 "Photo: Karl Anderson")
About the only thing consistent in the Texas Tech football team's first game of the season was the thud of laundry against the turf.
Going up against a Football Championship Subdivision team in No. 7 Eastern Washington (0-1), the No. 12 Red Raiders' 49-24 victory Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium was not a comfortable show for the 49,887 fans in attendance, at least until after the first quarter.
"We were extremely spotty," Tech coach Mike Leach said. "I think that we played in spurts the whole night, and a lot of the credit goes to Eastern Washington."
Quarterback Graham Harrell, who said he had a hard time finding a rhythm despite throwing for 536 yards and scoring three touchdowns, called it a "sloppy game."
The Red Raiders committed 18 penalties - a school record - for 169 yards, which nearly broke its record of 183 penalty yards set last season against Rice.
Tech's previous record was 17 penalties in a game, which happened against Baylor in 2000.
Leach said the penalties could be attributed to a lack of focus.
"I think what you're gonna find, some are like aggression," he said, "but I think we're gonna find out on a lot of them that we could have better technique."
With Tech (1-0) up 13-0 late in the first quarter and on the Eagles' 4-yard line, Harrell found 2007 Biletnikoff winner Michael Crabtree one-on-one for a touchdown. After a Donnie Carona extra-point attempt was blocked earlier in the game, Tech needed to convert a two-point conversion, which it did.
Crabtree had a relatively quiet night considering he recorded at least 100 yards in 11 of 13 games last season. He finished with 73 yards and one touchdown on nine receptions.
Slot receivers Eric Morris and Detron Lewis stole the show. Each had nine receptions, while Morris had 164 yards and Lewis 163 yards receiving.
A seemingly-disappointed Morris said there was no excuse for how close the game ended up being.
"I guess you could say (we were humbled)," Morris said. "It's something that will end up opening our eyes. We're not going to pat ourselves on the back and say at least this happened now; at least we got the win. That's not the kind of team we are; we are not going to get down on ourselves. We have high expectations. We don't look at rankings or anything. We have to find something within ourselves to show we know how to play each and every week."
After Crabtree's touchdown put Tech up 21-0, EWU found a way to get in the game when defensive back Matt Johnson intercepted an under-thrown pass from Harrell and returned it 37 yards to Tech's 7-yard line.
"We needed a play like that to happen somewhere, whether it was special teams, offense, or defense," EWU first-year coach Beau Baldwin said. "(Johnson) did a great job with that. Sometimes in these games you just have to have a few more things go right early, otherwise it becomes really tough when you're playing against a quality opponent."
Fullback Alexis Alexander crossed the goal line to put the Eagles on the board, 21-7, 1:45 into the second quarter.
Running back Shannon Woods scored his second touchdown of the game, making it 28-7 later in the quarter, but EWU turned in a seven-play touchdown drive after one of Tech's five special teams penalties gave the Eagles the ball at their own 46.
A 55-yard field goal by EWU kicker Felipe Macias made it 28-17 going into halftime.
Tech found breathing room in the fourth quarter when running back Aaron Crawford powered in a 6-yard touchdown and Baron Batch broke free for a 26 yard touchdown, making it 49-24 with 2:08 remaining in the game.
EWU quarterback Matt Nichols, the 2007 Big Sky Conference Offensive MVP, threw for 335 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. Nichols' main target, 2007 All-American receiver Aaron Boyce, caught three passes for 12 yards.
At the end of the day, the Red Raiders know another performance resembling how it played Saturday night will not be enough against tougher opponents.
During the post-game press conference, Leach said he would be surprised if Eastern Washington is not in the national championship picture come the end of this season.
"We here at Texas Tech," Leach said, "we need to entertain a far higher dose of respect for all the teams we play."
Be the first to comment on this article!