Big 12 Football: Top 20 quarterbacks since 2000
By Andrew Tineo
![MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 29: Kyler Murray #1 of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts after losing to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 29: Kyler Murray #1 of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts after losing to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/f0c107ea0a9c6b4d286bb0bbdb88fbfaa284f99a51d7adf8fe2cdf1baf99217e.jpg)
Career Stats: 63.5% completions, 11,252 passing yards, 93 touchdowns, 29 interceptions
The way Patrick Mahomes is a household name now in the NFL was not the case during his college playing days even though he should have been.
Mahomes made his first career start at home when he faced off against Texas. Although throwing for just 109 yards and the loss, he did not let that performance get to him.
The freshman from Whitehouse finished his final three games throwing for over 300 yards in each and 14 touchdowns to two interceptions. His most notable performance was a heartbreaking loss to No. 5 Baylor, after throwing for 598 yards and six touchdowns.
Mahomes is the “poster boy” of the Kliff Kingsbury era in Lubbock and would continue to pile up massive performances. He had five games with four or more passing touchdowns, to go along with plays only seen in Backyard Football.
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Texas Tech finished 7-6 while losing to LSU in the Texas Bowl. Although the Texas Tech defense was a nightmare, Mahomes made sure the Red Raiders were must-watch TV. His 4,653 passing yards were the highest mark in the conference, to go along with his Big 12-leading 36 touchdowns.
Even when the ceiling didn’t seem to get higher, Mahomes made sure to smash it. Mahomes broke the Big 12 record, with 734 passing yards in the Red Raiders loss to Oklahoma. Mahomes also had five other games with four or more touchdowns.
He finished with 41 touchdowns on over 5,000 passing yards. The Red Raiders finished fifth in scoring offense, racking up 43.7 per game.
The unfortunate part for Mahomes was the talent on the other side of the ball was a glaring weakness. Tech ranked dead last in the country in points given up per game, at 43.5, resulting in a 5-7 season.
Not exactly Mahomes fault, even with a quarterback that can score points in a hurry, Texas Tech never found success and didn’t finish in the top half of the conference once in Mahomes three seasons in Lubbock.