Tech Football Notebook
Crowd sets record
Texas Tech didn’t achieve the sellout it wanted on its first night in the newly expanded Jones AT&T Stadium.
Texas Tech's Seth Doege, center, gets a helpful push from teammate Baron Batch, right, as he scrambles in front of the end zone against Texas A&M during the second half of their game Saturday, Oct, 24, 2009 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Geoffrey McAllister/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
Texas Tech's Baron Batch changes directions in front of Texas A&M's Michael Hodges, during the first half of their game Saturday, Oct, 24, 2009 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Geoffrey McAllister/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
Texas Tech's Alexander Torres gets away from Texas A&M's Terrence McCoy on his way to the endzone during the first quarter of Saturdays game at Jones AT&T Stadium. (John A. Bowersmith/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
However, the announced attendance of 57,733 broke the record home crowd of 56,333 set in last year’s Tech-Texas game.
Tech officials said last week that the new listed capacity is 59,011.
Career night
Texas Tech flanker Alex Torres had the best game of his debut season Saturday night. Torres’ eight catches for 128 yards and a touchdown was the biggest individual bright spot in the Red Raiders’ loss to Texas A&M.
Torres came into the game as Tech’s second leading receiver, but his best games had been seven catches for 59 yards at Texas and six for 90 yards at Houston.
It started right off the bat as Torres caught a pass for 10 yards on the second play of the game and capped the first series with a 56-yard touchdown catch.
New nickel
Tech replaced one true freshman with another at its nickel back position. D.J. Johnson got a lot of snaps as the fifth defensive back, a job Will Ford had for the first seven games.
Ford is out with the sprained knee he suffered the week before at Nebraska.
Julius Howard played in six-defensive back packages, which also was a change. Brett Dewhurst has had a role in six-DB packages most of the season.
Saw it coming
Tech redshirt freshman Harrison Jeffers was averaging 7.1 yards per carry going Saturday’s game and 8.7 yards per pass reception. Jeffers has been particularly effective when he lines up in the slot, goes in motion and takes sweep handoffs, but that play was disastrous more than once Saturday.
Texas A&M stopped the sweep to Jeffers cold on a critical fourth-and-1 from the Aggies’ 29-yard line in the second quarter. Cornerback Terrence Frederick stepped up and submarined Jeffers, and the no gain preserved a 14-14 tie at the time.
A&M scored touchdowns on the subsequent possession and the one after to take control of the game. Then with more than 12 minutes left in the game and Tech still not out of it trailing 38-22, Jeffers fumbled on the sweep and cornerback Jordan Pugh recovered.
High-water mark
The previous high-point games for Texas A&M in Lubbock were 38 in 1975 and 1961. The Aggies’ previous high in the series was their 50-15 victory in 1988 at College Station.
The 52-30 win Saturday was the most points A&M had hung on a ranked opponent since the 1990 Holiday Bowl, when the Aggies trounced No. 13 Brigham Young 65-14.
In brief
Tech scored a touchdown on its opening possession for the fourth game in a row. … The one sack by the Tech defense was its fewest since the Sept. 19 game at Texas, when the Red Raiders also had one. In the last four games, they had posted sack totals of two, three, four and five in successive weeks. … Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman got his first win over a ranked opponent. It was the first time for the Aggies to beat a ranked team on the road since they beat No. 11 Texas 14-7 in 2006 at Austin. … Punter Ryan Epperson became the 18th true freshman and the 19th member of A&M’s 2009 signing class to play this season. … A&M WR Jeff Fuller caught one pass for 12 yards after missing the last four games with a broken leg.
Compiled by Don Williams
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Tough game tonight. Go Raiders, beat Kansas!
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Could not sell out a 59,000 seat stadium?!?
What a joke!
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Who wants to pay $95 a ticket to see Tech play a crappy ATM team?
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If you were a true Tech fan, you’d pay $95 to watch the Red Raiders in person! Tech should be able to sell out a home game! It’s not like this is Texas Southern University…
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I agree, it would be nice if every single game was sold out, but maybe that’s not realistic this year. Tech had 6 consecutive sellouts last season when they were ranked in the top 10.
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After 10+ years of taking it on the chin to these guys,it was about time the ags got a little pay back. Can’t say the didn’t earn it this time. Good job ags.
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I think we had a turning of the tides tonight. We have been waiting far too long for this.
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It’s funny how all you techtards have been posting on TexAgs this week. Where are you now. Fight’em ags. Whoop.
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Well apparently the “agtards” are well represented here.
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Upgrade to 59K capacity? That’s got to be the smallest stadium in Big 12 right? Wow. Can we trade TTU for TCU? Great win over BYU.
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Hey Big 12 fan, nice try but you fail. Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State all have smaller stadiums. If you want to trade in a team perhaps it should be Baylor.
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I think John’s a little sensative right about now. What do you think Big12 Fan?
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Leave Jeffers and Stephens on the shelf for this year. When they are in the game, it is a dead give away what plays are being ran by the offense. Leach needs to stop looking at these young kids as his new sports cars to play with and see them for what they are: extremely talented kids that are currently incapable of playing the complete RB position in the Tech offense. For this year, leave them on the bench unless you want to use them as returners on special teams.
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Great game , sooooo sweet after so many years !!!..gig’em
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WHOOP!!!!!!!!!!Tech is back to its rightful place in the state of texas. Long time coming for you classless clowns!!!52 points baby!!!
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X amount of years of hearing the pirate lip off, tech fans acting like absolute rude idiots and goal post being shoved in our face. Well pay back is hell and sucks to be you tonight. You know the worst of it John? In the end you still will only have a degree from tech.
Gig’em
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John….why would we want to trade Baylor? Our conference is based upon much more than football….and Baylor has some National Championships as a Big 12 school to back up it’s resume. So….since the inception of the Big 12….the schools that haven’t represented the Big 12 with a National Championship are Missouri, Kansas State, Iowa State and Texas Tech. And Baylor the school that you seem to have a lack of respect for has a few more Conference Championships than those four schools with 34 as of last May. That is more than Iowa State’s 11, Texas Tech’s 9, Kansas State’s 7 and Missouri’s 5. So when it comes down to it….if you want to go on success in athletics….any of those four schools could go away as part of our conference and make it stronger overall in athletically. And Tech…being by far the most inferior of south members in conference championships shouldn’t run their mouth….considering that Texas leads the conference with 101 championships, A&M has the 3rd most with 38 championships (behind Nebraska’s 66), Baylor and Oklahoma are tied for 4th with 34 conference championships, and Oklahoma State isn’t far behind with 31 conference championships (which is 6th place). So take all into consideration for the pride of our conference….because if you take all into account…Mizzou should be removed….and Tech would be the first to go in the South.
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All this stuff about B12 and nat’l championships. Who has champs in the “revenue” sports of football and basketball? Maybe stretch it to incl baseball and women’s hoops?
Fact is, when B12 was formed, the B8 wanted UT and TAMU. They were neutral on TTU and didn’t want BU.
Weird thing is … a team that noone wanted … TCU is not a perennial top ~15 team, clearly the second best program in the state over the last ~10 years..
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Trade TCU for TTU in Big 12 S., TCU can compete. TTU might compete in the MW conference, only if they get rid of Leach!
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Irony? Mike Leach was to tie Spike Dykes on wins had Tech won….Mike, you have gotten us to a level as Spike did, time for you to seek employment elswhere. Where is the discipline? So many penalities. Potts needs NOT ANOTHER CHANCE TO START, he is done. Tech has a history of this stuff….did nobody tell them this embarrassing loss was possible?? Come on ! As much as I hate to say it….Leach should take a summer class in Austin to learn how to manage his team and avoid pitfalls………
Sheffield you were sorely missed, at least you could’ve responded.
Good luck Red Faders….
(very disgruntled alumni ‘93)
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Old Army….. It is one thing to brag about your football team, and another to talk about academics…. You obviously are from the lower class of aggies (if you really are an alum… I would keep it quiet). All the alum that I am associated with have more class than you exhibit here. Good job to all those other classy A&M fans that came to the game. You got us today….
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All i have to say to all you tech fans ..IS 52-30 A&M ..!!!!!!!!!!!!!…HOW YOU LIKE THAT !!! LOL..!!
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Wasn’t there to watch the game, didn’t have to be. Embarrassing effort by the defense. They had really been playing well, but it’s pretty easy to look good against UNM, KState, and Nebraska’s offense. The pressure is eating Potts up, I feel sorry for him.
KU – Win
OSU – Loss
OU – Loss
Baylor – Win
7-5, Houston Bowl
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awful funny how you retards from weirdo land are running your mouths that was your first big win in a while i understand and yes we lost but if you want to trade someone out of the big 12 south it should be you weirdos i dont remember tech losin to arkansas state ever you make the big 12 look bad and like i said yes we lost but if we had a qb things would have been alot different so good luck with the rest of your weird little season
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no….i don’t remember you guys ever losing to Arkansas State…but I do remember years when Tech lost to North Texas. We’ve all had bad losses! BTW…mj….if your team lost to a team that makes the conference “look bad”…wouldn’t that make you look bad? Why do we have to run our mouths like idiots….on both sides of the ball? The Aggies won…good for them! The Raiders lost….they’ll rebound next week. So weirdos on either side of the ball should stop crying or stop gloating! Grow up kids!
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Big 12 fan if anyone should be replaced it should be the aggies. Tech’s football team has a winning record every year of the Big 12. Tech’s football record against A$M is 32-35-1 in the 68 year history between the two schools. since 1960 Tech has a winning record over a$m 29-24-1. We are 10-4 against the Aggies in the Big 12 play. The only reason you want us out is because your tried of losing to us. Let’s see who has the better record at the end of the year. To real aggies fans great win you came to play.
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OK Ags. We ‘ve gotten a little revenge for all the flying tortillias, “Vick’em” shirts, & ballistic goal posts we’ve had to edure over the last few years. Let’s not forget who we are. YEs, our little pirate buddies have been raiding our sites & talking trash and making fools of themselve. We’ve finally gotten the upper hand where it counted….on the field IN LUBBOCK..and set a nice record doing it.
We won. That’s enough.
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cdo – after years of going to Lubbock and being on the receiving end from tech fans, vulgar remarks, lewd hand gestures, hurled projectiles, disrespectful turning of your backs on the Aggie band while they are performing and a goal post shoved into the A&M student section, I am not sure you are one to lecture me on the mild cajoling I administered to you in my posting. If that is the worse you have received from any one at A&M then consider yourself lucky. We put up with a lot more when we travel to Jones Field. Go take a poll of the other Big 12 schools and see how they feel about playing in Lubbock. The majority will tell you that tech fans are at best, hoodlums.
But I do want to point out one thing you and I do share in common, we both applied to A&M.
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