Texas Tech football: What we can learn from previous upsets of Longhorns

The QB has to have a huge game

If a shootout is in store, it stands to reason that the Red Raider QB, in this case, Alan Bowman, will have to have a huge game.  That’s been the recipe in three of the four wins Tech has had in this series since 2000.

Back in 2002, it was Kingsbury who stole the show.  He passed for 473 yards and six TDs on Senior Day as he outdueled the more nationally well-known Chris Simms.

"“We tried everything and he whipped everything we tried,” Texas coach Mack Brown said after that contest."

Of course, everyone remembers the legendary performance Graham Harrell had against the Longhorns in 2008.  Passing for 474 yards and a pair of scores, including the game-winner with just one second to play, he completed 68% of his passes and was not picked off.

Pat Mahomes was the star of the show in 2017.  With 372 yards through the air and 70 on the ground, he led the program to its first win in Austin since 1998.

The only time that Tech didn’t have a dominant QB showing in a win over UT was in 2017.  That was the year that McLane Carter got his first career start and played so poorly that he was replaced by usual starter Nic Shimonek in the fourth quarter.

Of course, Shimonek was excellent once he came into the game.  He completed four of eight passes for 98 yards and a pair of TDs to lead Tech back from a 10-point 4th-quarter deficit.

So Alan Bowman will almost certainly need a big showing of his own this weekend if Tech is going to come out on top.  He’s never faced the Horns in his career and if he can make his first appearance against them memorable, Tech could shock the Big 12.