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Texas Tech football classics: Red Raiders outlast TCU in 3 OT in 2012

By Matthew Conner

FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 20: Seth Doege #7 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders looks for an open receiver against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 20, 2012 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Texas Tech Red Raiders beat the TCU Horned Frogs 56-53 in triple overtime. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 20: Seth Doege #7 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders looks for an open receiver against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 20, 2012 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Texas Tech Red Raiders beat the TCU Horned Frogs 56-53 in triple overtime. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Players scramble for the ball after Trevone Boykin #2 of the TCU Horned Frogs was sacked and fumbled the ball. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Players scramble for the ball after Trevone Boykin #2 of the TCU Horned Frogs was sacked and fumbled the ball. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Tech won the turnover battle 3-0

Week after week, close games in the Big 12 are decided by turnovers.  And when a team has such a decided advantage as the Red Raiders did in this game, that stat almost always tells the tale.

By picking off a pair of passes and coming up with an onside kick recovery, Tech did just enough to overcome a TCU offense that at times was able to score at will.

The first turnover of the day was an interception by safety D.J. Johnson.  Grabbing a tipped ball at the TCU 33 (the return was negated by a penalty), he set his team up for its first score of the game.  This was a huge moment early in the game because to that point, TCU had dominated play, especially against the Red Raider offense.

But Johnson’s pick gave the Red Raiders a short field to work with and it would take them just six plays to find the endzone when Doege connected with Eric Ward from five yards out. That score tied the game a 7-7.

After TCU put the next 10 points on the board, the Red Raiders turned to special teams to try to get the momentum back.  After a Doege to Darrin Moore 33-yard strike cut the lead to 17-14, Tommy Tuberville called for an onside kick, which his team executed perfectly.

A Horned Frog up-man had a shot at recovering the ball but it was jarred from his hands and recovered by the good guys at the 49.  Seven plays later, Doege and Ward teamed up again, this time on a 29-yard strike, and just like that, the Red Raiders were up 21-17.

On TCU’s first possession of the second half, Tech was nursing a 21-20 lead when safety Cody Davis intercepted a Boykin pass by wrestling a jump ball away from a receiver.  That play came at the Red Raider 8-yard-line and had Davis not made the play, the Frogs could have been set up in prime scoring position.

Each of these plays proved to be critical defensive stops.  And each helped keep the TCU offensive attack at bay.  But perhaps the best work the Red Raiders did defensively came when the Frogs were knocking on the door.

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