In the 2002 season, Texas Tech and its offense led by senior quarterback Kliff Kingsbury had their best season to date under Mike Leach. The Red Raiders went 8-5 overall and 5-3 in Big 12 play through a tough 13 game schedule, beating the likes of Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Texas along the way.

The crowning jewel to cap off the year, however, came on Christmas Eve in the form of the Tangerine Bowl versus Clemson. Kingsbury felt good about the matchup, noting that he saw some weaknesses in the Tigers' defense that the Red Raider offense could take to the bank.

''I felt like we could do some things, seeing their defensivebase package and how they lined up,'' Kingsbury said. ''I felt like we could exploit it.''

Then, Kliff and the Tech offense did just that...

The Red Raiders ended up scoring 55 points, including a 59 yard punt return for a touchdown by Wes Welker, a 46 yard touchdown catch across the middle for Nehemiah Glover, and a 27 yard shovel pass score for Taurean Henderson late.

Kingsbury went 32 for 43 with 375 yards and three touchdowns and was named the game MVP as a result. More importantly, he become only the third quarterback in NCAA history to throw for 5,000 yards in a single season, the other two being BYU's Ty Detmer and Houston's David Klinger.

It was a pummeling from the first quarter on, and it ended up being the worst loss of the season for Clemson. It was also their worst bowl game loss since a 41-0 hammering at the hands of Syracuse in the 1996 Gator Bowl.

''I'm totally embarrassed,'' said Clemson senior DT Nick Eason. ''This was my last game as a Clemson Tiger, and I got destroyed. Imight have more games, in the NFL, maybe some All-Star games, butthis is one I'll always remember.''

The game marked the first bowl win under Leach for the Red Raiders, and it was one of the first big showings for Tech's Air Raid offense in front of a national audience.