The 2009 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University as a member of the Big 12 Conference during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by tenth-year head coach Mike Leach during the regular season and, following Leach’s dismissal, interim head coach Ruffin McNeill for the bowl game. The Red Raiders compiled an overall record of 9–4 with a mrk of 5–3 in conference play, tying for third place in the Big 12's South Division. Texas Tech was invited to the Alamo Bowl, where they defeated Michigan State, 41–31. The Red Raiders played home games at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.
On December 28, Leach was suspended by Texas Tech pending investigation of alleged inappropriate treatment of Adam James, a redshirt sophomore wide receiver, and the son of former SMU Mustangs and New England Patriots running back Craig James. The suspension came after allegations that Leach treated James unfairly following a mild concussion. Leach was terminated by the university on December 30. Ruffin McNeill, the team's defensive coordinator, was named interim head coach and led the team during their appearance in the Alamo Bowl.
Previous season
With an 11–1 record in the regular season during 2008, the Red Raiders finished in a three-way tie with the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns atop the Big 12 South. In order to break the tie, BCS standings were used to determine who would face Missouri in the conference championship game. The Sooners, ranked #2 in the BCS polls at the time, were chosen to represent the South Division in the game. The Red Raiders were selected to the Cotton Bowl Classic, losing 34–47 to Ole Miss. The 2008 team finished with an overall record of 11–2 and were ranked no. 12 in the final AP Poll.
Personnel
Coaching staff Mike Leach – Head coach/offensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill – Assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Carlos Mainord – Safeties Clay McGuire – Running backs Brian Mitchell – Cornerbacks Matt Moore – Offensive line Lincoln Riley – Inside receivers Eric Russell – Special teams Coordinator Charlie Sadler – Defensive ends Dennis Simmons – Wide receivers Sonny Cumbie – Offensive graduate assistant
Source:
Roster 2009 Texas Tech Red Raiders Football RosterCenters 51 Shawn Byrnes – Senior 73 Justin Keown – Junior
Cornerback 10 Eugene Neboh – Freshman
Defensive backs 3 Jamar Wall – Senior 9 Yashua Williams – Freshman 11 Aaron Charbonnet – Freshman 12 D.J. Johnson – Freshman 21 De’Shon Sanders – Senior 22 Jared Flannel – Sophomore 24 Andre McCorkle – Sophomore 25 Trent Nickerson – Junior 28 LaRon Moore – Junior 29 Taylor Charbonnet – Sophomore 31 Jarrell Routt – Junior 33 Brent Nickerson – Senior 36 Jarvis Phillips – Freshman 37 Angelo Traylor – Sophomore 38 Arlan Waller – Freshman 40 Nathan Stone – Junior 49 Corey Lee – Freshman 98 Travis Malone – Freshman
Defensive ends 46 Sandy Riley – Senior 47 Brandon Sesay – Senior 48 Ryan Haliburton – Freshman 53 Daniel Howard – Senior 75 Christopher Knighton – Freshman 82 Kerry Hyder – Freshman 87 Aundrey Barr – Freshman 92 Brandon Sharpe – Senior
Defensive linemen 6 Colby Whitlock – Junior 50 Romario Cathey – Freshman 80 Jake Myatt – Senior 94 Chris Perry – Sophomore
Deep safeties 50 Austin Burns – Senior 61 Jesse Smitherman – Junior Defensive tackles 4 Victor Hunter – Senior 42 Clint Stoffels – Junior 47 Myles Wade – Junior 91 Rajon Henley – Senior 95 Pearlie Graves – Freshman 97 Britton Barbee – Junior 99 Richard Jones – Senior
Inside receivers 2 Cornelius Douglas – Freshman 6 Austin Zouzalik – Freshman 11 Tramain Swindall – Sophomore 14 Brian Cote – Sophomore 17 Detron Lewis – Junior 80 Adrian Reese – Junior 82 Adam James – Sophomore 83 Blake Kelley – Junior
Linebackers 18 Tanner Foster – Sophomore 19 Brandon Mahoney – Freshman 20 Bront Bird – Junior 23 Dion Chidozie – Freshman 32 Jason Wallace – Sophomore 35 Blake Collier – Junior 39 Marlon Williams – Senior 41 Sam Fehoko – Sophomore 45 Tyrone Sonier – Sophomore 47 Bonner Morren – Freshman 54 Riley Harvey – Sophomore 56 Jonathan Brydon – Junior 57 Brian Duncan – Junior 58 Chris Wallace – Senior 62 Caleb Schneider – Freshman 96 Michael Aguilar – Junior
Offensive linemen 59 Joe King – Freshman 60 Jonathan Guerra – Freshman 63 Joel Gray – Freshman 65 LaAdrian Waddle – Freshman 66 Deveric Gallington – Freshman 67 Marlon Winn – Senior 68 Terry McDaniel – Freshman 70 Chris Olson – Junior 71 Kyle Clark – Freshman 72 Matt Goetz – Freshman 75 Blake Emert – Sophomore 76 Brandon Carter – Senior 77 Mickey Okafor – Sophomore 78 Lonnie Edwards – Sophomore 79 David Neill – Sophomore Punters 9 Jonathan LaCour – Junior 38 Ryan Erlexben – Freshman
Place kickers 49 Donnie Carona – Sophomore 84 Bradley Hicks – Junior 85 Matt Williams – Junior
Quarterbacks 1 Steven Sheffield – Junior 3 Garrett Riley – Freshman 7 Seth Doege – Freshman 8 Jacob Karam – Freshman 15 Taylor Potts – Junior 16 Dustin Eskew – Freshman
Running backs 5 Ryan Hale – Senior 10 Harrison Jeffers – Freshman 25 Baron Batch – Junior 30 Eric Stephens – Freshman 32 Aaron Crawford – Sophomore 34 Josh Talbott – Freshman 36 Gerardo Acevedo – Junior
Safeties 1 Terrence Bullitt – Freshman 13 Julius Howard – Junior 14 Will Ford – Freshman 16 Cody Davis – Freshman 24 Daniel Cobb – Freshman 26 Franklin Mitchem – Junior 30 Brett Dewhurst – Sophomore
Tight end 89 Omar Castillo – Freshman
Wide receivers 8 Jacoby Franks – Sophomore 12 Derrick Mays – Freshman 13 E.J. Celestie – Freshman 14 Landon Hoefer – Senior 18 Eric Ward – Freshman 19 Lyle Leong – Junior 20 Garrick McCray – Sophomore 23 Rashad Hawk – Sophomore 24 Weston Neiman – Junior 27 Edward Britton – Senior 28 Steven Johnson – Freshman 86 Alexander Torres – Junior 87 Aaron Fisher – Freshman 88 Brik Brinker – JuniorSources: 2009 Texas Tech Red Raider Football Media Guide
Schedule
Game summaries
North Dakota
This game marked the first time the North Dakota Fight Sioux faced the Red Raiders on the football field making North Dakota the 127th different opponent the Red Raiders have faced. The Red Raiders won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kick off.
The opening drive ultimately ended in a touchdown and covered 64 yards in 7 plays, lasting 3:18. Barron Batch rushed three yards for the first touchdown and was followed by a successful extra point attempt by Matt Williams. The Red Raiders would go on to score one more touchdown with successful PAT in the first quarter. The Fighting Sioux scored a field goal with six seconds left in the first quarter bringing the final score for the first quarter to 14–3.
The second quarter saw the longest touchdown reception of the game with a 49-yard pass by Taylor Potts to Detron Lewis, followed by a successful PAT by Matt Williams. The Fighting Sioux went on to kick a 52-yard field goal with 1:28 left in the half. The final score at the half was 21–6.
The third quarter saw only one score with the Red Raider's quarterback Taylor Potts rushing 1 yard for a touchdown followed by a successful PAT. At the end of the third quarter the score was 28–6.
The Fighting Sioux scored their only touchdown and successful PAT 3:09 into the final quarter. The Red Raiders scored twice in the fourth quarter with a 32-yard field goal by Matt Williams and later an 18-yard touchdown pass by Taylor Potts to Adam Jones. Matt Williams successfully kicked the last PAT of the game bringing the score to 38–13.
During the game, the Red Raiders rushed for 40 yards. Taylor Potts attempted 48 passes, completing 34 for a total of 405 passing yards. Potts was also intercepted 3 times and scored 2 touchdowns. The team accrued 11 penalties for 93 yards.
Rice
This game was the first time the Rice Owls played Texas Tech Red Raiders at home since 1995. The Owls won the coin toss and elected to defer until the second half.
The Red Raiders shut the Owls out in the first quarter and scored two touchdowns. The first score came 6:13 into the game by way of a 5-yard touchdown pass from Taylor Potts to Edward Britton. Matt Williams successfully kicked the PAT. The next touchdown for the Red Raiders would come with only 1:18 left in the first quarter, when Taylor Potts threw a 7-yard pass to Lyle Leong. The extra point attempt was good. At the end of the quarter the score was 14–0.
The second quarter saw no scores by the Red Raiders. The Owls scored a field goal 3:33 into the quarter. The score at the half was 14–3.
The third quarter proved to be more fruitful for the Red Raiders, were they once again shut out the Owls. The Red Raiders scored three touchdowns with successful PATs all within the last nine minutes of the quarter. The first came with 8:51 left in quarter when Taylor Potts threw an 8-yard pass to Lyle Leong. The next touchdown came a little over two minutes later with an 11-yard touchdown reception by Austin Zouzalik from Taylor Potts. The last touchdown was scored with 2:34 left in the quarter by Taylor Potts and Lyle Leon when Potts threw a 27-yard pass to Leon. At the end of the quarter the score was 35–3.
Steven Sheffield, the Red Raiders backup quarterback, made his season debut when he came in for Taylor Potts during the final quarter after two touchdowns by the Red Raiders and a field goal by the Owls. The first Red Raider touchdown came only nine seconds into the quarter with a 34-yard touchdown reception by Eric Stephens from Taylor Potts. Matt Williams failed to convert the extra point kick. The Owls scored their only touchdown with 11:02 left on the clock. Taylor Potts last touchdown of the game came by way of a 30-yard pass to Tramain Swindall with 9:10 left in the game. The extra point attempt was good. The Red Raiders final score, and Steven Sheffield's first for the season came with 4:33 left in the game when Sheffield threw a 26-yard pass to Tramain Swindall. The PAT was converted by Matt Williams. The final score for the game was 55–10.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders rushed for 52 yards and passed for 508 yards. Taylor Potts attempted 57 passes, completing 36 for 456 yards. Steven Sheffield completed 4 out of 6 passes for 52 yards. Potts threw seven touchdown passes to Sheffield's one. Neither Potts nor Sheffield threw an interception.
The Owls rushed for 60 yards, passed for 197 yards, and scored 1 touchdown.
At Texas
The Texas Tech Red Raiders competed against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 9, 2009. For the second year in a row the matchup was highlighted on ESPN's GameDay.
The series between Texas Tech and Texas originated in Austin in 1928 and the two teams have met annually since 1960. Before the game, Texas led the series 43–15–0. The Red Raider's victory in the 2008 season was only the second time in the last 10 meetings.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders received the opening kick off and returned it 28 yards. The Red Raiders opening driving ended with a 41-yard field goal by Matt Williams. On their second drive the Longhorns scored by returning a Red Raider punt 46 yards for a touchdown. The score at the end of the first quarter was 3–7.
The Red Raiders did not score in the second quarter, and would hold the Longhorns to only a field goal. At the half the score was 3–10.
The third quarter saw two touchdowns by both the Red Raiders and the Longhorns. The Longhorns scored a touchdown and successful PAT, on their opening drive of the second half. On the next possession the Red Raiders answered the Longhorns score with a touchdown and successful PAT of their own. The Red Raiders first touchdown of the game came by way of a 14-yard pass to Lyle Leong by Taylor Potts and the PAT was kicked by Matt Williams. After an unsuccessful on-side kick by the Red Raiders, Texas's next drive would end with a touchdown and PAT. The Red Raiders next drive proved as fruitful as their previous ending with a 10-yard touchdown pass by Potts to Leong. The final score at the end of the quarter was 17–24.