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Red Raiders vs. Nebraska
October 17, 2009
Texas Tech Postgame Notes
? Weather conditions at kickoff: cloudy skies, 46 degrees, winds from the SW at 1 mph
? Today’s game was televised regionally on ABC with Mike Patrick, Craig James and Heather Cox calling the action. The game was the fifth-straight for the Red Raiders on television and Tech’s third appearance this season on ABC (at Texas, at Houston today at Nebraska).
? Nebraska won the opening coin toss and elected to defer. Texas Tech is now 5-2 on the season in the opening coin toss.
? Texas Tech has now worn six different uniform combinations this season and debuted its white over white look today against Nebraska. The Red Raiders wore white jerseys on white pants for the first time on the road after wearing white over black at Texas and Houston.
? Today’s attendance was 86,107 ? the second largest crowd in Memorial Stadium history. The game was the 301st consecutive sellout for Nebraska.
? Today’s game captains were Steven Sheffield, Marlon Winn, Bront Bird, Taylor Charbonnet and Brandon Sharpe.
Starters ? (Offense) - (LT) Terry McDaniel, (LG) Lonnie Edwards, (C) Shawn Byrnes, (RT) Marlon Winn, (RG) Brandon Carter, (QB) Steven Sheffield, (F) Baron Batch (Y) Detron Lewis (Z) Alex Torres, (H) Tramain Swindall (X) Edward Britton (Defense) ? (LE) Brandon Sharpe, (NT) Colby Whitlock, (DT) Richard Jones, (RE) Daniel Howard, (SAM) Bront Bird, (MIKE) Brian Duncan, (WILL) Marlon Williams, (LC) Jamar Wall, (SS) Franklin Mitchem (FS) Cody Davis, (RC) LaRon Moore.
TECH’S WIN. . .
? Gives Texas Tech a 5-2 record on the season and a 2-1 mark in Big 12 Conference play. Tech is now 2-0 against the Big 12 North Division.
? Gives Tech its fourth consecutive win over Nebraska in the all-time series. The Huskers lead the series now 7-4.
? Gives Tech its first win on the road against a ranked opponent since beating No. 19 Kansas (63-21) last season in Lawrence.
? Snaps Texas Tech’s four-game road losing skid.
? Gives Mike Leach a career record of 81-41. He is now two wins away from becoming the school’s all-time wins leader. Spike Dykes currently holds the record with 82.
? Gives Mike Leach a career record of 44-31 against the Big 12 Conference.
? Gives Mike Leach a career record of 4-2 against Nebraska.
TECH PICKS UP ITS FOURTH-STRAIGHT OVER NEBRASKA
Nebraska dominated the first seven games of the series against Texas Tech, but the tide has now turned in favor of the Red Raiders. The Huskers won the first seven games of the series dating back to the 1976 Bluebonnet Bowl and the first four games when these two teams became members of the Big 12 Conference. However, Mike Leach has changed that streak as he has led the Red Raiders to four consecutive wins, including two straight in Lincoln.
SHARPE FIRST HALF
The Texas Tech defense turned in a stellar first half as the Red Raiders held the Huskers to just three points and 103 yards of total offense. The unit was led by senior defensive end Brandon Sharpe who registered three sacks and five total tackles in the first half alone. In all, the Tech defense registered five sacks (one by Ra’Jon Henley) and one fumble recovery for a touchdown (by Daniel Howard) and one interception (Franklin Mitchem).
? Today marked the first time that Tech held a Big 12 opponent without a touchdown in the first half since a 31-7 win at Baylor on Nov. 3, 2007.
? Tech now has 23 sacks on the season after the five sacks recorded against Nebraska.
? The defense held its fourth opponent of the season to under 300 yards of total offense.
? Sharpe led the defense with four sacks on the afternoon. It is his career-high for sacks in a game.
“STICKS” IMPRESSIVE IN THE FIRST HALF AGAIN
After setting the school record for the most passing yards in a single half in the first half of last week’s game against Kansas State, junior quarterback Steve Sheffield came out firing this week against the Huskers. He led Tech to a touchdown on its first possession and ended the half with 196 yards passing with two touchdowns (one passing and one rushing). The 24 points by the Red Raider offense was the most allowed in a single half this season by the Nebraska defense.
? Sheffield was 23-of-32 for 234 yards and one touchdown. He scored two rushing touchdowns and had zero turnovers in his second career start.
NOTING THE RED RAIDERS
? Texas Tech scored on its opening drive of the first half as Steven Sheffield connected with Baron Batch for a 16-yard touchdown pass to give Tech an early 7-0 lead. The TD reception was the first of the season for Batch. Sheffield kept Tech alive on two different 3rd-and-long situations as he connected with Lyle Leong for a 34-yard reception and Detron Lewis for a 22-yard pass.
? Senior defensive end Brandon Sharpe gave Tech its 19th sack of the season and his fifth of the year when he put an end to Nebraska’s first drive of the first quarter. Sharpe brought down Husker quarterback Zac Lee for a loss of 4-yards on a 3rd-and-7 situation.
? The Texas Tech defense picked up its first score of the season when Daniel Howard returned a fumble recovery 82-yards for a touchdown and gave the Red Raiders a 14-0 lead with 4:52 remaining in the first quarter. The fumble recovery for the touchdown was the first by a Tech defensive unit since the 2007 season when Darcel McBath returned a fumble 16 yards for a score against Iowa State.
? Senior defensive ends Ra’Jon Henley and Brandon Sharpe registered back-to-back sacks to end a Nebraska drive in the opening seconds of the second quarter. The two sacks increased Tech’s season total to 22.
? The Red Raiders pushed their lead to 21-0 with 6:56 remaining in the first half when Sheffield rushed for one yard into the end zone. The rushing TD was the first of his career.
? The Red Raiders put their 2-minute drill to work at the end of the first half as Tech drove 67 yards on five plays and upped its lead to 24-3 thanks to a 32-yard field goal by Matt Williams. The field goal by Tech answered a late field goal by the Huskers that gave them their first points of the game. The scoring drive was Tech’s ninth this season in under two minutes.