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2008 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team

2008 Texas Tech Red Raiders football
Texas Tech Red Raiders Logo.svg
Big 12 South Division co-champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 34–47 vs. Ole Miss
Conference Big 12 Conference
Division South
Ranking
Coaches No. 12
AP No. 12
2008 record 11–2 (7–1 Big 12)
Head coach Mike Leach (9th year)
Offensive scheme Spread
Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill (2nd year)
Home stadium Jones AT&T Stadium
(Capacity: 52,882)
Seasons
← 2007
2009 →
2008 Big 12 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Northern Division
#19 Missouri xy   5 3         10 4  
Nebraska x   5 3         9 4  
Kansas   4 4         8 5  
Colorado   2 6         5 7  
Kansas State   2 6         5 7  
Iowa State   0 8         2 10  
Southern Division
#5 Oklahoma xy$   7 1         12 2  
#4 Texas x%   7 1         12 1  
#12 Texas Tech x   7 1         11 2  
#16 Oklahoma State   5 3         9 4  
Baylor   2 6         4 8  
Texas A&M   2 6         4 8  

Championship: Oklahoma 62, Missouri 21
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Mike Leach. The Red Raiders played their home games at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.

With an 11–1 record in the regular season, 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.

In a 2013 poll, the 2008 team was voted as the second best team in Texas Tech football history, losing to the 1973 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team by a margin of 53.2% to 46.8%.

Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel has Tech ranked at #10 in his preseason poll and later #8 in his college football power rankings. The team is also ranked #10 in the preseason by Fox Sports.ESPN.com writer Mark Schlabach ranked the Red Raiders #12 in his preseason poll and later #11 and #8 in revised editions of his preseason polls. In a March 26, 2008 article, Yahoo! Sports writer Olin Buchanan declared that Tech could challenge Oklahoma and Texas for supremacy in the Big 12 South in 2008. As plusses, he cited a strong quarterback (Graham Harrell), experienced wide receivers (including Michael Crabtree), and five returning starters on the offensive line. As a weakness, he mentioned the defense's trouble stopping the run but speculated that a year of experience and new talent may help to alleviate this problem. Another weak spot he pointed out was the Red Raiders' trouble moving the ball on the ground on those rare instances when a rushing play is called.


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Wikipedia

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