Informed Speculation

USC is down BIG in the third quarter: Oregon State 30, USC 10, as of this writing. Meanwhile, my two favorite teams face off…ordinarily, I would be beside myself with trash talking, predicting a Texas Tech upset of Texas, and the game IS at Lubbock…but this team is just not that good. Prediction: Texas 27, Texas Tech 14…

UPDATE 6:19 p.m.: Tech strikes first, to the delight of the Lubbock faithful: 7-0, Red Raiders…and yes, #3 USC went down, but not without a fight. The final: 33-31…

UPDATE 6:37 p.m.: Well, I’ve been down on this team just about all year, with my most common refrain being “this team hasn’t shown me anything”. Win or lose, they’ve now shown me something…Texas Tech 14, Texas 0…go, Red Raiders!…

UPDATE 6:52 p.m.: What an amazing turn of events! Tech falls victim to one of those absolutely horrible reviews that robs them of a big first down and momentum…then they turn around and intercept Colt McCoy and return it for a touchdown. Texas Tech 21, #5 Texas…NADA!….

UPDATE 7:11 p.m.: Texas gets its footing with a strong drive, mostly on the ground, where A&M had such success against the Red Raiders…it’s Texas Tech 21, Texas 7…

UPDATE 7:18 p.m.: Wow, here’s an interesting thing…Texas Tech inexplicably goes with three straight runs near the goal line, then comes up short and hits the field goal to make it Tech 24, Texas 7…now here’s the interesting part. Harrell was visibly upset with Coach Leach for not letting him try to pass for the touchdown. I don’t like to see that, because now the redshirt freshman sophomore is thinking of other things than winning this game…will he be distracted, or is he mature enough to recover? We shall see…

UPDATE 7:27 p.m.: Another very strong Texas drive, and it’s down to 10: Texas Tech 24, Texas 14…

UPDATE 7:34 p.m.: Another stunning turn of events…Texas Tech loses the ball during a strong drive of their own, and it pops out into the arms of Texas defender…then, a big, big touchdown throw to Snead, and we’re looking at a three-point game: Texas Tech 24, Texas 21…

UPDATE 7:42 p.m.: Well, Harrell may throw for 500 yards in this game.  What a game!  Harrell hits Hicks, and Tech goes up by 10 again: Texas Tech 31, Texas 21…

UPDATE 8:23 p.m.: Texas is inching ever so much closer to pulling ahead in this one…it’s a three-point game again, Texas Tech 31, Texas 28, with 7:51 in the third…

UPDATE 8:53 p.m.: One quarter to go, and though Texas is down by 3, they are clearly in excellent shape.  Tech is really struggling offensively now, as Texas has turned up the heat and is blitzing almost every play.  On offense, they have the running game in gear. Tech will need to score at least two more touchdowns to win this game, in my view…

UPDATE 9:02 p.m.: Perhaps inevitably, Texas takes the lead…35-31 now, and the question is whether Tech has the will to fight through a total collapse of momentum.  There can be no question that they have to go to the air, and they have to assume Texas will blitz every play.  It will take a calm hand at quarterback and some excellent playcalling to pull this one out…

UPDATE 9:38 p.m.: Heartbreaking loss for Tech, and for Texas, the 2nd week in a row that they escaped from disaster by the slimmest of margins…for Tech, at 5-4, the season is clearly hanging by a thread…they need to pretty much win out to guarantee a bowl.  They definitely gave their all, and they played like a good team for perhaps the first time this season (or second, if you count the A&M win at Kyle Field).  They shouldn’t hang their head to lose to the #5 defending national champions, but this is no doubt a bitter pill to swallow after being up by 21 early…