Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Red Raiders Knock Off No. 17 Texas A&M, 12-0
Nov 03, 2001 | Football
November 03, 2001
Kliff Kingsbury passed for 303 yards and Ricky Williams scored the game's lone touchdown as Texas Tech beat Texas A&M (No. 17 ESPN/USA Today, No. 24 AP) 12-0 on Saturday.
After the game, Red Raiders fans tore down the goal post on the south end of the field and marched it the length of the field and taunted Aggies fans by putting it into the stands.
Texas Tech (5-3, 3-3 Big 12) shut out the Aggies (7-2, 4-2) for the first time since a 3-0 victory in 1983. The shut out was the Aggies' first since a 24-0 loss to Penn State in the 1999 Alamo Bowl.
Kingsbury was 38-for-46, but was sacked seven times. Texas A&M quarterback Mark Farris was 22-of-31 for 206 yards and an interception as the Aggies rolled up 372 total yards.
A pivotal play in the game came in the fourth quarter while the Aggies were driving. On fourth-and-3 from their own 27, a pass from Farris to Terrence Murphy was enough for the first down. But Murphy fumbled as he was tackled. Tech's Kevin Curtis came up with the ball to end the 11-play drive.
The lone touchdown came with 2 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when Williams took a pitchout from Kingsbury and ran it in from the 6.
In the first half, Tech held the Aggies to 94 rushing yards and 80 passing yards. As the second quarter drew to a close, Ryan Aycock snuffed out the first serious Aggies scoring threat. On first-and-goal from the Red Raiders 7, Aycock intercepted Farris' pass in the end zone to stop an 11-play drive.
The Red Raiders offensive line had trouble containing a frequent blitz by A&M's defense, and Kingsbury was sacked four times before the half. Williams was held to just 19 yards on 10 carries.
Penalties hurt the Red Raiders in the first half. During each of two possessions, Tech drives were stymied by two penalties. They ended with seven penalties for 55 yard, 40 of those coming in the first half.
Tech's offense enjoyed more success than the Aggies in the first half, sustaining drives of 15, 11 and 10 plays. The latter ended when Robert Treece put the game's first points on the board with a 25-yard field goal at 4:51 in the second quarter.
Tech could have scored earlier when it drove down to the 1-yard line on its second possession of the game and attempted to take it in for a touchdown on fourth down rather then going for an easy field goal.
It was the second time this season that the Red Raiders have toppled a No. 24-ranked team. Texas Tech beat Kansas State 38-19 in early October.
