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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 Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

A look at the many Red Raiders heroes

Of course, Kingsbury stole the show in his first-ever start.   But this was not the quintessential Kingsbury performance as we came to know them.

Instead, he threw the ball just 17 times, completing only nine attempts.  Still, he made the most of those completions as he racked up 259 yards through the air and three touchdowns.

With strikes of 32, 67, and 75 yards, he averaged 28.7 yards per completion.  You have to believe that his future head coach over on the OU sidelines was rather impressed by the arm of the kid that he did not know at the time would help launch his career.

Kingsbury’s leading receiver was a rather unexpected player, Sammy Morris.  The running back caught two of Kingsbury’s touchdowns and finished with a game-high 103 yards on three receptions.

That season, Morris was forced to move from fullback to tailback after Tech’s starting tailback, Ricky Williams, blew out his knee in the first game of the year at Arizona State.  After two years away from the program because of off-field issues, Morris ran for 562 yards and three touchdowns while catching 23 passes for 386 yards and two touchdowns.

On the other side of the ball, the Red Raider secondary was fantastic.  Led by a pair of West Texans, the defensive backfield set the tone early and repeatedly came up with huge plays.

Midland’s John Norman had five tackles and picked off Heupel, returning the ball 16 yards.  He also returned three punts for a total 53 yards, including a momentum-building 33-yarder.  Perhaps Norman had extra motivation in this game because his younger brother Josh was playing running back for the Sooners.

Lubbock’s Kevin Curtis was also fantastic.  The sophomore safety led the team with 14 tackles while also being credited with two QB pressures and a pass breakup.  And of course, his fumble recovery in the third quarter was when the game began to turn in Tech’s favor.

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