2
Oct. 25: Texas A&M at Iowa State, 6:00 p.m.
* Key Performers, Notes and Stats courtesy of Texas Tech Media Relations.