Instant Analysis: Texas Tech-Kansas

The Texas Tech Red Raiders inched by Nebraska and tripped up for a time against Texas A&M, leading numerous observers to view their unblemished record with more than a little skepticism. On Saturday in Lawrence, Kan., Mike Leach’s team began to change a whole lot of perceptions.

A Kansas crew defending its Orange Bowl championship sought to take a commanding lead in the Big 12 North by knocking Texas Tech off its prematurely-assigned perch. Mark Mangino’s men, playing at home and ranked in the nation’s top 25, figured to give the Red Raiders a run for their money. Instead, the lads from Lubbock gave the first serious and significant indication that they might finally be able to battle with the big boys in college football.

Yes, Tech will have to tackle Texas, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State before their season’s through, but after crushing Kansas with conviction, it’s truly time to treat Tech as something more than a tease. Virtually perfect performances such as the one showcased on Saturday demand that level of national respect.

There’s no need to make the issue any more complicated than it needs to be. Simply stated, the quality of this Red Raider rout can be sufficiently summed up in a single declaration of the football facts. When throwing out a possession that started with only 42 seconds remaining in the first half, Tech’s offense scored a touchdown on each of its first eight offensive possessions. That’s right: Quarterback Graham Harrell pitched the pigskin to perfection, and his teammates played their part in this making of a masterpiece. The Red Raiders just didn’t miss. Precisely because Tech held serve so many times, the Jayhawks—outclassed in skill and broken in will—came to a point where they couldn’t respond with any resourcefulness.

Kansas did answer the first two Tech touchdowns in this Big 12 battle, but after Harrell and Co. notched their third straight score to establish a 21-14 lead, the Red Raiders—thanks to a sack of KU quarterback Todd Reesing—gained the first stop of the day, well into the second quarter. When Tech provided the game’s first defensive breakthrough—akin to a break of serve in a tennis match between two ace-popping powerhouses—the emotional calculus quickly and substantially shifted in Tech’s favor. The touchdown train kept rolling for a delighted Mike Leach, whose offense is playing with peak precision, and the rout was on in America’s breadbasket.

One would do well to ask, “What makes this Texas Tech team so special, better—at any rate—than previous teams in the Leach era?” To find the answer, look no further than these five names: Rylan Reed, Marlon Winn, Louis Vasquez, Brandon Carter, and Stephen Hamby. The five members of Tech’s starting offensive line are providing a brick wall behind which Harrell can sling the rock without sweating. By offering supreme security to their gridiron gunman, Leach’s line is enabling a coach’s potent passing attack to reach its absolute peak. Saturday, an overwhelmed Kansas defense found out how high that peak could be.

Bigger battles await Texas Tech in 2008, but after this blowout of a decent opponent on the road, it’s clear that the Red Raiders have achieved a new and higher degree of credibility in the college football world.