Humbling 2004 loss sparked change for Red Raiders
— -- LUBBOCK, Texas -- The turnaround for Texas Tech started a year ago.
After a 70-10 blowout win over Nebraska and a bye week to let their heads swell, the Red Raiders came into last year's game in Lubbock supremely confident about beating Texas.
"Everybody was patting us on the back, telling us how good we were," Tech linebacker Fletcher Session said. "We weren't really focusing on Texas."
With the largest crowd in the history of Jones SBC Stadium in attendance, the Longhorns humiliated the Red Raiders in their own backyard. The Longhorns gashed Tech for 351 rushing yards in a decisive 51-21 beatdown.
"That loss humbled us," Session said. "Especially because it happened at home, it hurt -- a lot. It started some growing pains for us."
That loss changed how Tech coach Mike Leach operates his program. Memories about that game still cause him to bristle.
"I thought over those two weeks we got soft and passive and we got complimented too many times over the Nebraska game," Leach said. "We were more concerned with doing interviews than having practice. After that game, I decided that we would adjust that a little bit."
As has been his customary fashion since the Texas loss, Leach has kept his program in a near-lockdown alert. After last week's postgame interviews with a select group of players, only quarterback Cody Hodges and cornerback Khalid Naziruddin have been available for interviews this week. The policy is unprecedented in the Big 12.
"It got to be a distraction," Leach said. "Guys were thinking the most important part of their job was giving interviews rather than making plays. I just wanted to see how they would play."
Since that game, the Red Raiders have gone on a 10-1 spurt marred only by an overtime loss at Texas A&M last year. Included are last season's upset of California in the Holiday Bowl and the Red Raiders' 6-0 start this season.
That early run has boosted them to 10th in the Associated Press media poll, the highest for the program since the start of the 1977 season. The ESPN GameDay crew will be covering its first Tech game when it visits Austin for the South Division showdown between the two unbeaten teams Saturday.
But memories of that embarrassing Texas loss have kept the Red Raiders' collective egos in check.
"I think we're a more mature football team," Hodges said. "We've got a lot of seniors and juniors who were a part of what happened. We were playing well and we got big-headed. Texas brought us down to earth really quick."
Again, Tech's game before Texas might have been its best of the season. The Red Raiders blew open a 59-20 thumping of Kansas State by scoring eight touchdowns in a span of 26 minutes. It was the Wildcats' worst loss in nearly 13 years.
But this time, the Red Raiders are preparing differently for Texas.
Leach's high-powered offense made its customary swath through the record book as Hodges torched the Wildcats for 643 yards -- the sixth-best single-game passing total in college football history. Four different receivers caught passes for at least 100 yards, including Joel Filani, who produced school and Big 12 yardage records with 255 yards on 10 grabs.
And for good measure, versatile senior tailback Taurean Henderson matched the school record with five touchdowns while becoming the NCAA career leader in receptions by a running back.
Even with all those ridiculous offensive riches, Leach chose to single out his defense for setting the tone in the victory. It was almost like hearing Hillary Clinton talk about the good points in George W. Bush's fiscal policy.
The Tech coach took as much delight in a pair of devastating hits delivered by free safety Dwayne Slay as any of the offensive records notched by his team.
Slay, who leads the Big 12 with six forced fumbles, delivered two knockouts against K-State that sparked a lagging offense, which scored only three points in the first 27 minutes of the game.
Slay's aggressive play is indicative of an attitude change on Tech's defense.
Only two years ago, the Red Raiders struggled defensively in the first season with coordinator Lyle Setencich. The Tech defense ranked 106th in total defense, 101st in scoring defense, 100th in passing defense and allowed more than 43 points in six games.
But after taking some early lumps with that young unit, the group has developed into one of the strengths of the team. Tech's defense currently ranks no lower than 32nd in any major defensive statistical category, including 15th in pass efficiency defense, 18th in total defense and tied for 13th in scoring defense.
This Tech team has allowed more than 21 points only once this season.
"In my freshman year, we were ranked low in a lot of categories and we had a lot of busts," Session said. "But the one thing about it was that everybody was young. Now, everybody who was freshmen and sophomores on that team are juniors and seniors. We learned a lot and grew together. That experience helps us a lot."
But whether that can help them derail No. 2 Texas might be another story. The Red Raiders haven't faced anything like the Longhorns' offensive attack.
But the new collective attitude gives them confidence they will react better to the Longhorns than before.
"There's a lot of hoopla around this game," Naziruddin said. "We just need to stay focused in what we're doing. We're not big-headed because of what happened last year. We're more mature and calm this time."
Tim Griffin covers the Big 12 for the San Antonio Express-News.
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