This offseason, we’re spending a fair bit of time rolling on through the Texas Tech football record book, looking at all of the history and achievements that Red Raiders have accomplished throughout the years. That includes taking a look at various different records and benchmarks and taking a deeper look at some of the standards that have been set by Texas Tech football greats.
After taking a glance at all of the times a Texas Tech quarterback has thrown for 3000 or more yards in a single season, now feels like a good time to further examine all of the times that a Red Raider has run for 1000 or more yards in a year.
And while Texas Tech isn’t exactly known for producing a ton of remarkable rushers, the Red Raiders do have a history of success and excellence in this space. In fact, we’re talking about a record that a Red Raider accomplished 30 years prior to the first time a TTU quarterback ever threw for 3000 or more yards in a season.
Let’s take a look at the first 1000 yard rusher in Red Raider football history.
Texas Tech football history: Doug McCutchen was the first Red Raider to ever run for 1000 yards in a single season
Doug McCutchen, the first in Texas Tech football history to run for 1000 yards (or more) in a single season, helped set the standard for what this sort of excellence could look like in Lubbock. Throughout the season, McCutchen managed to run for 1149 yards on 249 carries (which is good for 4.6 yards per carry).
Weirdly enough, McCutchen only had four rushing touchdowns on the season, which feels incredibly low when you look at some of the games he had during the 1970 season.
Against the TCU Horned Frogs, McCutchen got 32 carries and ran for 204 yards. But zero touchdowns for him. When facing the Baylor Bears, McCutchen got 26 carries for 155 yards. Again, no scores. McCutchen carried the ball 36 times for 147 yards vs. the Rice Owls. Once again, no touchdowns.
The four touchdowns that he scored in 1970 came against the Texas Longhorns, UC Santa Barbara, Arkansas Razorbacks, and then Georgia Tech. Admittedly a weird season when it comes to scoring touchdowns, but McCutchen proved to be a solid runner for the Red Raiders.