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Texas Tech football classics: “Air Raid” era born as Tech tops OU in 1999

By Matthew Conner

STILLWATER, OK - SEPTEMBER 25: The Texas Tech Red Raiders flag flies outside the stadium before the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys September 25, 2014 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Cowboys defeated the Red Raiders 45-35. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
STILLWATER, OK - SEPTEMBER 25: The Texas Tech Red Raiders flag flies outside the stadium before the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys September 25, 2014 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Cowboys defeated the Red Raiders 45-35. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
(Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

Kingsbury’s improbable 67-yard TD pass breaks OU’s back

Though Kliff Kingsbury had tons of memorable moments in his Red Raider playing career, few (if any) stand out more than his 3rd-quarter touchdown pass to Sammy Morris.  That 67-yard play put Tech up 31-21 and was part of a 21-0 Red Raider run that spanned the second and third quarters.

Fittingly, the man who would become the first star QB of the “Air Raid” era, which has been defined by quick-strike offenses, struck the game’s decisive blow on a one-play drive.

With just 1:29 to go in the quarter, Kingsbury took the snap at his own 33 and dropped back to pass.  Almost immediately, the OU defense blew up the play.

Trying a play-action bootleg to the left, Kingsbury was chased down from behind by OU defensive lineman Barry Holleyman.  But the 6-foot-4, 270-pounder could not corral the redshirt freshman QB.

Escaping Holleyman’s clutches, Kingsbury instinctively rolled to his right, avoiding OU’s defensive tackle Ryan Fisher in the process.  Keeping his eyes downfield, he found Morris all alone who caught the ball and scampered into the end zone.

Morris was open because senior OU defensive back William Bartee either did not pay attention to the scouting report on Kingsbury or was given a poor picture of the type of player Tech’s QB was.  When Kingsbury scrambled right, he approached the line of scrimmage and Bartee came off of Morris as if he expected Kingsbury to run.

Remember, this was the 1990s when the ground game was everyone’s main concern and running QBs that looked to tuck the ball and take off at the first opportunity were rather common.  Were Bartee to play in today’s game, he likely would have been coached more effectively on how to play against a gunslinger of a QB like Kingsbury but in 1999, few passers of that ilk existed.

It is also worth noting just how close Kingsbury came to crossing the line of scrimmage on the play.  When he released the ball, the only part of his body that was behind the 32-yard line was his back foot and his right hand. One more half-step and this iconic play would have gone for naught.

Throughout the broadcast, the television announcers continually pointed out that Kingsbury was not as good of an athlete as the man he was replacing, Rob Peters.  That statement almost made me spit out my drink when I first heard it because though Kingsbury was not ever to be confused with Michael Vick or Pat Mahomes, he was so much more agile in the pocket than Peters ever dreamed of being.  And that agility was on display in the game’s most memorable play as Kingsbury escaped disaster and delivered the kill shot to the Sooners in one of his signature moments.

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