Texas Tech football classics: Red Raiders stave off upset bid from A&M in ’08

Michael Crabtree was injured returning a kickoff

For some reason, Leach took the risk of asking his star wide receiver, Crabtree, to return kickoffs in this game.  And that gamble was nearly disastrous as the eventual two-time Biletnikoff Award Winner would suffer an ankle sprain on Texas A&M’s second kickoff of the day.

In theory, Leach’s move made some sense.  Crabtree was almost unstoppable with the ball in his hands and having him return kicks was a way to get him extra touches in the open field.

In fact, on the first A&M kickoff of the day, he would return the ball 50 yards to the Aggie 42.  But on his second return of the day, Crabtree would have his ankle rolled as he was tackled.  And for the rest of the game, he was limited at best.

On the game’s opening drive, it appeared as if Crabtree was ready to have one of his best days as a Red Raider.  He caught three passes for 36 yards and a TD as it seemed that A&M had no answer for him.

But after turning his ankle, he would catch only five more balls for 35 yards, though one of those grabs also went for a score.  Fortunately, with Crabtree slowed, the other Red Raider receivers would step up.

Tramain Swindall would lead the team in yards with 101 on seven grabs.  Meanwhile, Detron Lewis would catch the most passes on the day nine going for 92 yards.  Eric Morris would also have a nice day with seven receptions for 70 yards.

In the end, Crabtree would be ok and just a few weeks later, he would have his career-defining moment against No. 1 Texas.  But that famous play almost didn’t happen because of the injury scare that Crabtree sustained in College Station as he returned kicks for one of the few times in his career.