By Adam Zuvanich | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

Graham Harrell has had many fine moments in a Texas Tech uniform.

He owns just about every school career record for passing, as well as a handful of NCAA and Big 12 Conference marks. The senior from Ennis also has quarterbacked the Red Raiders to 26 victories in less than three full years as the starter, orchestrating some thrilling, come-from-behind wins along the way.

Texas Tech's Graham Harrell runs for a first down against Texas during their game Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock. (AP Photo/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Zach Long)

No victory, and no performance, was more significant than Saturday night’s over top-ranked Texas, which came in front of a record crowd at Jones AT&T Stadium and a national television audience. No. 7 Tech’s 39-33 triumph – in which Harrell connected with Mike Crabtree for a 28-yard, go-ahead touchdown with one second remaining – might have been the finest hour of Harrell’s career.

“I thought Graham really performed well,” Tech coach Mike Leach said. “Graham did tremendous job holding it together, and I think that’s pretty clear.”

The performance might also have made Harrell the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy, because he beat – and outplayed – the previous Heisman favorite, UT quarterback Colt McCoy.

Harrell finished 36-of-53 passing for 474 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception, while McCoy – who had led the nation in completion percentage – was just 20 of 34 for 294 yards and a TD with one interception.

Harrell also one-upped his fellow Texan in a wild and frantic finish. After McCoy drove the Longhorns 80 yards to give his team its first lead of the game at 33-32 with 1:28 remaining, Harrell engineered a quick 62-yard march that Tech fans might never forget.

He completed three straight passes to move the Red Raiders to UT’s 28-yard line with less than a minute remaining, and then Tech caught a break. An on-target pass to Edward Britton was batted into the air toward UT safety Blake Gideon, who dropped what would have been a game-clinching interception.

Then, given one last chance, Harrell lofted a deep pass to Crabtree along the right sideline. Crabtree hauled it in, shook off Curtis Brown and scurried into the end zone.

“Those who don’t have him on their (Heisman) list probably ought to put him on it,” Leach said of Harrell.

The final drive was a microcosm of Harrell’s performance as he remained poised throughout the game and made sound decision after sound decision. He connected with nine different receivers – often finding the most wide-open one – and he also knew when to throw the ball away or check to a running play.

Harrell was especially sharp in the first half, when he threw for 253 yards and the Raiders raced out to a 19-0 lead. He converted a pair of crucial third downs during Tech’s first TD drive late in the first quarter, using his arm and his feet.

Three plays after hitting Britton with a 46-yard strike down the left sideline on third-and-8 from 6-yard line, Harrell faked a handoff and took off around the left end for 8 yards and another first down. Baron Batch ran it in the end zone four plays later.

Harrell made another critical third-down play on Tech’s next scoring drive, setting another school record in the process. On third-and-14 from the UT 32, Harrell bounced around the pocket, rolled to his right and fired a 14-yard strike to Lyle Leong. It was the 1,232nd completion of Harrell’s career, breaking Kliff Kingsbury’s mark from 1999-2002.

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