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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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Quarterback B.J. Symons #2 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders  (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Quarterback B.J. Symons #2 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders  (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Symons in 2003

When you put up a better season than any that Graham Harrell, Kliff Kingsbury, or even Pat Mahomes did as a Red Raider, that’s impressive.  When you do so while playing on only one good leg, that’s legendary.

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The greatest season by a QB in Tech history came in 2003 when BJ Symons threw for what is an NCAA record for passing yards in a 12-game season, 5,833.  He also tossed 52 TD passes, second-most in NCAA history at the time and fourth-most to this day.   And he played half the year on a torn knee ligament.

In the sixth game of the year, a 52-21 drubbing of Iowa State in Lubbock, Symons jumped on some teammates to celebrate a TD pass and when he landed, his knee buckled, tearing a ligament.  But being as he was a fifth-year senior who had waited four years for his chance to start, he was not going to throw in the towel.

After that game, he was able to compile five-straight 300-yard games as he had only one contest below that mark for the rest of the year.  In fact, in the very next outing, he threw for 552 yards and 5 TDs at Oklahoma State.

But that was nowhere near his best game.  Of course, that honor is reserved for his shootout with Eli Manning and Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi earlier in the year.

In a game that his team trailed until the final minutes, Symons threw for what was then a school-record 661 yards to go along with 6 TDs and only one pick. And speaking of his INTs, had he not hurt his knee, he would not have had such a high total.

In the first six games of the year, he was intercepted just six times, including only one game with multiple picks.  After the injury, he was picked off 15 times with four games of at least three INTs.

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Maybe I am biased because I was in school in 2003 but I don’t think I am because I have been a season-ticket holder since 2007 meaning I got to see Harrell and Mahomes in person every home game as well.  But regardless of why, until a QB leads Tech to a conference title, it is hard to imagine anyone replacing BJ Symons as my favorite Texas Tech QB of all time.  And his lone season as a starter is going to be a tough one for any player, even those with two good knees, to top.

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