Alamo Bowl Game Notes
December 20, 2001 | Football
Dec. 20, 2001
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The Road to the Alamo
Texas Tech's journey to the 2001 Sylvania Alamo Bowl featured a daunting 11-game schedule, featuring five nationally-ranked opponents, including three in the nation's top five at game time.
The Red Raiders opened the season at home on Sept. 8 with a 42-30 win over New Mexico before heading out for two straight on the road, including a date at No. 5 Texas on Sept. 29 to open Big 12 play. Following a 42-14 win at North Texas and a 42-7 loss against the Longhorns, the Red Raiders returned home Oct. 6 for a matchup against Kansas. The Jayhawks scored 11 points in the final four minutes of the game to send the game to overtime. In the second overtime, Kansas struck first with a field goal and intercepted a Texas Tech pass to secure the win.
Standing at 2-2 overall and 0-2 in the Big 12, the Red Raiders stood at a crossroads. Looming on the horizon among the seven remaining games were dates against four nationally-ranked opponents. Tech could pack it in or regroup and salvage the season. The Kansas game would prove to be the turning point for head coach Mike Leach's program.
Against No. 22 Kansas State, Tech QB Kliff Kingsbury threw for 409 yards, while the defense held one of the nation's top rushing offenses in check, en route to a 38-19 win. The win was Leach's first over a ranked opponent in his two seasons on the South Plains.
Following a 41-31 loss at No. 3 Nebraska the following week, the offense exploded against Baylor in a 63-19 win in Waco. The win marked the beginning of a three-game winning streak for Texas Tech, its longest in Big 12 play since the 1998 season. Included in the stretch were wins over No. 24 Texas A&M (12-0) and a 49-30 win at Oklahoma State.
The Red Raiders closed the season with a 30-13 loss against No. 3 Oklahoma and an impressive 58-3 win over Stephen F. Austin. The SFA game was added early in the season after the UTEP game was cancelled due the terrorist attacks on New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania.
Texas Tech ended the regular season with a 7-4 overall record and 4-4 mark in Big 12 action. It also won two games over ranked opponents for the first time since the 1997 season.
Scouting Iowa
- The Iowa Hawkeyes come to the 2001 Sylvania Alamo Bowl with a 6-5 overall record and 4-4 Big Ten Conference mark.
- Iowa opened the season with three-straight wins, before dropping two straight. The team didn't win two-consecutive until posting back-to-back victories in the first two of the season's final three games.
- The Hawkeyes have wins against Kent State (51-0), Miami-Ohio (44-19), Penn State (24-18), Indiana (42-28), Northwestern (59-16) and Minnesota (42-24). Purdue (23-14), Michigan State (31-28), Michigan (32-26), Wisconsin (34-28) and Iowa State (17-14) handed Iowa its five losses.
- Iowa finished the regular season as the leading passing team in the Big Ten, led by QB Kyle McCann. McCann completed 148-of-226 passes on the season for 1,867 yards and 16 touchdowns. WR Kahlil Hill was the target of choice for McCann. Hill led the team with 53 receptions and eight touchdowns. He also averaged 72.0 receiving yards per game. In addition to Hill, Dallas Clark and Jeremy Allen hauled in four touchdown catches each.
- The Hawkeyes balanced their attack on the ground. RB Ladell Betts led the team with 320 carries for 1,056 yards and 10 touchdowns. As a team, Iowa averaged 175.1 yards rushing yards per game.
- Defensively, Bob Sanders and Fred Barr eclipsed the 100+-tackle mark with 111 and 109, respectively. The defense accounted for 22 sacks, 10 interceptions and nine fumble recoveries.
- The Hawkeyes also have a potent scoring attack. Iowa averaged 33.8 points per game during the season, including scoring 50+ in two games (51 vs. Kent State, 59 vs. Northwestern).
Remember the Alamo?
Texas Tech and Iowa have met only once. Ironically, it was in the 1996 Alamo Bowl. The game offers bitter memories for Red Raider faithful as Iowa ran away with a 27-0 win.
Believe it or Not, a Current Red Raider was There
How is it possible? A redshirt season in 1996 and a medical hardship in 2000 enabled senior linebacker Jonathan Hawkins to make the trip again five seasons later. Hawkins was just a freshman when the Red Raiders faced the Hawkeyes in 1996. In a career riddled with injuries, the former running back-turned-linebacker has seen his most consistent action this season and is looking forward to a rematch with the Hawkeyes.
Texas Tech in Texas Bowl Games
Of the 25 bowls Texas Tech has competed, including this year's Alamo Bowl appearance, 14 of those games have been played in bowls in the state of Texas.
Leach Notes...
- The second-year head coach is the first in school history to guide his first two teams to bowl berths. The Red Raiders competed in the inaugural galleryfurniture.com Bowl last season.
- Leach has a 14-10 mark in his first two seasons. His win total is the second highest among Texas Tech coaches following their first two seasons on the job. Steve Sloan won 16 games from 1975-77.
- Leach also is the first coach in Tech history to record at least seven wins in each of his first two seasons.
- Leach won his first and second games as a head coach against ranked opponents (Kansas State and Texas A&M).
Coaching Assignments
Head Coach Mike Leach is his own offensive coordinator and calls the action from the sideline. Defensive Coordinator Greg McMackin is in his second season and is on the sideline, along with defensive line coach Ron Harris, wide receivers coach Sonny Dykes, running backs coach Art Briles, offensive line coach Robert Anae and special teams coach Manny Matsakis. Assisting from above in the booth are linebackers coach Ruffin McNeill, secondary coach Dave Brown and inside receivers coach Dana Holgorsen.
A Record Eight Big 12 Teams Receive Bowl Bids
Texas Tech was one of a record eight Big 12 teams to receive bowl bids this season. Nebraska and Colorado received BCS bids with Nebraska playing Miami for the national championship at the Rose Bowl and Colorado playing Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.
Red Raiders Dominate First-Half Scoring
On the season, Texas Tech outscored opponents 228-112 in the first half. However, the real damage came in the second quarter. The Red Raiders scored 146 points in the second frame, 64 points more than the next highest quarter (82 in the first). Tech outscored its opponents 386-262 on the season with a +11.3 point-per-game advantage.
Take Your Pick
Texas Tech used 13 different receivers on the season. Four caught 50 or more passes, while nine logged double-digit catches. RB Ricky Williams led the receiving corps with a single-season record 92 receptions, while WR Carlos Francis caught 50 balls for a team-high 703 yards and 14.1 yards per catch. Quarterback-turned-inside receiver Mickey Peters finished second with 51 catches. IR/RB Wes Welker notched 50 receptions and a team-high five touchdowns.
Texas Tech vs. Unranked Teams
Over the course of the last two seasons under head coach Mike Leach, the Red Raiders have put together a 12-3 record against unranked opponents.
Tech Newcomers Get on the Board
Placekicker Robert Treece led a parade of newcomers in the scoring column this season. Treece is one of six newcomers to score points for the Red Raiders this season. He leads four freshmen, including two redshirts, and a junior college transfer that have scored this season with 79 points.
Kingsbury Leads Long Drives
Junior QB Kliff Kingsbury led the Red Raiders on four 80+-yard scoring drives before marching his troops the distance five times at Oklahoma State. The Red Raiders scored seven touchdowns in the game, including an interception return. Five of the six offensive drives went 80+ yards.
Kingsbury Completes 69% on the Season
Kingsbury not only led the Big 12 Conference in completion percentage, but was one of the nation's leaders as well. He bettered last year's mark of 61.9%.
2001 Red Raider Captains
Two seniors and two juniors were selected as team captains for the 2001 season. On offense, QB Kliff Kingsbury and RB Ricky Williams were chosen, joining defensive standouts FS Kevin Curtis and LB Lawrence Flugence. The quartet had helped guide Texas Tech to some of its more prosperous times as the team prepares for its first back-to-back bowl appearance since the 1995-96 seasons.
Williams Found Paydirt 18 Times to lead Tech
Senior RB Ricky Williams tied Byron Hanspard's mark of 18 touchdowns in a season on 14 rushing and four receiving scores. Williams and Hanspard are tied for third on the single-season touchdowns scored list. Williams scored 11 touchdowns in the last five games of the season, including four on the ground at Baylor. He never caught more than one touchdown pass in a game, but has rushed for two scores in a game three times (North Texas, Oklahoma State, Stephen F. Austin). Williams' 108 points is the most in a single-season since Hanspard's 108 in 1995.
Williams Finishes Among Big 12's Elite (From the Big 12)
Two of the great rushing stories, and, for that matter, pass receiving in the case of Texas Tech's Ricky Williams with a school-record 92 pass receptions (eight off the Big 12 season record of 100 by Texas' Kwame Cavil in 1999), have been Williams and Nebraska's stalwart runner-passer QB Eric Crouch. "Eric Crouch probably would get my vote for the Heisman Trophy right now," said South Carolina's revered head coach Lou Holtz on a national radio program on Nov. 17. The Tech RB overcame a near career-ending knee injury in 1999 to enjoy a stellar senior season while Crouch had a 162-yard rushing afternoon with 198 net passing yards in Nebraska's 2001 regular-season finale at Colorado. Crouch also is the 11th quarterback in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 1,000 in the same year while he is the third member of the 3,000 rushing-4,000 passing yards' circle. Texas standout and 2001 Big 12 Coaches Offensive Freshman an Offensive Player of the Year set a first-year player record with 79 carries for 13 yards against Colorado on Dec. 1 to become the 10th active Big 12 player to reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark. Benson notched 1,053 yards in 12 encounters to pass future Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams' (no relation to Tech's Ricky Williams) UT freshman mark of 990 yards rushing. Colorado transfer Chris Brown (from Northwestern) Chris Brown rolled to 380 yards on 57 carries with nine rushing TDs against Top Five-ranked Nebraska and Texas in his final two games to miss four figures on the running side by 54 yards. Brown joined Bobby Purify and All-Big 12 RB Cortlen Johnson to combine for 2,429 net yards rushing and a 5.5 average-fourth-best season combination by CU's fame running back trios.
More on Williams...
Williams is only the second player in school history to rush and receive for more than 1,000 yards. He has 3,661 rushing yards in his career and 1,151 receiving yards. College Football Hall of Fame member Donny Anderson rushed for 2,280 yards and had 1,392 receiving yards from 1963-65 ... Williams also led the nation's running backs with 92 receptions (8.4 per game) and was second overall.
Walk-On Has Been Crucial to Team's Success
After being cut in the spring, rookie placekicker Robert Treece has found himself a home on the Red Raider roster. With no clear-cut favorite for the position in preseason workouts, Treece walked-on again on the first day of school and earned the job. He finished the regular season as the team's second-leading scorer with 79 points and ranked among the Big 12's top 10. He also connected on 43-of-43 extra point attempts and was 12-of-15 on field goals. His 79 points is the most for a Red Raider kicker since Lin Elliott's 85 points in 1991.
Diamond in the Rough
Even though he just completed his second regular season, IR Wes Welker's performance at Texas Tech leaves one to wonder how he escaped the universities in his home state of Oklahoma. Welker took over punt return duties midway through last season and has been one of Tech's top offensive weapons. As a punt returner, Welker already ranks sixth at Tech with 62 career returns and sixth with 626 return yards. Welker ranked third on the team with 36 points and second with 87.3 all-purpose yards per game. He added his third-career punt return for a touchdown against Nebraska, an 85-yard jaunt that ranks as the second-longest for an NU opponent. He also was tied for third on the team this season with 50 catches and led with five touchdown receptions.
McCann Taking the Field to its Fullest Extent
KR Ivory McCann has shown no fear on the season when it comes to returning kicks out of the endzone. In the season opener and McCann's first collegiate game, he returned a kickoff from eight yards deep in the endzone for a touchdown against New Mexico. At OSU, McCann almost toed the line at the back of the endzone before returning the kick 59 yards to the OSU 41. He has several other kick returns from five+ yards deep. His judgement seems to be paying off. Instead of taking a knee and giving his team the ball at the 20, McCann is one of the country's top kick returners at 27.5 yards per kick.
Roberts Found His Niche
Senior TE Cole Roberts made the most of his senior season. He surpassed his career total of 12 catches coming into the season with 38 this year. He also has 314 receiving yards compared to 130 during his first three years, and is one of the nation's top 10 receiving tight ends.
Williams, Peters Among Nation's Leading Receiving Tandems
RB Ricky Williams and TE Mickey Peters combined this season two rank fourth with 13.0 receptions per game.
Frosh Players
Nine Red Raider freshmen saw their first Division I action this season with KR Ivory McCann, LB Mike Smith and DT Clayton Harmon appearing in all 11 contests. McCann is one of the Big 12's top kick returners, while Smith is tied for fourth on the team with 85 tackles. Harmon logged 31 tackles on the season. WR Armon Dorrough, WR Trey Haverty, LB Geremy Woods, PK Ryan Bishop, OL Dylan Gandy, OT Daniel Loper, OL Jon Rodriguez, RB Clay McGuire, WR Nehemiah Glover and DE Adell Duckett have all seen action. In addition, junior college transfers CB Joselio Hanson, DT Rodney McKinney, WR Anton Paige, DE Josh Ratliff and CB Ricky Sailor have played. With the exception of Ratliff, the other four are current starters. Ratliff's season ended with a knee injury in the Kansas game.
Put it in Reverse
The Texas Tech defense has featured an attack defense this season. The Red Raiders have 36 sacks for 203 yards lost and 66 tackles for 248 lost yards. Texas Tech sacked Kansas State, Baylor and Oklahoma State six times each. Tech's pass defense, once again among the nation's best, held opponents to 189.4 yards per game in the air and picked off 18 passes. On third-down conversions, the Red Raiders dominated, limiting the opposition to a 32% rate. In the season opener against New Mexico, Tech held the Lobos to 3-of-16 (18.8%) on third-down conversions to establish the season high. The Red Raiders also picked up seven fumbles on the season and finished the year with 25 takeaways. And if the Tech offense wasn't enough, the defense added insult to injury by scoring six defensive touchdowns on the season, including four by FS Paul McClendon.
Leaving Them With That Empty Feeling
Over the last two seasons, Texas Tech has ranked among the nation's best in shutouts and not allowing offensive touchdowns. The Red Raiders have posted four shutouts during the last two seasons, including this year's 12-0 win over Texas A&M. Tech's three shutouts last year tied LSU with the most in the country. In addition to the four shutouts, the Red Raiders also have held three other opponents without an offensive touchdown. New Mexico and North Texas fell victim last season, while Stephen F. Austin mustered only a field goal against the Red Raider defense.
Texas Tech Points Off Turnovers
Texas Tech scored 77 points in 2001 on gifts delivered by the Red Raider defense. The Tech defensive unit converted six takeaways into 42 points, while the offense tacked on 35 points off of opponent turnovers. The Red Raiders' biggest game was a 28-point effort off of five miscues at Baylor.
Sack Record Will Have to Wait
DE Aaron Hunt finished the season with a single-season record 12 sacks and has 25 for his career. Hunt entered the season finale against Stephen F. Austin needing just one to surpass all-time leader Montae Reagor (25.5 from 1995-98), but came away empty handed.
More on Sacks...
The Red Raiders made a habit of lurking around opponent's backfields this season. Tech recorded 40 sacks, led by Hunt's 12. FS Kevin Curtis, DT Rodney McKinney and DT Josh Page follow with four each.
Flugence Leads Big 12 for Second-Straight Season
AP Third-Team All-America LB Lawrence Flugence posted 145 tackles on the season to lead the Big 12 Conference in stops for the second-straight year. Flu put an end to 156 plays last season. He has 307 tackles in his career and holds the second and sixth spots on the Texas Tech single-season tackles list. His 307 career tackles is one short of moving into the top 10.
Curtis Second to 400
FS Kevin Curtis finished his career with 422 tackles and is only the second player in school history over the 400-mark. Brad Hastings set the school record with 480 from 1983-86. Since playing in limited action as a freshman, when he recorded 45 tackles, Curtis has been busy. He completed an All-American sophomore campaign with 153 tackles and followed with 122 last year. He logged 102 this season.
Coronado Connection Dominated
Midway through the season, defensive coordinator Greg McMackin made some personnel changes on defense that included former high school teammates from Lubbock Coronado High School. A mainstay in the defensive starting lineup, FS Kevin Curtis was joined by SS Ryan Aycock and LB Mike Smith in the starting lineup for the Kansas State game. All three prepped together at one time or another at CHS. On the season, Curtis finished third on the team with 102 tackles, while Smith and Aycock followed with 85 and 78 stops, respectively. Curtis and Aycock also led the team with four interceptions each.
Three Red Raiders Earn All-America Honors
Senior FS Kevin Curtis was named to the Football News All-America Second Team to lead three Red Raiders who earned All-America accolades. DE Aaron Hunt earned a spot on the Football News Third Team. LB Lawrence Flugence, the Big 12's leading tackler the past two seasons, finally earned some overdue notiriety with an Associated Press Third-Team All-America honor.
14 Red Raiders Play in Bowl With Degree in Hand
Fourteen Red Raiders will play in the bowl game with degree in hand. Lennard Christensen (High Performance Management), Paul Erickson (History), Jonathan Hawkins (Exercise Sport Science), Matt Heider (History), Darrrell Jones (General Business), Jason May (Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional Management), Ronald Ross (Marketing) and Ricky Williams (Communications) have played all season with degrees in hand, while six more earned their degrees at the conclusion of this semester. Kliff Kingsbury (Management), Justin Reed (Communications), King Scovell (Finance/General Business), J.J. Williams (Exercise Sport Science) and Robert Wyatt (Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional Management) walked Dec. 15.
Texas Tech Places 19 on All-Big 12 Teams, Ties Oklahoma
Tech tied with Oklahoma with 19 players named to the 2001 teams by the league's coaches. Colorado and Nebraska each placed 16, while Kansas State and Texas followed with 15 and 14, respectively.
RB Ricky Williams garnered first-team honors for the Red Raiders. QB Kliff Kingsbury earned second-team honors along with OL Rex Richards on offense. DE Aaron Hunt , LB Lawrence Flugence and FS Kevin Curtis also were named to the second team on the defensive side.
Representing Tech on the third team were KR Ivory McCann on offense and DT Rodney McKinney on defense. Wes Welker was named as the punt returner on the third team.
Garnering honorable mention status were TE Mickey Peters, C Toby Cecil, OL Matt Heider, WR Carlos Francis, DT Clayton Harmon, LB Jonathan Hawkins, LB Mike Smith, SS Ryan Aycock, DB Joselio Hanson and FS Paul McClendon.
Kingsbury, McClendon Lead Tech on Verizon Team
QB Kliff Kingsbury and FS Paul McClendon were named to the 2001 Verizon Academic District Football First Team. Four other Red Raiders were named to the second team.
Kingsbury, who was named to the team last year, earned a spot on the first team with a 3.76 grade point average in management. He has led the country throughout the season in completions per game and leads the Big 12 in total offense and passing yardage. During his two seasons as the starting quarterback at Texas Tech, Kingsbury has established nearly two dozen records and is approaching several more.
McClendon posted a 3.26 GPA in MIS/Business and also makes his second appearance on the list. The defensive back opened the season with three touchdowns in the first two games on two fumble returns and an interception return. He finished with five takeaways on the season and four touchdowns.
IR King Scovell was named to the second-team offense, while DT Robert Wyatt, DB Marcus Boyd and DB Byron Johnson earned spots on the second team. Scovell and Wyatt are making their second appearances on the team.
With six members named to the team, Texas Tech finished at least two members ahead of the other schools represented on the first and second teams.
AFCA Recognizes Tech Football Student-Athletes
The American Football Coaches Association recognized Texas Tech football as one of the nation's top 30 programs in graduating its student-athletes.
Texas Tech recognized a jump in graduation to 70 percent this past year after graduating 54 percent the previous year. Tech, Baylor and Nebraska were the only schools from the Big 12 recognized as having graduated 70 percent or higher.
Ninety-five of the 117 NCAA Division I-A members responded to an AFCA 2001 graduation rate survey. The survey is designed to measure an entering freshman class that received athletically related financial aid from the institution of initial attendance and analyze academic progress over a period of five-plus years. The study involves the freshman class from the academic year of 1995-96, including those who entered at that time, but who did not receive financial aid until after their initial year or who transferred from another institution and subsequently received a grant-in-aid.