
No. 5: Kickoff vs. HBU
The fifth-best moment of the 2020 season was the kickoff vs. Houston Baptist. While nothing happened on that play, as HBU’s Blake Patterson kicked the ball into the endzone for a touchback, that moment might have been one of the most significant in Texas Tech athletics history.
Remember that this was the first Red Raider sporting event to be held since the basketball team had been taken off the court during warmups prior to their game against Texas in March’s Big 12 Tournament. Thus, the kickoff against HBU was more symbolic than eventful.
It was a sign that life was going to continue despite the ongoing presence of the COVID-19 virus. And though most of us weren’t on hand to see it in person, we were able to take some pride in the fact that our university was back to competition and was part of the return to sports, which helped us all heal after a summer of uncertainty.
Don’t forget that in early August, there was a distinct possibility that college football might not happen in 2020 as the PAC 12 and the Big 10 had already voted to cancel their fall seasons in the hopes of having football in the spring. With the ACC and SEC having already voted to play in the fall, it was believed that the decision of the Big 12 would be a swing vote to determine what would happen with the college football season.
Fortunately, the conference decided to play a 10-game schedule and that essentially saved the fall college football season. Thus, every fan of a Big 12 team had reason to have pride in our conference, which is something that is not all that common for fans of this league.
So when Tech’s game against Houston Baptist kicked off, it was a special moment for the program because it meant that the Red Raiders were back to playing football as we had all hoped they would. Of course, the rest of that night would not leave us feeling quite as special.