With Michigan's defeat at the hands of Appalachian State fresh in the minds of sports fans everywhere, the time is right to look back on the best upsets in recent Texas Tech sports history.
Nov. 16, 2002 - The Kliff Kingsbury-led Red Raider football team erased all hope of No. 4 Texas Longhorns playing for the Big 12 and national championships. In his last home game as the first "Air Raid" quarterback, Kingsbury threw for 473 and six touchdowns to cap a prolific career at Texas Tech.
The contest began on a somber note for Tech as the Longhorns scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, a rushing touchdown by Cedric Benson and a pass by quarterback Chris Simms, both future NFL players. After Simms completed the pass, he ran by the Tech student section making the "Hook 'Em" sign with his hands.
It was all the inspiration the Red Raiders needed.
Senior Wes Welker made his own case for a future in the professional league, the current New England Patriots receiver, pulling in 14 catches for 160 yards against a stout Texas defense.
The Longhorns were the highest-ranked team Tech had ever beaten.
Dec. 30, 2004 - Sonny Cumbie ended his collegiate football career in similar fashion to Kingsbury, leading the Tech offense to a 45-31 victory over No. 4 Cal in the 2004 Holiday Bowl. The Red Raiders came into the game ranked No. 21, leading few people to believe they could defeat a powerful Bears team led by future NFL draft selections quarterback Aaron Rodgers and tailbacks J.J. Arrington and Marshawn Lynch.
The Red Raiders showcased star power of their own, quarterback Sonny Cumbie passing for 520 yards and three touchdowns while tailback Taurean Henderson scored twice on the ground. Receivers Joel Filani and Trey Haverty each registered over 140 yards receiving.
Sept 29, 2006 - Tech soccer downs the 17th-ranked Missouri Tigers in Columbia. This one will probably cause most people to scratch their heads, but it's more than worthy to make this list. In order to understand why this game is so important, it is crucial to know the recent background of the Tech soccer program - in the 2005 season, the Red Raiders failed to win a single conference game while posting a 1-18 overall mark.
Despite a strong recruiting class and a vastly-improved offense, it is safe to say that most followers of Tech soccer were not expecting much out of the women when they made the trip to Columbia, Mo., to face the Tigers. It was clear to see Tech was a much better team, but taking out a ranked opponent was simply too much to expect from a group with only one senior on the roster.
With that in mind, the 3-1 victory for the Red Raiders easily qualifies as one of the best upsets in recent Red Raider history. It boosted the team to a strong finish and an optimistic approach for the 2007 campaign - even without coach Neil McGuire, who left Tech in the offseason to take the head coaching position at Cal.
Feb. 13, 2007 - Bob Knight's Red Raider basketball team defeat Texas A&M 77-75 in College Station. This game is only the cover story for the series of upsets Tech men's basketball pulled off last year, including back-to-back victories in the United Spirit Arena against top-five teams, taking down the both Kansas Jayhawks and Texas A&M Aggies in a four-day span.
The Red Raiders to beat the young, inexperienced Jayhawk team despite the difference in rankings.
The first victory against A&M surprised fans as well as the media, considering the poor match up Tech provided on paper against an Aggie team loaded with strong post players.
Lightning had struck once. When the Red Raiders traveled to College Station, they reminded everyone - just like Appalachian State did - that games are not played on paper.
Be the first to comment on this article!