A look at the rivalry between Texas Tech and Texas

The 2014 edition of the Texas Tech vs Texas rivalry will kick off on Saturday night with the 64th meeting between the two schools. This year has a completely different feel to it than past years, with both the Red Raiders and Longhorns entering the weekend at 3-5 overall and desperately needing a win if they hope to make a bowl game this season. Second year HC Kliff Kingsbury has faced quite a bit of adversity this season including letting his Defensive Coordinator go after only the third game of the season and battling erratic play from his offense. Likewise, Longhorn HC Charlie Strong has faced his own adversity in Austin, including dismissing 9 players from the current roster for violating team rules and losing a number of starters to injuries through out the season. While the expectations may be down this season, both schools know that bragging rights are on the line as their teams hit the field at Jones AT&T Stadium Saturday night.

-Texas Tech trails the all time series 15-48. Texas Tech has never won more than 2 in a row in the series but for the most part has never let Texas win more than 5 in a row before pulling out a victory.

-The Red Raiders are 10-18 in Lubbock against the Longhorns, and have lost 18 of the last 25 games against Texas overall.

– The winning team has scored at least 33 points in 13 of the last 16 matchups between these two schools.

-The largest margin of victory in a Texas Tech win was 24 in a 33-9 victory in 1994, while the Longhorns largest margin of victory came in a 58-7 win in 1999.

-Texas Tech is 3-0 all time against Texas on November 1st, including the 2008 game.

-Texas Tech will try to once again hand a new Texas coach a loss in their first meeting together, as the Red Raiders also handed the Longhorns a 42-35 defeat in Mack Browns first year in Austin.

– Kliff Kingsbury will be looking for win number 12 as a Head Coach, while his counterpart Charlie Strong will be looking for win number 41.
Let’s look at some memorable highlights between these two teams, starting with current HC Kliff Kingsburys senior year against the Longhorns:
A 9-1 Texas squad came into Lubbock, Texas and left out of BCS contention, but not before Kliff Kingsbury torched the Longhorns defense for 473 yards and 6 touchdowns in a 42-38 Red Raider victory.

In 1976, 3-1-1 Texas took a 14-10 lead into halftime against 6-0 and # 6 ranked Texas Tech. The Longhorns appeared to be pulling away in the 2nd half as they led 21-10 before a 22 yard scramble by Rodney Allison on 3rd and 7 set up a dramatic Billy Taylor dive into the endzone for a game winning touchdown.
In 1989, the 6-2 Red Raiders entered Austin, Texas having not won a game there in 22 years. Trailing 17-14 with a little over 4 minutes left, Red Raider quarterback Jamie Gill fired a 3rd-and-26 pass to Anthony Mayweather who took the ball 65 yards for a touchdown and a 21-17 lead. The Red Raiders would seal the game with a Tracy Saul interception that led to a FG for Tech with 1:30 left and a 24-17 win.

And last, but definitely not least, # 1 Texas entered Jones Stadium in 2008 to face off against the # 5 Red Raiders knowing a win would set them up perfectly for a BCS National Title run. College Gameday was in town and watching Lee Corso put on Raider Reds head after hearing Bob Knight say he “dearly hoped we beat their asses” sent the hometown crowd into a frenzy. The game couldn’t have started out any better for the Red Raiders as they built a 22-6 halftime lead behind a Colby Whitlock safety, 2 field goals by Matt Williams (really, who besides Mike Leach would let a kid on the team because he kicked a halftime field goal for free rent?), a Baron Batch touchdown run and a 19 yard touchdown reception by Eric Morris. The 2nd half saw Texas cut into that lead, taking a 33-32 lead with 1:29 on the clock. From here, Red Raider fans will remember the drive, as Graham Harrell would go 5-6 (with his lone incompletion being a near INT by Texas) taking the Red Raiders 62 yards, capped by an improbable 28 yard back shoulder throw from Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree standing at the 5 yard line who broke free from 2 defenders and danced into the end zone with :01 left on the clock, causing the Texas sideline to watch in stunned silence and Red Raider fans to rush the field not once, but twice before the game ended.

I would love to hear from as many people as possible about their favorite memories of this rivalry, and I’ll share mine first.

The last sporting event that my Grandpa and I attended was the 2008 Tech-Texas game. I remember it not only because of the excitement that surrounded Lubbock for that season but also because we managed to score three tickets to the most coveted game in Texas Tech history and amazingly somewhere  somewhere between the Club Level and downstairs I lost my ticket and they wouldn’t let me back in right as the Masked Rider took the field. I’m sure that if you could ask Pappy today, he’d let you know that he was a little (read, A LOT) frustrated at the fact that he came all the way from DFW to Lubbock and never saw a play inside the stadium. We made it to a tailgate by Dan Law in time to see the now infamous Colby Whitlock (who is still my favorite Red Raider to this day) safety on Colt McCoy to get the scoring started for the Red Raiders before eventually making it back to the duplex that my girlfriend (now wife) and I lived in at the time near campus. He went home with my mom before the pandemonium started after the game had ended, but I thought it was awesome that I was able to witness the best win in Texas Tech history with a Red Raider alum by my side.

What about you? What do you remember the most about this rivalry? Leave us a comment below.