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Counting Down The Best Wins Of The Kliff Kingsbury Era

By Matthew Conner

SAN DIEGO, CA - DECEMBER 30: Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury of the Texas Tech Red Raiders gets the Gatorade dump after his teams' 37-23 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils during their National University Holiday Bowl Game on December 30, 2013 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA - DECEMBER 30: Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury of the Texas Tech Red Raiders gets the Gatorade dump after his teams' 37-23 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils during their National University Holiday Bowl Game on December 30, 2013 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images) /
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FORT WORTH, TX – OCTOBER 25: Head coach Kliff Kingsbury of the Texas Tech Red Raiders before a game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 25, 2014 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX – OCTOBER 25: Head coach Kliff Kingsbury of the Texas Tech Red Raiders before a game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 25, 2014 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

No. 5:  2013 T.C.U.

The first real test of Kingsbury’s career came in his third game when No. 24 T.C.U. came to Lubbock.  Most thought that the Horned Frogs and star QB Trevone Boykin would be too much for a Texas Tech team starting a true freshman QB in Baker Mayfield to handle.

And they might have been right were it not for the heroics of another Texas Tech freshman QB, Davis Webb.  Relieving the injured Mayfield in the 4th quarter of a tied game, Webb tossed a 19-yard TD to Bradley Marquez to give Tech the lead for good.

And like in the 2016 win in Ft. Worth, Kingsbury had his defense to thank. Holding T.C.U. to 401 yards and ten points while forcing two turnovers, the 2013 defense had one of the better defensive showing of the Kingsbury era in a nationally televised Thursday night game.

The win helped propel the Red Raiders into the top 25 and helped Tech open Big 12 play on a high note.  It was also a significant moment for the program as it was the first time Webb, who would end the season as the starting quarterback, would see significant action.

As a result of the win, Kingsbury gained some legitimacy as a head coach in the eyes of the fans and the national media.  His team would ride that momentum to an eventual 7-0 start and a top-10 ranking helping Tech secure a bowl birth in Kingsbury’s first year.

Additionally, beating T.C.U. at home in 2013 was an opportunity for the Red Raider fan base, which had been fractured during the Tommy Tuberville run, to come together at home and celebrate a big win over a ranked rival.  Knocking off the Frogs on national television during prime time was a great look for the program and helped endear Kingsbury to the fan base as a coach.

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