Towards the end of the 20th century and in one of the final years of the Spike Dykes era out in Lubbock, the Texas Tech Red Raiders got some truly thrilling and remarkable performances from running back Ricky Williams.
And while Texas Tech fans are familiar with the Rick Williams that played for the Red Raiders, there are indeed folks out there who will forget that at the same time that a “Ricky Williams” was playing for the folks over in Austin, TTU also had a phenomenal running back with the same name.
And in 1998, Texas Tech’s Ricky Williams managed to put together one of the best seasons of rushing that the Red Raiders have ever seen.
Texas Tech football history: Ricky Williams produced one of the best rushing seasons in Red Raider history during the 1998 season
It all started with 41 carries (which is an incredible number of carries) for 251 yards and two touchdowns against UT-El Paso. That really did a lot to set the tone for what Williams was going to do during the 1998 Texas Tech football season.
Williams followed that up with 28 carries and 170 rushing yards on the road against North Texas and then 42 carries for 244 yards against Fresno State. When the Red Raiders went on the road to face Iowa State, Williams recorded 29 carries for 105 yards. Then, back home vs. Baylor, the Bears gave up 159 yards on 29 carries to Williams.
And in each of those first five games, Williams managed to score two rushing touchdowns (good for 10 touchdowns through the first five weeks of the season).
Williams also managed to record 142 rushing yards on 20 carries against Colorado and then later ran the ball 32 times for 148 yards and a touchdown against the Texas Longhorns (and their Ricky Williams). To cap the season off, Texas Tech got 25 carries, 119 rushing yards, and another touchdown from Williams against the Oklahoma Sooners.
In total, Williams ran the ball 306 times for 1582 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. To do all of that in just 11 games is incredible.