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Texas Tech football: 5 best individual performances of 2019

By Matthew Conner

WACO, TEXAS - OCTOBER 12: Erik Ezukanma #84 and SaRodorick Thompson #28 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrate a fourth-quarter touchdown against the Baylor Bears on October 12, 2019 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
WACO, TEXAS - OCTOBER 12: Erik Ezukanma #84 and SaRodorick Thompson #28 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrate a fourth-quarter touchdown against the Baylor Bears on October 12, 2019 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /
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The Masked Rider, mascot of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
The Masked Rider, mascot of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Jordyn Brooks vs. OSU

Though Jett Duffey was fantastic against Oklahoma State, that day he was overshadowed by one of the best defensive performances in Texas Tech football history.  Recording 19 tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble, and four tackles for loss, Jordyn Brooks was never better at Tech than he was in October against the Cowboys.

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It has been rare at Tech in the last two decades for a linebacker to dominate a game the way Brooks did against Oklahoma State.  He was a one-man force that the Cowboys had no answer for.

His four tackles for loss gave him 10.5 on the season, setting a new personal career-high for a  season in just five games.  What’s more, his 19 tackles were the most for a Red Raider since 2002 when Lawrence Flugence had 21 against Iowa State.

His best play might have come on a 2-point conversion by the Cowboys in the 4th quarter.  With the visitors trying to cut the lead to nine points with 3:27 to play, Brooks met OSU QB Spencer Sanders one-on-one at the two and slung him to the ground like a piece of rubble putting an exclamation point on the win.

Another impressive moment came at the end of the 3rd quarter.  One play after missing a tackle that led to a 23-yard run for the Cowboys, Brooks atoned for his sin by blitzing into the backfield and coming up with a strip-sack of Sanders to thwart an OSU rally.

At the time, the Cowboys were down only 34-21 and had moved to the Tech 19.  Had they scored on that drive, they would have been down only six points with the fourth quarter left to play.

But because of Brooks’ play, Tech was able to tack a field goal onto its lead and keep the Cowboys at bay.  And it was the best middle linebacker in the Big 12 that set the tone all afternoon.

This year, we were spoiled by Jordyn Brooks on a weekly basis.  And though we saw tons of fantastic games from him in the last four years, his masterpiece was this dominating performance against the Cowboys in Lubbock this fall.

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