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

No. 3: Harrell in 2008

While Harrell’s 5,111  yards and 45 TD passes in ’08 were slightly lower than his totals from the previous season, one number makes this season better.  That number is 9.  That’s the number of times the senior QB was picked off. He’s the only player on this list to have a single-digit INT season and that was a large reason that Tech was able to climb to as high as No. 2 in the polls that year.

The reality is that the 2008 team was superior to the 2007 Red Raiders in the running game and on defense meaning that Harrell’s right arm and Crabtree’s hands didn’t have to save the day every week.  That’s why Harrell threw 87 fewer passes as a senior.

But when you break down Harrell’s yards per completion from those two years, it’s clear that his senior season was his best.  After averaging eight yards per completion as a junior, he averaged a whopping 11.5 as a senior.

Also, know that in 2007, Leach had the offense run the ball on 18.8 times per game.  That jumped to 24.4 in 2008.

Of course, the moments Harrell gave us in 2008 are also part of the equation.  Most notably was the game-winning TD pass to Crabtree to beat No. 1 Texas.  Unlike the previous year when the duo couldn’t hook up in the final minute to take down OSU, they made the greatest play in Tech history in what remains the biggest home game in the existence of Jones Stadium.

Interestingly, that was only his second TD pass of that game, a game in which he passed for 474 yards.  In fact, Harrell didn’t have but six games of 400 or more yards, five against Big 12 teams.

The point is that Harrell didn’t need to be as prolific as a senior as he was as a junior.  But he had to be better because Tech was playing for higher stakes.  That’s why his senior year sits as his best even though it doesn’t look like it on paper.