![]() He had interest from other schools to play football, but not in the way he’d hoped. Crabtree was a two-sport star who was recruited by Bob Knight to join the Red Raiders’ basketball team. He had thought about committing to Texas, but decided a career in Lubbock was right for him. Harrell was a four-star quarterback from just outside Dallas who’d gotten offers from Georgia and Wisconsin. The tide was turning heading into 2008, as Leach had found the perfect pairing for his Air Raid offense in Harrell and Crabtree. And though they were in the midst of a renaissance under Leach, they hadn’t held a single-digit ranking in more than 30 years, and had beat the Longhorns only once since he’d been named head coach in 2000. The Red Raiders had toiled in mediocrity for the majority of their history. Whether in the Southwest Conference or the Big 12, it was never quite a basement dweller, but never good enough to be considered among the elite. Vince Young’s dominant run gave way to Colt McCoy, who would, as far as anyone was concerned, give way to the next golden boy with a rocket arm and an affable Lone Star twang. In 2005, it took the national championship. Texas won at least 10 games every season from 2001 to 2009. These days, every Longhorns win of dubious significance comes with a pronouncement declaring them “back.” What they are said to be returning to is the period of dominance coinciding with the game against the Red Raiders in 2008, when they were among the preeminent teams in the nation. “Pretty much anytime, especially if I run into a random Texas fan, or you meet someone for the first time, that’s the first thing that gets brought up,” said Harrell, now the offensive coordinator at North Texas. Graham Harrell, Texas Tech’s quarterback from 2005 to 2008, said he re-lives the game daily. Leach said someone will bring up the game weekly, sometimes more often if it’s during the season. To this day, Red Raiders who played that night are asked about their showdown with the Longhorns. On that night, Red Raiders receiver Michael Crabtree secured the defining win in what would go down as Texas Tech’s most successful season, breaking the hearts of thousands of Texas fans in the process. The matchup was the biggest in Texas Tech’s history, pitting an undefeated, top-ranked Texas against high-flying and seventh-ranked Texas Tech, which had taken the nation by storm with its unorthodox Air Raid offense and eccentric head coach, Mike Leach. ![]() On November 1, 2008, McCoy led his Texas Longhorns into Lubbock to face a red-hot Texas Tech team. ![]() Most of all, he remembers the catch that crashed a promising season. He remembers the pick-six he threw to widen the deficit and how the comeback-his comeback-would have changed his career. It’s been 10 years, but Colt McCoy still remembers the bus ride back to the airport. ![]()
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