Wreck'Em Red
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Texas Tech football classics: Red Raiders win via miracle at Nebraska in ’05

By Matthew Conner

AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 22: Jarrett Hicks #88, Brandon Jones #73, Danny Amendola #20, Joel Filani #8 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders stand in a huddle during the game against the Texas Longhorns on October 22, 2005 at Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. The Longhorns defeated the Red Raiders 52-17. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 22: Jarrett Hicks #88, Brandon Jones #73, Danny Amendola #20, Joel Filani #8 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders stand in a huddle during the game against the Texas Longhorns on October 22, 2005 at Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. The Longhorns defeated the Red Raiders 52-17. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by G. N. Lowrance/Getty Images)
(Photo by G. N. Lowrance/Getty Images) /

The offensive talent on that Texas Tech team was stunning

One of the biggest takeaways I had when watching this game for the first time in a decade-and-a-half was just how loaded the 2005 Texas Tech offense was.  In fact, you could argue that it was the most talented offense of the Leach years.

In addition to Hodges, who threw for 4,238 yards (ninth-most in a season in program history) and 31 touchdowns, Tech had a stunning collection of offensive weapons.  At running back was Taurean Henderson, the program’s sixth-all-time leading rusher with 3,241 yards.

On top of that, Henderson finished his career with 303 receptions, the most ever by an NCAA running back.  His 98 receptions in 2002 still rank 4th-most in a single-season for the Red Raiders.  Against Nebraska that day, he ran for 50 yards on eleven carries and caught six passes for 51 yards and a touchdown in a quintessential Taurean Henderson performance.

On the outside, Tech had two of the best receivers to ever don the Double-T; Filani and Jarrett Hicks.  Filani, as we have discussed, is the No. 10 all-time receiver in program history.

Meanwhile, Hicks is No. 7 on that list with 2,859 yards.  In 2004 as a sophomore, he put up the 9th-best season of any Red Raider ever with 1,177 yards (which is tied with Carlos Francis’ 2003 season).  What’s more, Hicks is 4th in program history with 30 career touchdowns, 10 of which came in 2005.  In this game, Hicks was rather quiet though catching four passes for 59 yards.

In the slot were two more legendary Red Raiders from the 2000s; Danny Amendola and Robert Johnson.  Amendola left Tech with 2,246 career yards, 15 touchdowns, and 204 receptions (9th-most in program history).  Surprisingly, the Husker defense limited him to just one catch for six yards but his presence was felt when he recovered Le Kevin Smith’s fumble.

Meanwhile, Johnson, the JUCO transfer who converted from QB to receiver, had an impactful two-year stint in Lubbock with 1,822 yards and 15 touchdowns.  Of course, most remember him for his game-winning touchdown reception against Texas A&M in 2006.  Against Nebraska in 2005, he had six receptions for 40 yards.

To sum it up, in the game for Tech that day were two of the program’s all-time leading receivers in terms of yards, the NCAA record holder for receptions by a running back, and a future 10-plus year NFL veteran in Amendola.  In their collective careers, the four receivers and the running back Tech started that day combined for 11,611 career yards and 89 career touchdowns.

There have been other Red Raider offenses that put up more yards but usually because of unbelievable singular performances like Michael Crabtree in 2007 or Pat Mahomes in 2016.  But that version of the “Air Raid” was as good of a collective grouping of talent as we have seen on the field together.

In 2005, Tech averaged 495.8 yards of offense per game, fourth-most in the Leach era while scoring an average of 39.4 points per game, fourth-most in the nation that year.  It was easy to see how given the insane collection of individual talent that team features.

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