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Texas Tech football classics: Red Raiders stun Aggies in 2002

By Matthew Conner

NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 23: Wide receiver Nehemiah Glover #6 of the Texas Tech University Red Raiders carries the ball during against the University of Oklahoma Sooners during the game at Memorial Stadium on November 23, 2002 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners won 60-15 to advance to the Big 12 Championship. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 23: Wide receiver Nehemiah Glover #6 of the Texas Tech University Red Raiders carries the ball during against the University of Oklahoma Sooners during the game at Memorial Stadium on November 23, 2002 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners won 60-15 to advance to the Big 12 Championship. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images) /

This classic was not broadcast on television by any network

It is hard to fathom but back in 2002, not every college football game was televised as is the case now.  In fact, this game was one of two heart-stopping Red Raider road wins that were not televised in the Leach era (the other being the 2003 win at Ole Miss).

In those days, the college football broadcast rights agreements were far less lucrative and expansive than they are today.  And in the early days of online streaming, teams also did not have the ability to broadcast their games on their websites as they do today.

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In fact, the 2003 Ole Miss game was the first game I ever watched via streaming as a Lubbock bar was the only venue in town that had the capability to show the game.  Though the picture was so grainy that it was hard to decipher player numbers and the audio they played was the radio call, which was not even close to being synced with the video, my roommates and I got to that bar about two hours before kickoff to ensure we had a seat and by the time the game started, the fire marshal’s office was on hand to control the number of people in the venue.

As for the A&M game, I had the fortune of being there in person but for most Red Raider fans, Texas Tech radio play-by-play announcer Brian Jensen was the only option.  Along with color analyst John Harris, Jensen was a lifeline to the game for most of West Texas that day.  In fact, I can remember reading an article in which Jensen, who took over for legendary announcer Jack Dale in 2000, said that this was the broadcast that helped long-time Red Raider fans come to accept him as the new voice of the football team.  (I would quote that article but after a 30-minute search for it online, I gave up.)

At that time, Big 12 rules stated that teams could have only a certain number of home games broadcast each year.  And being as A&M had home games with Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Virginia Tech that year, this game was squeezed out.

So what Big 12 game was broadcast that day?   No. 2 Texas’ 17-15 snoozefest of a win over 2-2 Oklahoma State.

So unless you were in College Station on October 5th, 2002, one of the muggiest fall days in Texas history, you didn’t get to see this classic with your own eyes.  (You can relive it here in a one-hour condensed version though.)

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I had the fortune of being there.  It was my first, and hopefully last, trip to College Station.  Being as we probably will not see Tech and A&M on the field together in our lifetimes (certainly not on either campus) I have no reason to go back to Aggieland.  I’m just thankful that my lasting memories of that place will be Welker’s punt return and Kingsbury’s heroics as Tech pulled out one of the most exciting wins in Red Raider history.

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