Big 12 Roundup: Red Raiders beat Longhorns in final second

By The Associated Press     Nov 2, 2008

LM Otero/AP Photo
Texas Rangers escort Texas football coach Mack Brown, bottom left, through a throng of Texas Tech students on the field after the Red Raiders upset the No. 1 Longhorns, 39-33, in dramatic fashion on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas.

Lubbock, Texas – Texas Tech can call itself No. 1 in the Lone Star State – and maybe best in all the land.

Graham Harrell fired a 28-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree with one second left, and No. 6 Texas Tech stunned No. 1 Texas, 39-33, Saturday night in a wild game that will shake up the national title race.

Texas (8-1, 4-1 Big 12) had stormed back from a 19-0 deficit to take a 33-32 lead when Vondrell McGee scored on a four-yard run with 1:29 left in the fourth.

Harrell drove the Red Raiders (9-0, 5-0) to the touchdown in six plays, slinging the long pass to Crabtree, who broke the tackle of Curtis Brown near the sideline, kept his balance and scooted the last five yards for a score.

“Play 60 minutes is obviously important, you may have a second to spare,” said Tech coach Mike Leach, the quirky offensive mastermind whose teams have made a name for themselves by piling up huge passing numbers and the occasional big victory.

But never a victory this big.

Thousands of Texas Tech fans poured onto the field and had to be sent off while the play was under review. Once the fans were chased off the field and Tech kicked the extra point, the Red Raiders were penalized and forced to kick off from their own seven.

When Texas couldn’t pull of a miracle kickoff return, the fans ran back on the field to celebrate the biggest victory in Texas Tech history.

No. 4 Oklahoma 62, Nebraska 28

Norman, Okla. – Sam Bradford threw for 311 yards and five touchdowns, and Oklahoma capitalized on three terrible Nebraska pass plays in the opening minutes with its biggest offensive output in the storied series.

It was the kind of start that would make Nebraska fans long for the power-running days of the past, and the stars of the Cornhuskers’ “Game of the Century” victory in 1971 just happened to be on hand for a reunion.

Oklahoma’s Dominique Franks intercepted Joe Ganz’s first pass attempt and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown, and the Huskers (5-4, 2-3 Big 12) also had turnovers on each of their next two passes as the Sooners (8-1, 4-1) raced to a 28-0 lead in the first 41â2 minutes.

No. 9 Oklahoma State 59, Iowa State 17

Stillwater, Okla. – Dez Bryant caught four touchdown passes, Zac Robinson passed for 395 yards, and Oklahoma State rebounded from its first loss by routing Iowa State.

Bryant, the Cowboys’ star sophomore, had nine catches for 171 yards, including touchdowns on plays of 11, 26, 80 and one yard, as Oklahoma State clinched its first eight-win season since 2003. The Cowboys are 8-1 for only the third time ever and 4-1 in conference play for the first time since the Big 12 began play in 1996.

Iowa State (2-7, 0-5) has lost seven straight.

No. 14 Missouri 31, Baylor 28

Waco, Texas – Chase Daniel passed for 318 yards and three touchdowns, and Jeff Wolfert kicked a 34-yard field goal with 2:31 remaining to help Missouri escape in a game the Tigers could have put out of reach early.

Baylor (3-6, 1-4 Big 12), which had twice come back from 14-point deficits but never led, had one last chance late. But Brock Christopher’s interception with 1:40 left – the first thrown by freshman Robert Griffin in 210 attempts this season – finally clinched it for the Tigers (7-2, 3-2).

Texas A&M 24, Colorado 17

College Station, Texas – Jerrod Johnson threw three touchdown passes in the third quarter, and Trent Hunter intercepted two passes in the fourth to lead Texas A&M to a victory over Colorado at Kyle Field.

Johnson shook off a sluggish first half to complete 15 of 31 passes for 214 yards.

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