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Texas Tech football: The most explosive games in Red Raider history

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - SEPTEMBER 17: General view of the Texas Tech Red Raiders scoreboard after the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on September 17, 2016 at AT&T Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 59-45. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - SEPTEMBER 17: General view of the Texas Tech Red Raiders scoreboard after the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on September 17, 2016 at AT&T Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 59-45. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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General view of AT & T Jones Stadium  (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
General view of AT & T Jones Stadium  (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

No. 4: 66 points against Kansas State in 2009

Legendary former Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder was all about defense during his Hall of Fame career in Manhattan.  So it had to drive him nuts to see his team give up 66 points in 2009 to a Texas Tech team that was led by its backup QB.

Of course, that backup was no run of the mill second-stringer.  Rather, it was Steven “Sticks” Sheffield, who will always be a cult figure around Lubbock.

With starter Taylor Potts out due to a concussion, Sheffield threw for 490 yards and seven TDs in his first career start.  Coming on the heels of a game in which he had to come off the bench and rally the Red Raiders past New Mexico when Potts was concussed, this performance cemented “Sticks” (a nickname his teammates bestowed upon Sheffield because of his lanky frame) as a fan-favorite on the South Plains.

By halftime of this game, Tech had jumped out to a 38-0 lead.  All but three of those points came off of Sheffield TD throws.

Receiver Detron Lewis caught two TD passes as part of his 8-catch, 100-yard performance.  Meanwhile, Jacoby Franks (99 yards) and Tramaine Swindall (97 yards) also neared the century-mark while pulling in a touchdown apiece.

Like Symons against the Aggies in 2003, Sheffield could have done way more damage had he not left the game with over 10 minutes to play.  At that point, he had completed a pass to 11 different receivers.

Unfortunately, the 66-14 win was one of only a handful of memories we have of “Sticks”.  A week later, he would lead Tech to an impressive 31-10 win at Nebraska but near the end of that game, he would suffer a sprained foot, which would cause him to have to surrender the reins of the team back to Potts.  But the legend of Steven Sheffield will always be fondly remembered by Red Raider fans of the 2000s and never was he better than in his first career start when he helped Tech set a program record for points against a Kansas State program that has long been defined by its defense.

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