30 Greatest Games in Texas Tech History
No. 21 – 2008 Gator Bowl vs. Virginia
The springboard for Texas Tech’s memorable 2008 season was its improbable comeback in the 2008 Gator Bowl played on New Year’s Day following the 2007 season, making it the 21st greatest game in Texas Tech history.
Texas Tech entered the game as one of the youngest teams in the nation featuring junior quarterback Graham Harrell and redshirt freshman wide receiver Michael Crabtree. After an 8-4 regular season, Texas Tech ended the year with a showdown against a very good 9-3 Virginia Cavilers squad featuring a stingy defense led by future NFL star, defensive end Chris Long.
Texas Tech trailed 21-7 at halftime as the Virginia defense controlled the Texas Tech passing game with a strong pass rush. The 14-point Virginia lead remained in tack until the 5:32 mark of the fourth quarter when the Texas Tech offense suddenly came to life.
A touchdown pass to Crabtree drew Tech to within seven points. Then, Texas Tech scored on a 1-yard touchdown run that followed a Virginia fumble by quarterback Peter Lalich who was sacked and lost the ball.
After Texas Tech stopped the Cavilers on the next drive, Texas Tech drove into field goal range allowing Alex Trlica to kick the game-winning 41-yard field goal with only two seconds on the clock.
The importance of this game came in the fact that the momentum of the win propelled Texas Tech to a pre-season top 15 ranking the next year setting up the 2008 team’s run to No. 2 in the polls, the highest ranking in program history.
Next: vs. Oklahoma 2007