Just
three years ago, the Texas Tech fan base was shaken and divided after the
removal of a Tech icon. And now here we are, in 2012, sitting without a coach
yet again. In fact, I’m sure the entire Ole Miss community has acknowledged
what has transpired, and feels our pain as Tuberville did the exact same thing
to them in 1998.
But
now it is time to move on and band together as a university as we continue our
coaching search that has seemingly come down to its final two candidates - former
Red Raider gunslinger, Kliff Kingsbury and Clemson
Offensive Coordinator, Chad Morris.
But
first, let’s take a look back at the three year stint under Tommy Tuberville.
The
Red Raider football program saw some ups and downs under the Riverboat Gambler.
He inherited a solid team in 2010 after Texas Tech compiled an 8-5 record and
claimed the 2009 Alamo Bowl in a 41-31 victory against Michigan State.
2010
felt eerily similar as the Red Raiders completed yet another 8-5 season and a
45-38 Ticket City Bowl win over Pat Fitzgerald and the Northwestern Wildcats.
The team was very inconsistent and obviously going through some growing pains the
disastrous performance in week 3 against the University of Texas. The Red
Raiders lost that game 24-14 and then went to Ames, Iowa to get lit up for 52
points.
The
high of that season was doing something that Leach couldn’t. Beating Colorado
in Boulder and winning a game at Cotton Bowl Stadium against an RGIII led
Baylor Bear squad.
Then
came a disastrous 2011 season, which saw Tech’s bowl eligibility streak come to
a sudden halt. The Red Raiders have always prided themselves as being the only
Big 12 school to be bowl eligible every season since
the Big 12’s inception in 1995, but instead Tech stayed home for the holidays.
However,
this Red Raider squad did something that only one has done before them. They
beat the No. 1 Sooners 41-38 in Norman, Ok. This gave Tech a 5-2 record after
two disappointing losses to both Texas A&M and Kansas State but little did
we know, it would be the last win of the season as Tech dropped their final
five games.
It
was a team that was completely ravaged with injuries and that 5-7 record showed
just that.
And
now, fast forward to 2012. This is a squad that had high hopes with a new
defensive coordinator and supposedly much more depth. The only thing that could
hold us back would be the injury problems Texas Tech fans are so accustomed to
seeing.
The
Red Raiders started off fast, garnering the No. 1 total defense ranking. Tech
was 4-0 and flying high until a determined Oklahoma team came to Lubbock. OU
defeated Tech 41-20 and the national respect went out the door.
However,
when No. 5 West Virginia came to Lubbock for the first time, Texas Tech
delivered a 49-14 beat down that shocked the country and gained Tech some of
the national credibility back.
That
game ended up being the last high point in Tuberville’s
tenure here at Texas Tech as the Red Raiders dropped four of their final five
games to finish the season 7-5 (4-5 Big 12).
Tuberville
has been known to shop around, and this time, he found a familiar face in Whit
Babcock who promptly offered him the same position at the University of
Cincinnati on Saturday.
Tuberville
eventually accepted the position and seemingly the divided fan base drove him
out of town for good. The Tuberville chapter has ended but the Red Raider fan
base seems to be stronger than ever.
Texas
Tech football will be back under the next guy. But for now, the Red Raiders have
a bowl game to prepare for as interim head coach Chris Thomsen looks to lead
the Red Raiders to a sound victory over the University of Minnesota at Reliant
Stadium in Houston, TX later this month.