Boy, was this one fun to watch or what. Did you know that the Red Raider fans in Lubbock, Texas throw tortillas onto the field during the game? Seems kind of appropriate that the razzle dazzle Pirate coach Mike Leach himself was head coach here from 2000 to 2009 and is the winningest coach in school history. Regarding the tortillas, there are several theories but the one I like the most I found in an article written by Sneha Singh for sportsrush and reads: “In 1992, when Texas Tech faced their rivals, Texas A&M Aggies, it was a commentator’s remark that sparked the students to start launching tortillas. According to the legend, an ESPN reporter joked that Lubbock ‘has nothing but Texas Tech football and a tortilla factory,’ which didn’t sit well with the students. What happened next? Texas Tech students brought their home-produced tortillas to the game and rained it on the field at the kickoff. They have continued the tradition to this day!”
Colorado got off to a slow start in this one—held scoreless in the 1st Qtr while the Red Raiders scored on their first three possessions to take a 13-0 lead at the end of the 1st Qtr. But the Buffalo defense hit the brakes while the offense got it going and never let up, outscoring Texas Tech 41-to-14 the rest of the way to win it 41-27. With No. 17 Iowa State losing their game to Kansas, it is now the 7-2 Colorado Buffaloes in sole possession of 2nd place in the Big-12 and in charge of their own destiny. If they can win out at home against Utah this next Saturday, on the road at Kansas, and then back in Boulder against Oklahoma State on Friday, November 29th, they will play in the Big-12 Championship game for a chance to get an automatic bid and bye in the newly organized 12-player national championship playoff.
For Colorado, QB Shedeur Sanders completed 70% of his passes for 291 yards, 3 TD’s, and no interceptions as well as rushing 9 times for 16 yards and their only TD on the ground. Missing one of his favorite targets, Senior WR Jimmy Horn Jr., who was taken out of the game early due to a lower body injury, Shedeur concentrated the majority of his attention towards three primary targets. Senior WR’s Will Sheppard and LaJohntay Wester as well as Junior two-way phenom Travis Hunter who all caught at least six passes for a combined 260 yards and a TD each. The ever improving Colorado defense stayed busy harassing the Texas Tech QB with seven sacks and three pass disruptions as well as shutting down the run as best they could with eleven tackles for loss. Their Junior place kicker Alejandro Mata was perfect as usual while contributing five extra points and two field goals.
The Red Raiders out-paced the Buffaloes in first downs, 24-22; rushing, 113-60; total yards, 388-351; had the ball just slightly longer; and were way better at making their third downs, 45% compared to just 15% for Colorado. Both teams were highly penalized as the game became very chippy, the Red Raiders 9 times for 80 yards and Colorado 14 times for 105 yards. With those game stats so close and slightly favoring Texas Tech what happened? The Red Raiders turned the ball over three times, two fumbles-both lost and one interception. Two of those turnovers led directly to points on the board for Colorado—one a fumble returned for touchdown by Senior Safety Shilo Sanders—yeah, it was a family thing all day long for Coach Prime and sons.