Texas Tech football classics: “Sticks”, defense humble Nebraska in 2009

Sheffield’s Red Raider career derailed by a late injury

There may not be a bigger case of “what if” in the history of Texas Tech football than that of Steven Sheffield.  And unfortunately, his time as the Red Raider starting QB was essentially cut short on his team’s final offensive snap of this game.

A former walk-on, the Pflugerville, Texas native took over the starting role from incumbent Taylor Potts when Potts suffered a concussion against New Mexico two games prior.  That night, when Potts went down just before halftime, Tech was tied with the winless Lobos 7-7 thanks in large part to two inexcusable Potts INTs.   But Sheffield would breathe new life into his team tossing a TD pass on his first three drives of the game while leading the offense to 41 points in a 48-28 win.

A week later, the player affectionately known as “Sticks” due to his slender frame, would rack up 490 passing yards and seven TDs in a 66-14 blowout of Kansas State.  Then came the game against Nebraska and the nation’s No. 2 total defense.

The Huskers would not make it easy on Sheffield.  They harassed him for much of the first half with a pass rush that kept him from getting truly comfortable.

However, Sheffield would not crack in the face of the pressure and he would play an efficient and smart game.  Completing 23 of 32 passes for 234 yards and one passing TD while twice sneaking into the endzone on the ground, “Sticks” was poised and in command of the offense while avoiding the critical mistakes that Potts was so often known for.

But the fairytale story of the walk-on turned star would come to an end on the final offensive snap of the game for Tech when Sheffield appeared to sprain an ankle on his second QB sneak touchdown.

Sheffield would miss the next two games before trying to come back too early against Oklahoma State in a loss in Stillwater.  He would then miss the final two games of the regular season before appearing in a cameo role against Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl where he would come off the bench to complete 9 of 11 passes for 88 yards and a TD to help Tech rally for a 41-31 win just days after the firing of Mike Leach.

But Sheffield was never a great practice player and his inability to perform well in spring and fall practices cost him the starting job the next season under the Tommy Tuberville regime.  In fact, he would attempt only 58 passes as a senior in 2010 while watching Taylor Potts play incredibly mediocre football as the starter in front of him.

Many Red Raiders (myself included) will forever believe that if “Sticks” hadn’t been hurt against Nebraska in Lincoln, he would have held on to the starting job for the remainder of the season and likely would have been the heavy favorite to land the starting job the next fall.  And that likely would have changed the course of Tech football as Sheffield simply seemed to have the “it” factor that helped the offense move the ball while he was at the helm.

But we will never know because of one seemingly innocuous play at the end of this Nebraska game.  Understanding how a play such as that can change the fate of a program is why it is worth looking back at classic games such as this one.