Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Set For Start of Big 12 Play
September 26, 2011 | Football
After compiling a perfect 3-0 record in non-conference play, the Red Raiders kickoff Big 12 play on Saturday.
September 26, 2011
by Britton Drown
Texas Tech Athletics Communications
Perhaps this is just what the Red Raiders needed heading into the official kickoff of Big 12 play. Not only what happened in the final 44 seconds of their come-from-behind thriller on Saturday night, but what slowly evolved over the course of their entire non-confrernce schedule.
In that time Texas Tech picked up wins over Texas State, New Mexico and most recently Nevada.
In the four-week journey that was non-conference play, the Red Raiders answered a plethora of questions about themselves--all of which led to an unblemished 3-0 record as the team enters Big 12 play this weekend.
The Red Raiders discovered they can come from behind, they don't panic and they can win on the road.
But perhaps most importantly, they fond ways to win games.
 | "We are looking forward to the challenge this week. We are sold on what we want to do, and the players are too." - Tommy Tuberville |
"There's no reason we can't look adversity in the face and defeat it," he said.
That steady confidence will certainly come into play during the next nine weeks as Texas Tech weaves its way through the ever-challenging Big 12 slate. That next step will begin when the Red Raider face Kansas on Saturday morning in Lawrence.
Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. and the game will be televised by Fox Sports Net to a national audience.
It's a step that head coach Tommy Tuberville is anxious for his team to take.
"We are looking forward to the challenge this week," Tuberville said. "We are sold on what we want to do, and the players are too."
While the entirety of the non-conference journey provided a foundation for what is to come during the final nine weeks of the season, the feverish comeback in the final quarter of Saturday's game is something the Red Raiders are looking to build upon, and learn from, heading into Big 12 play.
"It was huge for our team," junior quarterback Seth Doege said. "We battled the entire game, and some things didn't go our way and sometimes we shot ourselves in the foot, but the thing about this game is we just kept battling and we never panicked. We knew once the defense stopped them to a field goal, that we were going to win this game. It was a lot of fun."
Doege was the catalyst in their late charge down the field against Nevada. The junior quarterback kept the offense under control during the final two scoring drives, each of which resulted in a touchdown.
On the Red Raiders' final play from scrimmage, a pivotal fourth-and-goal from the four-yard-line with under a minute remaining in the game, Doege was forced to scramble out of the pocket on a broken play.
But he didn't panic.
"Doege is always calm," junior running back Eric Stephens said. "He's never in a panic mode or even seems like he is worried. He's always the same guy in the huddle."
It paid off. He looked right, then scrambled to the left to find an open Eric Ward in the corner of the end zone for the game-tying touchdown.
Donnie Carona kicked the extra point to give Texas Tech the 35-34 lead with 36 seconds remaining, which proved enough to give the Red Raiders a win in their final non-conference game of the season.
"I think we deserved it," Doege said of the win. "I think how we battled and how we practiced and how hard we worked, I think we deserved that victory."
Now, Texas Tech will begin Big 12 play in Lawrence on Saturday against a team they have found a wealth of success against in recent years. The Red Raiders lead the all-time series against Kansas 11-1, with their only loss coming at home in 2001. Texas Tech has won four-straight against the Jayhawks, including a 63-21 win in their last meeting at Memorial Stadium during the 2008 season.
However, despite the recent success the Red Raiders have found over the Jayhawks, Tuberville and his squad are certainly not looking past Kansas.
"They [Kansas] will be well coached," Tuberville said "It will be the best team we have played, we want to make sure we give ourselves a chance."
