In 2008, Lubbock, Texas, owned a population of just over 200,000. On one fateful November night, it felt like all 200,000 were inside Jones AT&T Stadium. The city was host to the No. 1 Texas Longhorns (8-0) vs. the No. 7 Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-0) in one of the most anticipated matchups of the college football season. A battle between two undefeated, ranked teams, a last-second touchdown, and three field stormings … what isn’t there to remember?
A game to remember: No. 7 Texas Tech vs. No. 1 Texas in 2008
Calling Texas vs. Texas Tech a “rivalry” wouldn’t be honest. The Longhorns entered their 2008 matchup with 43 wins in the 57-game series. They averaged 48 points per contest in their last five meetings (all victories).
Much of Texas’ success can be accredited to head coach Mack Brown and his spread offense. He took over the lead role in 1998, and from then to 2007, the Longhorns won nine or more games every season (10+ since 2001). But Texas Tech had their own offensive genius calling plays.
Mike Leach took the reigns in 2000 and never had a losing season in his tenure. Oh, and Lincoln Riley was on his staff as a receivers coach. Nevertheless, both squads averaged over 40 points per game, with Texas Tech ranking third (43.8) and Texas placing fifth (42.4) in the NCAA.
To have a high-powered offense, you need elite quarterback play. And both Texas schools received that from Colt McCoy (Texas) and Graham Harrell (Texas Tech). The two finished second and fourth, respectively, in the Heisman voting in 2008.
McCoy ended the year with the highest completion rate in the nation (76.7%), nearly three percentage points over the next QB. Meanwhile, Harrell concluded the season with the most pass attempts (626), completions (442), yards (5,111), and third-most touchdowns (45).
The Longhorns paired their high-octane attack with a star-studded defense. Under first-year defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, the unit featured Bronco Nagurski Award winner Brian Orakpo, Henry Melton, Roy Miller, Lamarr Houston, Sam Acho, and Earl Thomas.
They led the country with 44 sacks and allowed just 83½ yards rushing per game (third-fewest). However, Texas had a weakness — their secondary. And Texas Tech had the weapon to take advantage of said weakness — Fred Biletnikoff Award winner Michael Crabtree.
Texas vs. Texas Tech: ‘Chaos in Lubbock’
On Nov. 1, 2008, all eyes were on the city of Lubbock. Texas Tech students camped outside the stadium for days in hopes of securing tickets for the highly anticipated contest. As far as the feeling inside the Red Raiders’ locker room, Harrell put it best:
“It was chaos in Lubbock. So no matter how you wanted it to feel, and no matter how much Leach wanted it to be just another game, the atmosphere was absolutely different. … I got to play in the Super Bowl, play in some cool games in some cool stadiums, but nothing had the buzz of that night.”
The game quickly swayed in Texas Tech’s favor. After a punt on the opening drive, they forced a safety on Texas’ first offensive play. On the Red Raiders’ next possession, they took 11 plays 52 yards to set up a 29-yard field goal.
Matt Williams: The kicker story we needed
Out trotted Matt Williams, the kicker story we didn’t deserve, but the kicker story we needed. Just a couple of weeks prior, Williams ran onto the field to attempt a 30-yard field goal to earn a year’s worth of rent for the school’s apartments. Not only did he nail it, but he caught the eye of Leach, who asked him to try out to be the team’s kicker.
Williams made the team, forfeiting his free rent to become eligible, and proceeded to connect on all nine of his PATs the next week. But it wasn’t until 6:47 left in the first quarter against Texas that he would attempt his first collegiate field goal. Williams went on to make two of three field goals (the one miss was blocked) and four PATs in the bout, cementing his story as one of the best in college football history.
Texas Tech jumps to early lead, but Texas rallies back
After that first field goal, the Red Raiders jumped out to a 19-0 lead. The only bright spot for Texas was punter Justin Tucker (yes, that Justin Tucker), who recorded punts of 60, 67, and 39 yards until the Longhorns made a field goal of their own heading into halftime.
Yet, the second half was reminiscent of breathing into those brown paper bags Saints fans used to wear. Early in the third quarter, Texas WR Jordan Shipley took a punt return 45 yards to the house, sucking the air out of Jones AT&T stadium. But the air came right back in as McCoy threw a pick-six on their next go-around.
After a fumble by McCoy that Texas recovered, the star signal-caller led the Longhorns on their first touchdown drive of the night to close out the third quarter. He found WR Malcolm Williams for a 37-yard strike but was unsuccessful on the two-point attempt. With the game 29-19 heading into the fourth, both teams knew it was far from over.
Harrell once again got Matt Williams into field-goal range, but this time, his kick was blocked. Then, McCoy found Malcolm Williams wide open on a go route, resulting in a 91-yard TD. Just like that, the score was 29-26, and the tension was palpable. Texas Tech then hit their third field goal of the night, leaving the Longhorns with 5:40 on the clock.
McCoy and Co. methodically moved the ball down the field, killing time with each play. They drove 80 yards, drained four minutes and 16 seconds, and punched the ball in from the 4-yard line to go up 33-32. Harrell and Texas Tech had 1:29 on the clock and a dream — and that proved to be enough.
Michael Crabtree proves why he was the best WR in the nation
With Texas playing prevent defense, Harrell completed four straight passes for 34 yards. However, his fifth throw was high, and the ball bounced off WR Edward Britton’s hands. The football floated in the air for what felt like an entirety, and its destiny seemed to be falling softly in the open arms of Texas true freshman DB Blake Gideon. “C’mon, it’s not gonna end like this,” Harrell said of his thoughts during the moment.
And just as quickly as it launched from Harrell’s arm to off Britton’s hands, the ball slipped through Gideon’s elbows like a muffed punt, and Texas Tech had one more chance.
With eight seconds left, there was only one place the ball was going — to Crabtree. He had torched the Longhorns to the tune of nine receptions and 99 yards up to this point, and as Jeff Van Gundy once said, “You need your best players to play their best when their best is needed.” I think it’s safe to say Crabtree did just that.
With Crabtree 1-on-1 with CB Curtis Brown, Harrell missiled a back-shoulder pass down the right sideline. Crabtree hauled it in with minimal space to operate, but it was all he needed. Safety Earl Thomas took an ill-advised route to the ball instead of staying back and playing the receiver. Thus, he was out of position and effectively out of the play once the pass was caught.
Crabtree used the momentum to whip himself around, rip his left arm through Brown’s back, and tiptoe along the sideline for the 28-yard touchdown. With the game now 39-33 and only one second remaining, it was over, right?
‘CRABTREE, PULLS FREE, AND TOUCHDOWN RED RAIDERS’
As the words of announcer Brent Musburger echoed throughout TVs across the country, Texas Tech fans stormed the field. But there was one problem. The officials needed to confirm the score and have the Red Raiders kick the extra point.
The officials did just that, and when Matt Williams’ PAT went through the uprights, the fans sprinted onto the field. But there was still one second left, meaning the teams needed to conduct one last kickoff. The crowd was once again ushered to the sidelines as Texas Tech had to kick from their own 7 due to personal foul penalties. The Red Raiders squib kicked, and Texas attempted a few laterals to no avail.
Finally free to rejoice with their hometown team, the fans took to the field for one last time. In the end, the No. 1-ranked Longhorns fell and were simply outplayed for much of the contest. McCoy completed just 20 of 34 passes (58.5%, by far his worst of the year), the offensive line allowed four sacks, and the offense went 4-12 on third down despite owning the third-best third-down rate on the season (58.6%).
Texas vs. Texas Tech in 2008 is a game to remember and has gone down as one of the greatest in college football history. So don’t mind me as I go to youtube to watch the full telecast for the 72nd time.
