As long as Mike Leach calls the plays, Texas Tech will remain a pass-first football team.

It always helps to run the ball well, though, and the Red Raiders are doing that so far in 2008.

On a night Graham Harrell threw for 418 yards and five touchdowns – breaking Kliff Kingsbury’s school record for career TD tosses – Tech also flexed its muscle on the ground while rolling to a 43-7 victory over Southern Methodist Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Red Raiders ran the ball 27 times for 180 yards, an average of 6.7 yards per carry for one of the best rushing performances during Leach’s nine seasons in Lubbock.

“If we’re passing and that’s working, that’s fine with me. But we can also run,” said Tech sophomore Baron Batch, who led the rushing attack with a career-high 98 yards and a touchdown on only 10 carries. “… It’s nice to have coach Leach put it on us like he did and give us those opportunities that he did tonight.”

Tech, which eclipsed 100 rushing yards in only two games last season, gained 175 against Baylor in 2006. The Leach-era record for rushing yards in a game is 242 against Indiana State in 2005.

The Red Raiders have averaged more than 100 rushing yards per game only twice during Leach’s tenure – in 2003 and 2005 – and last year they gained a program-low 59.3 rushing yards per game. A Tech running back didn’t rush for more than 93 yards in a game in 2007, but two of them nearly turned that trick against SMU.

Along with Batch, who bolted 43 yards up the middle for Tech’s first score midway through the first quarter, senior Shannon Woods rushed for 86 yards on 13 carries. Sophomore Aaron Crawford, who is suffering from turf toe, did not suit up against the Mustangs.

Batch and Woods made up for Crawford’s absence, helping the Red Raiders top triple digits in rushing for the third time in as many games this season. Tech rushed for 103 yards and five touchdowns in its season-opening win over Eastern Washington, and it added 124 yards and three rushing TDs against Nevada.

The Red Raiders now have nine rushing TDs this season – half of their 2007 total – and they’re averaging 135.7 rushing yards per game and 5.5 yards per carry. A year ago, Tech managed only 3.1 yards per rushing attempt.

“It didn’t really surprise any of us, I don’t think,” said Leach, who also credited the run blocking of Tech’s offensive line. “They’ve all complemented each other, so we kind of expected that.”

While Tech is displaying its ability to move the ball on the ground, its running backs remain key components of the passing game. Batch caught five passes for 71 yards Saturday – the third-most receiving yards on the team – and Woods set up a third-quarter score by turning a short pass from Harrell into a 45-yard gain on third-and-12.

In all, Batch and Woods accounted for 301 of Tech’s 693 total yards.