 "Photo: Karl Anderson")
There was plenty of dancing.
There was a humorous name change at quarterback.
And with revenge in full swing, it all ended with a milestone victory on a memorable Senior Day.
Tech quarterback Taylor Potts, who had the name “Nick” on the back of his jersey, completed 35-of-53 passes, totaling 388 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in leading the Red Raiders to a 41-13 victory against Oklahoma Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium.
With the win, coach Mike Leach became the winningest coach in school history with 83 career victories, passing former coach Spike Dykes. Leach tied the record with a win against Kansas two weeks ago and had to wait to be in first place after a loss at Oklahoma State.
“Well it means a lot,” Leach said. “I mean we’ve kind of hashed over it a little bit, got the opportunity to see coach Dykes in the locker room. One of the greatest coaches of all time in my opinion, really instrumental in building this program and being a part of his legacy is a real honor for me.”
Tech (7-4, 4-3 in Big 12 Conference play) is bowl eligible with the win, and it happened against Leach’s friend and former coaching colleague Bob Stoops, who lost for the third consecutive time at Jones AT&T Stadium.
The Sooners (6-5, 4-3 in Big 12 play) lagged all game long, looking like they were unable to wake up for what was an 11:30 a.m. kickoff.
Both the defense and offense led the way. Tech’s 549 yards of total offense is the most Oklahoma’s allowed all season, and running back Baron Batch had a lot to do with that. He scored two rushing touchdowns — OU had allowed four all season — and finished with 136 yards on 25 carries.
The defense held quarterback Landry Jones and the Sooners to 310 yards offensively — only 48 of those were on the ground.
Oklahoma was averaging 150 rushing yards coming into the game, but running backs Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray were held to 58 yards rushing. Jones, who finished with 262 yards passing, a touchdown and an interception on 18-of-35 throwing, was sacked three times for -28 yards.
Tech defensive end Brandon Sharpe had 2.5 of those sacks, giving him 13 on the season, which puts him one away from tying Adell Duckett’s school record of 14.
Sharpe did most of his damage after two early personal foul penalties that totaled 30 yards for the Sooner offense.
“It’s just hard work," he said. "I wanted to get more (sacks) and stuff, but I think at the beginning of the game I was just trying to do too much, too hard and too aggressive instead of just calming down and seeing everything."
On the other side of the ball, Potts’ name change was a storyline all game.
He and Leach, neither knows whose idea it was, decided to put “Nick” on the back of his jersey instead of Potts in hopes of getting the embattled quarterback to take on the traits of former Kansas linebacker Nick Reid, who obviously made an impression on Leach.
“(Kansas) went through some hard times, and then (Reid) was just gritty and tough and would hit anything that moved,” Leach said. “Always a handful, a factor on every play that you played against him.”
Reid played under the guidance of coach Mark Mangino with the Jayhawks from 2002 to 2005.
Potts’ solid outing comes after he has dealt with criticism all season. Due to a concussion against New Mexico, he was replaced by quarterback Steven Sheffield, who led Tech to wins against Kansas State and Nebraska before suffering a broken foot.
Then it was obvious Potts’ confidence had been shaken as he began to struggle. He constantly stood in the pocket too long and hesitated on throws, prompting Leach to say he was “statue-like” at one point this season.
The game against Oklahoma was the first time he’s played a full game since a loss at Houston Sept. 26. Until Saturday, he had swapped with quarterback Seth Doege in a couple games, and last week, Leach shuffled him around with a limping Sheffield.
“There’s been ups and downs this season,” Potts said. “This game was a big high for us. We’ll enjoy it, but we definitely need to get another win the next week.”
While the defense forced four Oklahoma punts and kept the Sooners to six points on two field goals, Potts bounced back from an early interception to lead the Red Raiders to back-to-back scoring drives and a 17-6 lead in the second quarter.
His favorite target all day was receiver Alexander Torres, who had a 65-yard catch and run in the first of those drives. He finished with a career-high 11 receptions for 163 yards and a touchdown. His score came on a 24-yard toss with 10:38 remaining in the third quarter that blew the game open, giving Tech a 24-6 lead.
The Sooners punted a total of six times in the game, twice came in the second half, which was when both of OU’s interceptions happened.
The first pick was credited to Jones, who was intercepted by cornerback LaRon Moore on the drive following Torres’ touchdown.
Moore returned the pick 17 yards to the 18-yard line, where kicker Matt Williams ended up hitting a 37-yard field goal — his second of the game — to give Tech a 27-6 lead.
After an Oklahoma punt, Tech put together an 18-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by a 21-yard burst of a touchdown by Batch.
The Red Raiders led 34-6 at this point, which was when last year’s theme song to a 65-21 beating in Norman, Okla., that crushed Tech’s national championship dreams — House of Pain’s “Jump Around” — blared from the speakers.
Fans went wild, trying their best to re-enact last year’s pandemonium at Gaylord-Memorial Stadium in Norman. The song was played several times the rest of the way.
But it wasn’t just fans enjoying each moment, Tech players and coaches went wild too, jumping around hysterically.
Sooner players and coaches were flat-footed, stunned, and looked much like Tech did in 2008. It was clear that revenge was on everyone’s mind.
The irony, however, was that players said they’ve despised that song since that dreadful night.
Now it has new meaning.
“It’s not my favorite song,” said senior tackle Marlon Winn. “I love it again. They couldn’t have played it at a different time. It was perfect timing. It was just great to see it happen in our stadium this time and the score being reversed and momentum being reversed. It was just amazing, great day.”
Batch added: “My feelings have changed a little bit on it. I used to like it before last year, and then I hated it. Now I kind of like it again, but it was just awesome.”
A few minutes later, OU receiver Ryan Broyles, who finished with 117 yards and a touchdown, threw an interception to cornerback Jamar Wall in the end zone.
But the Sooners eventually scored their only touchdown of the game when Jones hit Broyles for a 51-yard touchdown with 7:30 remaining.
The game was over when running back Eric Stephens ran in a touchdown, capping a six-minute drive, late in the fourth quarter.
The song bounced around the stadium’s concrete structure once again, and this time Leach said it was the right time, but that didn’t mean he was going to dance.
“I’m not a huge jump around guy,” he said, “maybe at the end. I’m not a guy that even — I’m too self conscious to dance really,” he said.
Between the wins record, becoming bowl eligible and soundly beating the Oklahoma Sooners, no one would have questioned the old-pirate had he showed some moves.
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