The Red Raiders were 1-2 against ranked opponents, losing to #4 Penn State and #13 Texas but beating #8 Texas A&M. They finished tied for 2nd in the Southwest Conference with Texas A&M and Baylor. This was Texas Tech's third bowl game in two seasons. Air Force finished as co-champion of the Western Athletic Conference in a rare four-way tie, with Colorado State, BYU, and Utah. Air Force had beaten BYU to begin the season, but they lost to Colorado State and Utah. However, they were the only one of the four to be invited to a bowl game, their 7th in 10 seasons.
Air Force – Addison 7 yard touchdown run (Roberts kick), 0:37 remaining
Texas Tech scored first on a 38-yard pass from quarterback Zebbie Lethridge to Stacy Mitchell. Air Force countered with a 2-yard run from Nakia Addison to tie it 7–7, but Texas Tech scored the next three touchdowns, amassing a 31–13 lead by halftime. In the second half, Air Force came within a field goal of the lead at 31–28 with a 60-yard run from Danta Johnson, but Texas Tech running back Byron Hanspard came alive with 201 yards and two of his four touchdowns in the second half, leading the Red Raiders to a 55–41 victory. Byron Hanspard rushed for 260 yards on 24 carries and four touchdowns while also catching two passes for 18 yards.[2]
Statistics
Statistics
Texas Tech
Air Force
First downs
28
25
Rushing yards
361
431
Passing yards
245
83
Total offense
606
514
Passing
22–41–1
7–13–0
Punts–average
3–43.3
3–39.3
Return yards
12
42
Fumbles–lost
1–0
3–1
Penalties–yards
11–90
6–51
Aftermath
Both teams went to two more bowl games before the decade ended, although Texas Tech did not win another bowl game until 2002 while Air Force won in 1998.
References
^"24 X 7". infoplease.com. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
