Spring Break
Tech breaks record for most penalties in a game in 49-24 win against EWU Saturday
Alex Ybarra
Issue date: 9/2/08 Section: Sports
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Going up against a Football Championship Subdivision team in No. 7 Eastern Washington (0-1), the No. 12 Red Raiders' 49-24 victory Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium was not a comfortable show for the 49,887 fans in attendance, at least until after the first quarter.
"We were extremely spotty," Tech coach Mike Leach said. "I think that we played in spurts the whole night, and a lot of the credit goes to Eastern Washington."
Quarterback Graham Harrell, who said he had a hard time finding a rhythm despite throwing for 536 yards and scoring three touchdowns, called it a "sloppy game."
The Red Raiders committed 18 penalties - a school record - for 169 yards, which nearly broke its record of 183 penalty yards set last season against Rice.
Tech's previous record was 17 penalties in a game, which happened against Baylor in 2000.
Leach said the penalties could be attributed to a lack of focus.
"I think what you're gonna find, some are like aggression," he said, "but I think we're gonna find out on a lot of them that we could have better technique."
With Tech (1-0) up 13-0 late in the first quarter and on the Eagles' 4-yard line, Harrell found 2007 Biletnikoff winner Michael Crabtree one-on-one for a touchdown. After a Donnie Carona extra-point attempt was blocked earlier in the game, Tech needed to convert a two-point conversion, which it did.
Crabtree had a relatively quiet night considering he recorded at least 100 yards in 11 of 13 games last season. He finished with 73 yards and one touchdown on nine receptions.
Slot receivers Eric Morris and Detron Lewis stole the show. Each had nine receptions, while Morris had 164 yards and Lewis 163 yards receiving.
A seemingly-disappointed Morris said there was no excuse for how close the game ended up being.
"I guess you could say (we were humbled)," Morris said. "It's something that will end up opening our eyes. We're not going to pat ourselves on the back and say at least this happened now; at least we got the win. That's not the kind of team we are; we are not going to get down on ourselves. We have high expectations. We don't look at rankings or anything. We have to find something within ourselves to show we know how to play each and every week."
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April
posted 9/02/08 @ 6:26 AM CST
When Tech had an opportunity to build its defense last year, a lot of Tech fans and alumni were in favor of bringing in a defensive stalwart as a co-ordinator who could build the Tech D to the competence level of other stronger Big XII programs, similar to that of Oklahoma,Texas or newer programs like that of Kansas or Missouri. (Continued…)
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