 "Photo: Karl Anderson")
Texas Tech cornerback Jamar Wall thought the football was about to sail over his head.
Instead, it him in the hands.
"I was getting ready to jump and he threw it right to my chest," Wall said. "I was like, 'OK, just get out of bounds, make sure no one does anything dumb, get it called back or anything.' So I get out of bounds to end the game."
Wall's interception in overtime put the finishing touches on a 37-31 victory against Nebraska, Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium in front of 53,449 fans.
Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz was just trying to do the right thing. He saw no one open. He was about to get sacked by defensive end McKinner Dixon. So he did what any smart quarterback would do, try to throw the ball out of bounds to live another play.
Just as he was pulled to the ground, Ganz's pass fluttered to Wall, who bobbled it for a second before tucking it away, effectively ending another wild game between Nebraska and Texas Tech.
"It's just a sick feeling to end it like that after we played so hard and so well," said Ganz, who finished with 349 yards and two touchdowns on 36-for-44 passing. "We had our chances early; it shouldn't have been that close."
Tech (6-0, 2-0 in Big 12 Conference play) took a 37-31 lead in overtime after inside receiver Eric Morris took an end around to the corner of the endzone. In the ensuing extra point attempt, freshman kicker Donnie Carona's kick was blocked, giving Nebraska the chance to win with a touchdown and converted extra point.
Playing with a methodical offensive approach during regulation, Nebraska (3-3, 0-2) consistently kept Tech's defense busy while its offense waited patiently to get back on the field.
Nebraska running backs Marlon Lucky and Roy Helu combined for 113 yards on 16 carries, regaining the offense's recently non-existent rushing attack in the process.
"It was nothing that we didn't see in practice," Tech middle linebacker Brian Duncan said of the defensive struggles. "It was just guys on the defense trying to make too many plays, trying to be a hero."
Although the Husker's time of possession was more than 40 minutes, Tech coach Mike Leach said that did not bother him. What bothered him, he said, were Nebraska's 80 offensive plays that led to 29 first downs.
He credited Nebraska for executing a popular gameplan against Tech: playing keep away from one of the most prolific offenses in the country.
"A lot of people say they're gonna do that, or plan to do that or want to do that," he said, "but can't get it done because pretty soon you deal yourselves out of drives and opportunities."
Tech quarterback Graham Harrell threw for 285 yards on 20-for-25 passing, with two touchdowns going to receiver Michael Crabtree. The All-American wideout, who had 89 yards on five catches, became Tech's all-time leader in receiving touchdowns with 32, surpassing Jarrett Hicks' 30 career touchdowns between 2003-2006.
In a game full of big plays, Harrell's 47-yard connection to Crabtree on fourth and five from Tech's own 36-yard line trumped them all. Tied at 24-24 with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Leach decided to try and draw Nebraska's defense offside with a hard count, Harrell said.
Harrell got a defensive lineman to flinch, triggering center Stephen Hamby to snap the ball but no flag was thrown. Harrell had no choice but to look for an open receiver.
"At that point," Harrell said. "I know I can't just throw that one up, I better find someone open, and my first call was, 'Crab is probably gonna be open.' (I) look over there, and I throw him the ball, and he made a play."
Crabtree's play set up a rushing touchdown by Harrell, giving Tech a 31-24 lead with 2:21 remaining.
Ganz responded on the next drive by completing all six of his passes, connecting with senior receiver Todd Peterson on three of them, including the game-tying 17-yard touchdown with 29 seconds left in regulation.
With Nebraska winning the overtime coin toss and selecting to play defense first, Tech wasted no time putting points on the board. Harrell hit running back Baron Batch with a quick screen pass, and the Midland native sprinted 24 yards to the one-yard line, setting up Morris' touchdown.
Batch ended up with 97 yards rushing on 10 carries to go along with 53 yards receiving. On the season, Batch has 646 all-purpose yards while touching the ball a total of 70 times. He is averaging 9.2 yards every time he touches the ball.
Nebraska did have its chances to win the game, but two costly holding penalties forced kicker Alex Henery to settle for a 53-yard field goal before halftime, which he missed.
Also, in what was a controversial call, on fourth and one with the ball on Tech's 30-yard line, Nebraska running back Quentin Castille was stopped inches short of a first down, turning the ball over on downs.
Harrell immediately made the Huskers pay, hitting receiver Edward Britton for a 56-yard gain. A roughing the passer penalty gave Tech the ball on the 1-yard line, and running back Shannon Woods punched it in for the touchdown to take a 17-7 lead with 1:18 left before halftime.
"There was nothing particularly cohesive about either side," Leach said. "So then it becomes a screwy slugfest where you literally take the stats the winners or losers have and you just throw them up in the air and everybody grabs one. Then we end up winning in overtime."
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