Texas Tech football: The most painful plays in Red Raider history

Douglas Coleman vs. Kansas in 2019

When your wounds are self-inflicted, they can feel more painful.  That was the case in Tech’s 37-34 loss to Kansas last season.

The play that changed the outcome of that game and the 2019 Texas Tech football season was an example of a player simply trying to do too much.  Playing all game on a severely sprained ankle, safety Douglas Coleman made a critical mistake and tried to lateral the ball to a teammate after he recovered a blocked field goal.

Instead of simply falling on the ball and sending the game to overtime, the senior tried to make the miraculous play.  The result was a disaster as KU gathered the loose ball in position for another FG attempt, which they hit. (Highlights of the game can be seen here.)

Unfortunately for Coleman, this will be the defining moment of his Red Raider career and of a season in which he had eight interceptions.  It has to be one of the most frustrating plays in Tech history because it was completely self-inflicted.

Of course, the pain was magnified by the fact that it resulted in a loss to the laughingstock of the Big 12.  It was just the second time ever that Tech had lost to the Jayhawks and the first time since 2001.

When the officials blow a call or when the other team makes a miraculous play, there’s a sense of victimization that makes the defeat a bit easier to wrap our minds around.  But when one of our own players has the kind of brain fart that Coleman had in Lawrence, the reality of the moment is tougher to come to grips with.