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Harrell tosses five TDs as Texas Tech trounces Kansas

Oct 25, 2008 - 9:49 PM LAWRENCE, Kansas (Ticker) -- Texas Tech delivered a message to the rest of the Big 12 Conference - the Red Raiders can score any time, anywhere. And Graham Harrell is having fun hammering home that message.

Harrell threw five touchdown passes and ran for another score Saturday as the sixth-ranked Red Raiders crushed No. 18 Kansas, 63-21, in their most impressive performance of their undefeated season.

"It's all about having fun," said Harrell, who moved to fourth place on the NCAA's all-time list for career passing yards. "When we have fun, we're at our best. We went out and tried to have a good time. That's what we did, and we played really well."

It was the first win against a ranked opponent this year for Texas Tech (8-0, 4-0 Big 12 South), which is off to its best start since going 8-0 in 1976.

Saturday's showdown marked the beginning of a daunting four-game stretch for the Red Raiders, who host top-ranked Texas next weekend before facing No. 8 Oklahoma State and fifth-ranked Oklahoma in their next two contests.

But with Harrell under center, Texas Tech just might be able to navigate the gauntlet that is the Big 12.

"All of the games leading up to this game were big games," Red Raiders coach Mike Leach said. "You just have to do the same stuff. We will start preparing on Sunday. We will prepare well and see where it takes us.

"We just have to worry about ourselves and what we can do to get better. We have to keep our eye on the task at hand."

Coming off a pair of listless performances in wins over Nebraska and Texas A&M, the Red Raiders scored touchdowns on eight of their first nine possessions.

Harrell helped account for six of those scores, as the Red Raiders built a 56-14 lead before Leach lifted the senior signal-caller early in the fourth quarter.

"That's pretty impressive," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "We had people in (Harrell's) face, and he sat in there and delivered the ball knowing that he was going to take a shot. That's a sign of a pretty doggone good quarterback."

Harrell gave Texas Tech the lead on its second play from scrimmage when he found Edward Britton on a post pattern for a 55-yard scoring strike.

Kansas (5-3, 2-2 North) scored on consecutive possessions to forge a 14-14 tie in the first quarter. But turnover-prone quarterback Todd Reesing and the overmatched Jayhawks ultimately were no match for the Red Raiders, who have won 10 of 11 games all-time in this series.

"We have never been beat that bad," said Reesing, who matched a career high with three interceptions. "So you have three years of football and we have never had a butt-whooping like that.

"It is tough, but the reality is that it happens. You can't expect to play for three or four years and expect to not get your butt whooped every now and then."

Texas Tech took the lead for good two minutes into the second quarter when Harrell found Eric Morris for a 7-yard TD. After forcing a three-and-out, the Red Raiders reeled off a 12-play drive capped by Shannon Woods' 3-yard TD run that made it 28-14.

After Harrell hooked up with Morris for a 10-yard TD later in the second quarter, the Red Raiders finally were held without a score on a possession when halftime interceded.

But Texas Tech found the end zone on its first three possessions of the second half to turn this highly anticipated matchup into a laugher.

"We went out there and executed well," said Harrell, who completed 22-of-26 passes in the first half. "When we play like that, we're tough to beat. When our line protects, we're tough to beat."

Harrell finished 34-of-42 for 386 yards to pass Houston's Kevin Kolb and North Carolina State's Philip Rivers on the NCAA's all-time list. Harrell has passed for a whopping 13,676 career yards and has a good chance to surpass Brigham Young's Ty Detmer (14,665) for the No. 1 spot.

Standout wide receiver Michael Crabtree finished with nine receptions for 70 yards and two TDs for the Red Raiders, who accumulated 556 yards from scrimmage and converted 9-of-13 third downs.

Reesing completed just 16-of-26 attempts for 154 yards while Dezmon Briscoe hauled in eight catches for 55 yards and a score.

"Todd probably made a couple of decisions that he shouldn't have," Mangino said. "But he doesn't do that very often, so it's hard to find fault with him."