When the Texas Tech Red Raiders face Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, OK, they'll be returning to the scene of one of the most electrifying games in the history of college football.
Unfortunately for the Raiders _ or fortunately, if your name is Ruffin McNeill _ the jolt from the 49-45 loss to the Cowboys on that day turned out to be a game Tech will never remember. The setback sent shock waves through the Raiders' coaching staff and led to coach Mike Leach relieving Lyle Setencich of his defensive coordinator duties.
Leach made McNeill the interim defensive coordinator a day after the wild loss to OSU and it's safe to say the Raiders have made marked improvements on defense ever since. McNeill has since become the Raiders' full-time defensive coordinator, and the Raiders are an impressive 23-8 since that faithful day in Stillwater.
In that game two years ago, OSU rushed for a whopping 366 yards and four touchdowns on 61 carries, and added another three touchdowns and 244 yards passing. In all, the Cowboys ran a remarkable 94 plays and totalled 610 yards.
On the flip side, Tech rushed for just 72 yards on 21 plays and scored one rushing TD, while passing for an amazing 646 yards and five touchdowns. In all, the Raiders ran 92 plays and totalled an incredible 718 yards.
But despite the offensive explosion, the Raiders lost the game. Which is why Setencich lost his job.
For the sake of argument, if you are a coach and your team racks up 718 yards and score 45 points on a game-by-game basis during a 10-year span, you should have a 140-0 won-loss record and win 10 consecutive national championships. And have a book on the New York Times' best-sellers list and a few million in the bank, and a bust waiting for you in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Leach said he "absolutely'' has more confidence in his defense since that unforgettable day in Stillwater two years ago.
"That's when we made the change and played harder (on defense),'' Leach said. "Ruffin brings a lot of enthusiasm and inspiration.
"He's got a lot of enthusiasm personally and I think it rubs off on the players. We have a more inspired unit out there.''
Cornerback Jamar Wall, who was in his first year as a starter two years ago, described the game at OSU two years ago as being "crazy.''
Remember, despite letting the Cowboys run up and down the field, Tech still almost won the game. But a short slant pass from Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree in the waning seconds skipped off Crabtree's hands in the end zone.
"We were kind of sluggish around that game, and you could tell,'' Wall said. "Everything has been different after that game, from running on and off the field to everyone running to the ball, all kinds of small detail things that you can tell led up to big things.
"You can definitely see a difference now. It’s something that we know what happened. We’re definitely going to keep running to the ball, keep doing the things we have done to get us to this.''
In Stillwater, the fans are so close to the visiting team's bench they can almost reach out and touch them. And some of the colorful language the opposing players hear, of course, is rated R.
"It’s hostile,'' Wall said. "I remember fans being right behind us just talking so much trash, it was ridiculous.
"It’s like you want to turn around and say something, but you can’t because it’s making you lose focus and it will encourage them to keep going, so you just have to fight through it. If you just come out there from the start and put it on them, I don’t think they’ll be as hostile.”
Especially if the Raiders play much better defense than they did two years ago in Stillwater.
-- Dwain Price
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