Oklahoma football‘s meetings with Texas Tech bring back memories, memories of a recently-played record-setting tilt between the Sooners and Red Raiders.
It was just after 7:00 p.m. CT on October 22, 2016, in Lubbock, Texas when Texas Tech Kicker Michael Barden took the field for the opening kickoff. The wind was blowing at 11 mph that day and Barden was able to boot the ball out of the back of the end zone and over the heads of return men Mykel Jones and Dede Westbrook. This kickoff would mark the beginning of one of the greatest college football showdowns that college football had ever witnessed.
Oklahoma was ranked 16th going into this matchup. Baker Mayfield was leading the charge for the Sooners and was looking to put his name back into Heisman consideration after losing to Houston and Ohio State in the opening weeks of the season. Texas Tech wasn’t off to the greatest of starts in Big 12 play with a win over Kansas preceding back-to-back losses to Kansas State and the No 12 West Virginia Mountaineers. Patrick Mahomes, however, was off to a great start statistically in this air raid system with over 2,500 yards passing and 28 total touchdowns to his name before the halfway point of the season.
Texas Tech wasn’t exactly a top team all around, but they had a habit of playing most teams close in their losses and Oklahoma’s 111th ranked passing defense wasn’t about to slow down the Red Raider passing attack that ranked 1st nationally with a 463 yard per game average. The Red Raiders weren’t the best on defense either and by that, I mean that they were the nations worst. The Red Raiders were giving up 554 yards per game to opposing teams and they were about to go up against the nations second best total offense behind their own.
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Baker Mayfield’s past with Texas Tech always made this game special. Mayfield walked-on and later started for the Red Raiders but injured led to Davis Webb taking over. Mayfield transferred to Oklahoma and first felt his hatred for his former school rise as his former coach Kliff Kingsbury tried to deny him of an extra year of eligibility. This game was always a must-win game for Baker and had he not been disrespected like so, I have no doubt in my mind that Texas Tech would’ve taken home the win in this game. It’s also ironic that an injury to Davis Webb the next season would lead to a young Patrick Mahomes taking over for the Red Raiders.
Although the first half of the game had its excitements such as Texas Tech taking a 24-23 lead over the Sooners despite being down 20-10 early on in the game. There were 11 combined drives in the second half of the football game. The first drive ended in a three-and-out and every single drive after ended in a touchdown.
The showdown between the two teams would ultimately end with a first down run by Joe Mixon leading to Baker Mayfield clocking the game with back-to-back kneels.
It almost did not matter who came out on top at the end of the day that Saturday. Both Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield would be immortalized in the memories of college football fans as two of the greatest single game performances from two of the best college football players of all time.
Looking back, a battle between the stud Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and the rookie Browns quarterback gave many a glimpse into their true potential as complete players and while Mayfield has shown flashes in his rookie season, Pat Mahomes is currently quarterbacking the second-ranked total offense in the NFL through the NFL’s Week 8.
It seems only fitting now that Texas Tech and Oklahoma return to Jones AT&T Stadium for the first time since October 22, 2016, the very night before these two Big 12 Titans face off once again for the first time as professional athletes when the Kansas City Chiefs travel to Cleveland on Sunday to face the Browns.
Even though the final score of this game would only be 66-59, and that an Eric Dungey led Syracuse and a James Connor led Pittsburgh team would top it weeks later, listed below is what made this game oh so important and why it’s so important that we tune into the matchup this weekend.
- Both teams accounted for 854 yards respectively and combined for a total of 1,708 yards which was a mere six yards D3 Schools Hardin-Simmons and Sul Ross State’s record of 1,714 total yards. They would have broken the record had Oklahoma not kneeled the ball twice from shotgun to end the game.
- Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes set the NCAA single-game record for total offense by a single player with 819 total yards. To put his performance into perspective, Mahomes accounted for all but 35 of Texas Tech’s total offensive yards.
- Mahomes and Baker Mayfield finished with a combined 1,279 passing yards which is an NCAA record.
- This matchup set the all-time record for combined first downs in a game with a whopping 76 first downs.
- Mahomes surpassed his coach Kliff Kingsbury’s Big 12 single-game completions record of 52.
- Mahomes also tied the FBS record for passing yards with 734 yards which was set by Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday two years prior (it was ironically also set in a losing effort).
- Baker Mayfield set the Oklahoma All-Time passing touchdown record with seven scores surpassing the previous record held by Landry Jones against Tulsa (2009) and West Virginia (2012) (Kyler Murray tied Landry Jones single-game numbers earlier this year against Baylor).
- Keke Coutee and Jonathan Giles caught a combined 20 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns for Texas Tech.
- Joe Mixon finished the day with the best single-game performance of his career with 263 yards and two scores on the ground and 114 yards and three scores through the air.
- Texas Tech’s 110 plays from scrimmage is the most plays in a single game in the NCAA by a single team. Both teams combined for 187 total plays during the game.
- Oklahoma averaged .86 yards per play against Texas Tech. Alabama’s 2018 offense is averaging .789 points per play.
- A total of 11 players in this game would be drafted into NFL; Joe Mixon (Cincinnati), Dede Westbrook (Jacksonville), Samaje Perine (Washington), Jordan Evans (Cincinnati), Baker Mayfield (Cleveland), Orlando Brown Jr. (Baltimore), Mark Andrews (Baltimore), Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (Los Angeles Rams), Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City), Keke Coutee (Houston), Dylan Cantrell (Los Angeles Chargers)
Texas Tech and Oklahoma face off on Saturday, Nov, 3 at 8:00 p.m. ET in Lubbock, Texas. The Sooners open up as 13.5 point favorites over the Red Raiders as both try to sure up the Big 12 in the final weeks of the season.