The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Longhorns fall to Red Raiders in shootout
11.16.2002 | Football
LUBBOCK, Texas -- Texas Tech QB Kliff Kingsbury threw for 473 yards and six touchdowns against UT's fifth-ranked defense as the Red Raiders picked up a 42-38 victory at Jones SBC Stadium.
Kingsbury and senior QB Chris Simms nearly matched each other drive-for-drive in the shootout victory. However, he overshadowed Simms, who threw for 345 yards and four touchdowns on 24-of-37 passing.
Junior B.J. Johnson (five catches for 120 yards, including an 84-yard TD) and fellow junior wideout Roy Williams (eight catches for 117 yards and three TDs) both finished the game with 100 receiving yards. Williams, who extended his UT records to 32 games in a row with a catch, 24 career TDs and 10 100-yard games, became just the second Longhorn in school history to post three consecutive 100-yard performances (Mike Adams, 1993).
Although Texas' defense came into the game ranked fifth nationally (261.6 ypg), the Longhorns were without the services of junior DT Marcus Tubbs and junior DE Kalen Thornton due to injury. Texas Tech had 306 yards by halftime and finished with 606 in the victory.
Texas took a 7-0 lead when sophomore RB Cedric Benson, who rushed for 75 yards and 21 carries, scored from two yards out just two plays after Kingsbury fumbled on Tech's first play from scrimmage. After a Tech punt forced UT to start at its own 10-yard line, Simms led the Longhorns on a 12-play drive, finding Williams alone in the end zone to give Texas a 14-0 lead. UT kept the drive alive on senior Beau Trahan's 4-yard run on a fake punt.
Tech, averaging just more than 38 points a game, failed to score in the first quarter for the first time since its opening game of the season, but the Red Raiders came back in the second quarter to tie it at 14 with touchdown passes from Kingsbury of 23 and 15 yards in the first five minutes. Simms answered with a 19-yard TD pass to Williams for a 21-14 lead, but Tech got the ball back on its own 14 with 1:01 left in the half and no timeouts. Kingsbury then threw a 62-yard TD pass to Nehemiah Glover to knot the game at 21 at the half.
Kingsbury opened the third quarter with eight consecutive completions, including a 5-yard TD pass to WR Wes Welker, who had 247 all-purpose yards. Three minutes later, Simms found Williams from 10 yards out to tie the contest at 28.
Sophomore PK Dusty Mangum gave UT a 31-28 lead when he drilled a 35-yard field goal with 13:31 left in the fourth quarter. However, Kingsbury and Glover connected again three minutes later on a 16-yard TD. Simms answered with an 84-yard bomb to Johnson on the first play of the ensuing possession, but Tech went ahead for good, 42-38, on a 25-yard TD pass from Kingsbury to RB Taurean Henderson with 5:41 remaining in the game.
Simms tried to lead Texas back, but Red Raiders safety Ryan Aycock intercepted a pass intended for Johnson with 5:21 remaining to seal the win. With no timeouts left for Texas, the Tech kept the ball on the ground and got three first downs to run out the clock.
