Texas Tech came into this game looking for their first bowl win since 2013, but they were 10-point underdogs to Mississippi State at Caesars Sportsbook.
But it’s bowl season, and amid chaos with players missing, and an interim staff in Tech’s case, the Red Raiders defeated their former head coach Mike Leach and his Mississippi State Bulldogs 34-7.
Interim head coach Sonny Cumbie coached his final game at Texas Tech as he took the Louisiana Tech head coaching job in late November.
At the trophy ceremony, he said why he and most of the staff came back to coach this game.
“They didn’t give up on us,” Cumbie said, “and we didn’t give up on them, and this is a great moment for Texas Tech and these players!”
Recap: Ground Domination, Then Full, Total Domination
On the second play from scrimmage, Tech junior running back SaRodorick Thompson pulled off a fantastic 33-yard run with a stiff arm at the end, and sophomore Tahj Brooks ran it in from 19 yards to put the Red Raiders up 7-0 early.
The Tech defense allowed a touchdown on the second Mississippi State drive but otherwise held strong. Tech had a 13-7 lead going into the half, and it could have been more if it wasn’t for some missed opportunities.
After grinding the Bulldogs down most of the game but having trouble throwing the ball downfield, Tech redshirt freshman quarterback Donovan Smith threw two massive completions of 39 and 52 yards to get to the Bulldog 1-yard-line where he would punch it in to go up 20-7.
Smith continued to impress in the second half with bombs as he went 8-for-12 for 192 yards and a passing and rushing touchdown in the second half alone.
As good as the offense was, the defense was the star of the show tonight, holding a potent Mississippi State Air Raid offense and a record-setting quarterback in Will Rogers to 344 yards, and 69 of those came on a final garbage-time drive.
They also got three turnovers and never let the Mississippi State receivers have any separation as the Red Raiders won 34-7.
What’s Next
Joey McGuire will take over as head coach next season, and he already has a new staff in place.
Only running backs coach DeAndre Smith will be kept from the old staff, although Cumbie had agreed to be the offensive coordinator before taking the Louisiana Tech job. Defensive coordinator Keith Patterson is the new head coach at Abilene Christian.
Cumbie had a final parting shot at the trophy ceremony.
“I guess the Red Raider got the pirate after all!”
- The Red Raiders have never lost on Dec. 28; they have a 3-0-1 record.
- It is the first time Tech has beaten an SEC opponent in a bowl game since the 1973 Gator Bowl where they defeated Tennessee 28-19.
- Tech’s last bowl win: the 2013 Holiday Bowl where they defeated Arizona State 37-23.
- Texas Tech finishes the season with more rushes (436) than passes (390) for the first time since 1999.
- They did this without leading wide receiver Erik Ezukanma, who declared for the NFL Draft before the game.
- Super senior linebacker Colin Schooler is now in the top five all-time in solo tackles at the FBS level with 316.
- With five tackles today and 299 in his career, senior linebacker Riko Jeffers is one tackle short of becoming the 15th Red Raider with 300 career tackles.
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