No. 8: Batch 2009
Texas Tech’s most reluctant star RB, Baron Batch, was never one for the limelight. But his junior season deserves recognition.
That year, he produced 1,279 yards and 15 TDs, both of which were career-highs. On the ground came 884 of those yards and 14 of those TDs.
What made this season stand out from the rest of his career in Scarlet and Black was how often he found paydirt. As a sophomore and as a senior, he also eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in total offense. But for the remainder of his three seasons at Tech, he had just 17 TDs, just two more than he scored in 2009 alone.
Four of his games that year were 100-yard rushing efforts. In each, he had at least two TDs.
Against Kansas (Red Raider RBs love to beef up against the Jayhawks), he ran for 123 yards and four TDs. Against the Sooners in Lubbock, he ran for a season-best 136 yards and he scored twice. What’s more, he caught 7 passes for 68 yards.
To understand how important the Midland native was to his team that year, consider that Tech went 6-1 in games in which he ran for at least 69 yards. What’s more, the Red Raiders won all but two of the eight games in which he found his way into the endzone.