Eastern Washington and pom squad on the field prior to the season's debut game The
Tulsa Golden Hurricane were scheduled to travel to Lubbock for this game but backed out of the deal, choosing to play the
Arkansas Razorbacks instead. On February 7, 2008, Texas Tech Athletic Director
Gerald Myers announced that the Red Raiders would play the Eagles of
Eastern Washington on August 30. During the previous season, the Eagles made it to the quarterfinals of the
FCS playoffs before being defeated, 38–35, by three-time defending national champion
Appalachian State. They came into the game ranked #7 in the FCS. Texas Tech came in with a #14 ranking in the
FBS. The Eagles won the coin toss and opted to receive the ball. On the first play after kickoff,
Matt Nichols's pass was intercepted by Tech's Brian Duncan. The resulting drive ended in a two-yard rushing touchdown by Shannon Woods, followed by successful point after try by Donnie Corona. The Red Raiders scored twice more in the first quarter while shutting out the Eagles to bring the score to 21–0. Eastern Washington was able to respond in the second quarter by scoring two touchdowns and a field goal. Meanwhile, Texas Tech was held to a single touchdown with successful PAT. Going into halftime, the score stood at 28–17 in favor of the Red Raiders. The team had a school record 18 penalties for 169 yards. The next Nevada drive stalled on a three-and-out. Nevada was forced to punt to
Eric Morris who took it 86 yards for a touchdown, giving the Red Raiders the lead, 7–3. Texas Tech and Nevada failed to score on their next drives with Nevada missing a field goal with a few minutes remaining in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Nevada's only points came from a field goal. Texas Tech drove 68 yards on five plays and scored on a one-yard run by
Shannon Woods. The key play was a 50-yard pass from Harrell to
Michael Crabtree who ran it all the way to the one-yard line. The next Red Raider drive,
Mike Leach decided to go for a first down on fourth down, which they failed to make again. Nevada's resulting drive stalled, but they were able to kick a field goal due to good field position after the failed fourth down attempt. The only other points in the third quarter came on Texas Tech's next drive of six plays and 39 yards, scoring on Eric Morris' 13-yard run giving the Red Raiders the lead, 21–12. Texas Tech's celebration did not last long, as on the very next drive Nevada's Kaepernick passed for the team's only touchdown, a 48-yard pass to Marko Mitchell to make the score 28–19 in favor of Texas Tech. Although they allowed 488 total yards, the defense held the Wolf Pack to four field goals in six red zone attempts. He was also the team's leading rusher, gaining 92 yards on 17 carries. Tech's following offensive drive ended in a Donnie Carona 35-yard field goal. The Red Raiders scored twice more in the first quarter. The first on a 43-yard rush by Baron Batch, followed by failed Carona point-after try. The second on a 23-yard pass from
Graham Harrell to
Michael Crabtree, followed by failed two-point conversion. Tech scored once in the second quarter to bring the score to 22–0 at the half. The Mustangs only score of the game came with 3:29 remaining when Logan Turner passed to
Aldrick Robinson for a seven-yard touchdown, followed by a successful Thomas Morstead PAT.
UMass During the first quarter, the Red Raiders scored three touchdowns, followed by successful point after tries. The Minutemen scored once, on a 53-yard return of a Texas Tech fumble. The Red Raiders scored three times in the second quarter while shutting out the Minutemen. The score going into the half stood at 42–7. K-State's defense gave up 626 yards in the game. It was the third consecutive game that the Wildcats gave up more than 600 yards on defense.
Graham Harrell threw six touchdown passes, matching his single-game career best. During the game, he also broke the school passing-yards record of 12,429 yard set by
Kliff Kingsbury from 1999 to 2002. For his performance, Harrell was also named Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week as well as the O'Brien Quarterback of the Week. Lyle Leong snared three touchdown passes from Harrell, who was 38-for-51 for 454 yards. Texas Tech scored on seven straight possessions and did not attempt a punt until Taylor Potts replaced Harrell late in the fourth quarter. The following year, the Red Raiders won, 34–31, in Lincoln. This was Nebraska's first loss at their own homecoming in 37 years. To begin the game, both the Red Raiders and Cornhuskers were forced to punt. On Texas Tech's next drive, Graham Harrell connected with Michael Crabtree on a 35-yard pass for the only score in the first quarter. On the ensuing Nebraska drive, Quentin Castille scored on a 4-yard run and tied the game at 7–7. Texas Tech's Donnie Carona successfully kicked a 26-yard field goal on the Red Raider's next drive. After forcing a Nebraska turnover on downs, Shannon Woods gave Texas Tech a 17–7 lead on a 4-yard run. Nebraska later missed a field goal to end the half. Nebraska began with the ball in the second half and drove 75 yards and scored on an Alex Henery 21-yard field goal. On the ensuing Texas Tech drive, Harrell again found Crabtree in the end zone this time on a 4-yard pass. Texas Tech had the lead 24–10 to end the third quarter. To begin the fourth quarter, the Texas Tech defense forced a Nebraska fourth down and 1 in field goal range. The Cornhuskers brought out the kicker but faked the field goal and passed for a first down to the 1-yard line. Nebraska's
Joe Ganz then scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak to pull Nebraska within 7 points with 12:10 remaining in the fourth quarter. After a Red Raider punt, the Cornhuskers once again drove the field and scored on a Ganz 2-yard pass to Dreu Young to tie the game at 24–24. On the very next drive by Texas Tech, the Cornhuskers forced the Red Raiders to a fourth down with 5 yards to go on Texas Tech's own 36-yard line. Mike Leach decided to go for it, and Harrell found Crabtree again for a 47-yard reception keeping the drive alive. Texas Tech failed to score on the next drive and the game went into overtime. In overtime, Texas Tech received the ball first. The Red Raiders utilized a screen pass to running back Baron Batch to the 1-yard line. Harrell then handed the ball to Eric Morris for a 1-yard touchdown run. On the extra point, however, Carona's kick was partially blocked which kept the score difference at 6, 37–31. Nebraska's Joe Ganz completed 36 of his 44 passes for 349 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. The Cornhuskers held the ball for 40 minutes and 12 seconds in contrast to Texas Tech's 19 minutes and 48 seconds. Sports bettors favor Tech to win by 21 points. The Aggies scored first on a 46-yard Randy Bullock field goal. The Red Raiders were able to answer with a touchdown to take the lead. However, A&M responded with a touchdown of their own, bringing the score to 10–7 in their favor. Thirty-nine seconds into the second quarter, Tech's Baron Batch scored on a three-yard run but the point after try was blocked. The Aggies scored two more field goals before the Red Raiders scored on an eight-yard pass from Graham Harrell to Baron Batch. Cory Fowler's extra point was good and Tech held a 20–16 advantage before A&M scored another touchdown to take a 20–23 halftime lead. Following Tech's victory over Kansas, Williams was recognized as the
AT&T ESPN All-America Player of the Week.
Texas The series between Texas Tech and Texas originated in
Austin in 1928 and the two teams have met annually since 1960. Texas led the series 43–14 entering the game, with the Red Raiders last win coming in a 42–38 upset of the #3 Longhorns in Lubbock in 2002. In the
2006 contest, #5 Texas narrowly came away with a 35–31 win over an unranked Texas Tech team at
Jones AT&T Stadium. In the
2007 game, #14 Texas won 59–43. On the day of the game, ESPN's
College GameDay broadcast from Lubbock for the first time.
Oklahoma State Texas Tech and Oklahoma State first played in 1935. Coming into the game, the Red Raiders led the series over the Cowboys, 20–12–3. Oklahoma State last won in 2007 in
Stillwater, 49–45, in a game that came down to the final possession. However, the Cowboys had not won in
Lubbock since 1944. Texas Tech would not defeat Oklahoma State again until the
2018 season.
At Oklahoma Texas Tech and Oklahoma first played in 1992. Coming into the game, the Sooners led the series 11–4–0 though the Red Raiders had won 2 of the last 3 with the last loss coming in
Norman in
2006. The only road game Tech had won in the series was during the inaugural season of the
Big 12 in 1996. Under head coach
Bob Stoops, the Sooners had lost only two games at home. The Sooners are 7-point favorites. The Red Raiders opened the game with a kickoff return to their 32-yard line. The Sooners forced a punt, and fielded their offense at their 27. The Sooners scored a touchdown with 8:59 left in the first.
DeMarco Murray contributed 48 rushing yards in the drive. Tech returned the ensuing kickoff to their 22, and a Sooner personal foul after the return gave the Red Raiders 15 yards. Texas Tech lost 10 of those yards due to a delay of game and a false start. Starting at their 27, the Red Raiders were stopped at the Oklahoma 48, where they punted again. The Sooners got the ball on their 20. On the second play of the drive, Oklahoma was punished again with a 15-yard penalty. After three failed attempts to pass the ball for a first down, the Sooners elected to make their first punt. On the next Tech possession, Graham Harrell was sacked on two consecutive plays, once by Adrian Taylor and the other by
Gerald McCoy. Coming into the game, the Red Raiders ranked second in the nation in sacks allowed, with only 5. The Sooners ended the first quarter with a 42-yard reception by tight end Jermaine Gresham and two rushes by Chris Brown for a combined 12 yards. Once the second quarter commenced, both Brown and Gresham moved the ball for a touchdown on three different plays. Tech started their next drive at their own 38 and advanced the ball through the air to eventually get to the Oklahoma 15. Two incompletions caused the Red Raiders to face a 4th-and-3. Tech decided to go for it. Woods was unable to catch a pass by Harrell to convert and Tech turned the ball over on downs. Murray rushed the ball for 23 yards on Oklahoma's first play of the drive. Murray followed with a 31-yard reception, which put the ball on the Tech 30. After two rushes by Brown, Gresham scored a touchdown on a 19-yard catch, and the subsequent extra point extended the Sooners lead to 21–0. Oklahoma's defense forced Tech to four plays on the next drive, with the fourth play being a 4th-and-4, Tech's second 4th down conversion attempt. With 9:31 remaining, Oklahoma completed a 1:44 scoring drive, which was capped by
Juaquin Iglesias' 28-yard scoring reception. On the following possession, the Red Raiders reached the end zone, thanks to Harrell's 25-yard throw to Tramain Swindall.
Matt Williams' extra point brought the score to 28–7. With 6:28 left in the half, Oklahoma began to drain the clock using their running game. The Sooners eventually scored on the 12th play of the drive. Once Tech got the ball, about a minute was left on the clock. On the second play, Harrell threw an interception to Travis Lewis, who returned the ball 47 yards. Tech offensive guard Brandon Carter, who stopped Lewis at the Tech 1, received a personal foul. Murray scored on a 1-yard rush to increase the Sooners' lead to 42–7. Tech got the ball again after the Sooner touchdown with 18 seconds remaining in the game. Harrell threw a shovel pass to Baron Batch, who ran 21 yards to the Tech 28. The half ended with Tech receiving a 16-yard personal foul. The Red Raiders left the field facing their biggest deficit of the season (35 points). Tech attempted an onside kick to start off the second half, though the Sooners grabbed the ball at the Tech 34. OU ended the drive on a 33-yard field goal. Tech fumbled on their next possession, Oklahoma's Keenan Clayton recovered the fumble and return it 53 yards to the Tech 3. The Sooners added another 7 points to extend their lead to 52–7. Tech cranked up its passing game on its next possession, eventually scoring a touchdown and extra point with 5:39 remaining in the third quarter. On the subsequent drive, the Red Raider defense forced their first sack on Bradford, and also forced the Sooners to punt. The Sooner defense countered in the next drive by forcing a
three-and-out. The Sooner offense then added another score on a 66-yard reception by Manuel Johnson. The Tech defense blocked the extra point, and the score remained at 58–14. In the fourth quarter, Tech failed to convert another fourth down, producing another turnover. Oklahoma scored immediately afterwards, improving their lead to 65–14. On the next possession, Tech was able to make three pass completions of at least 12 yards, though on the final play of the drive, Harrell lost the ball to the Sooners on a sack. With 10:50 left in the game, the Sooners started to run out the clock. The Red Raiders stopped them from scoring on a 4th down from the 1. Tech got the ball back with 4:48 on the clock. After a few plays, Tech faced another 4th down, and this time was able to convert it with a 13-yard throw to Crabtree. Tech later score their third touchdown with 11 seconds left, and Williams tacked on the extra point to change the score to 65–21. Tech attempted an onside kick and recovered the ball. The final play was a short-yard catch by Woods. Since the Sooners won, Tech, Texas, and OU all tied for first in the division at 6–1. All three teams won their regular season finales to tie again at 7–1, the highest ranked team in the BCS standings earned a spot in the Big 12 Championship game. Sports columnists also stated that the quarterback of the winning team would be the front runner for the Heisman Trophy.
Baylor Two of Tech's starters on the secondary were unable to play in the game. Tech scored on the first possession of the game. The Bears countered on the ensuing drive, in which they scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Robert Griffin. On the next drive, Harrell's pass got intercepted on third down, and Antonio Johnson returned the interception for four yards to the Tech 34. After a few plays, Griffin soon scored a 13-yard rushing touchdown. Baylor's kicker Ben Parks missed the extra point, keeping the Baylor lead at 13–7 by the end of the first quarter. At the start of the second quarter, the Tech offensive line gave up another sack on Harrell, which cost them 10 yards. The Red Raiders, however, were able to complete the drive with a touchdown to regain their lead at 14–13. On the second to last play of the drive,
Michael Crabtree injured his right ankle with about four minutes left in the half. Crabtree's right ankle twisted as he got tackled while making a 6-yard reception at the Baylor 1-yard line. Crabtree hobbled to the Tech bench, and was later taken to the locker room on a cart. He did not return for the second half. Baylor was forced to kick a field goal on their next possession, though Parks missed it from 29 yards. Once Tech got the ball back again, Harrell got sacked on the second play of the drive, and lost the ball in the process. Baylor recovered the fumble and fielded their offense at the Tech 16. Griffin led his team to another scoring drive, which ended on a successful two-point conversion. Baylor left the field leading 21–14 at halftime. The Bears opened the third quarter with a 9-play 78-yard offensive drive that produced another touchdown. The longest play was running back Jay Finley's 47-yard rush. On their next drive, the Red Raiders scored again, though still trailed 28–14. Early on in the drive, Antonio Johnson sacked Harrell and forced a fumble, but running back Baron Batch was able to recover the fumble. The Red Raiders compiled 7 points with 12:20 remaining in the game. On Baylor's next drive, Tech intercepted the ball at the Baylor 38. They soon converted the interception into a touchdown. On Baylor's final possession, which lasted 5 plays, Griffin was sacked twice. The second sack occurred on a fourth down, which caused the Bears to turn the ball over on downs. Tech ran out the clock and preserved their 35–28 victory.
Vs. Ole Miss (Cotton Bowl Classic) The Red Raiders were defeated by the Ole Miss Rebels in the 2009
AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic in
Dallas, Texas on January 2, 2009. The Red Raiders and the Rebels have met in bowl games twice before: the
1986 Independence Bowl and the
1998 Independence Bowl, with Ole Miss winning both. The teams also met during the 2002 and 2003 regular seasons with Texas Tech winning both games of the home-and-home series. ==Rankings==