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Texas Tech football: Ranking the 10 best QB seasons of “Air Raid” era

By Matthew Conner

ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 25: Patrick Mahomes II #5 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders warming up before the game against the Baylor Bears on November 25, 2016 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Baylor 54-35. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 25: Patrick Mahomes II #5 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders warming up before the game against the Baylor Bears on November 25, 2016 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Baylor 54-35. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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LUBBOCK, TX – OCTOBER 22: Patrick Mahomes II #5 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders passes the ball during the first half of the game against the Oklahoma Sooners on October 22, 2016 at AT&T Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX – OCTOBER 22: Patrick Mahomes II #5 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders passes the ball during the first half of the game against the Oklahoma Sooners on October 22, 2016 at AT&T Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Mahomes in 2016

It’s tough to imagine that Mahomes’ junior season is not the best in program history.  But it comes up just short.

Passing for 5,052 yards, and 41 TDs while rushing for 265 more yards and an extra 10 TDs, “Patty Ice” was a one-man show in 2016.  And he had to be because, for the second-straight year, Tech fielded a defense that was one of the two worst in the nation.

How else can you explain the fact that Tech managed to go just 5-7 despite having a QB put up those numbers?  In fact, that year, Mahomes lost five games in which he put at least 37 points on the board.  What’s more, he dropped three games in which he and the offense were good for at least 44 points, two of those games being 50-point outings.

That year, Mahomes had a career-best 65.7% completion rate despite throwing a career-high 591 passes and averaging 8.5 yards per attempt, the most of his career.   He also saw his interceptions drop by a third from 15 to 10.

Also taking home the Sammy Baugh Trophy that year, Mahomes led the NCAA in passing yards, TDs responsible for (53), and total yards (5,337).  And yet, Tech couldn’t even get to a bowl game.

We will never forget his record-setting night against OU when he amassed NCAA records for passing yards (734) and total yards (819) in a game. And still, the Red Raiders couldn’t win that game.

It’s a shame that Tech wasted Mahomes’ career because of the ineptitude of the program when it came to amassing a defense that could at least slow down a dead slug.  And the fact that five games were all we saw the 2016 team win despite the heroics of the future NFL and Super Bowl MVP is one of the greatest frustrations that Texas Tech football fans will have to live with.

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