Jones Stadium: A house of horrors for ranked visitors
Nov 15, 2014; Lubbock, TX, USA; Detail of the Jones AT&T Stadium Logo at the game between Oklahoma and Texas Tech at Jones AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
2012 – West Virginia
On October 13, 2012 the winds of hell were blowing through west Texas. Their howls like the warning cries of banshees.
But the new family on the block was unaware of what waited inside Jones Stadium. They had never heard the stories and bore no witness to the horrors that emanated from the house on the corner of 4th and University Avenue.
Led by the Heisman Trophy frontrunner Geno Smith and sporting a No. 5 ranking, the Mountaineers were bewildered from the moment they stepped foot in Lubbock.
On that day, Jones Stadium was guarded by a beast the likes of which had never been seen before or since. The beast, which possessed God-like size, the speed of a phantom and the power of the Kraken was soon to unleash his wrath on the unsuspecting intruders.
All-American tight end Jace Amaro took no mercy upon the Mountaineers. His 5 catches for 156 yards and 61-yard touchdown clobbered the visitors as soon as they entered Jones Stadium.
The mauling continued throughout the afternoon until West Virginia had come to witness what happens to those who dare enter the Jones unprepared to protect themselves. After the game, the lettering in the endzones and the logo in the center of the field were sopping wet despite the 45-mph winds and bright sunshine.
Though no one will admit it, the truth is that after the game the beast painted the field with Appalachian blood. The trace of moonshine could be smelled throughout Lubbock County deep into the night.
Out on the high desert plains of Texas, far beyond where the weak dare venture sits a house of horrors. For seventy years this place has stood strong against storms, tornadoes, howling winds and invasions by intruders from far away lands.
This Saturday, it will be under assault again by a foe at whose feet flowers of adoration are being tossed. But flowers don’t thrive in west Texas and national rankings have been known to disappear within Jones Stadium.
Beware Oklahoma State, it has been far too long since the house on the corner of 4th and University has been fed. The next unwelcome visitor may just be added to the list of those who never escaped from Texas Tech’s torture chamber, Jones Stadium.