Harrell throws for 342 yards and 5 TDs as Texas Tech romps

 

 

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Top 25 Overview

It was over when... Texas Tech rallied from an early SMU field goal and a sack of QB Graham Harrell to go on a 35-0 scoring spree. Gameball goes to... Graham Harrell. The sophomore QB is the latest beneficiary of the Red Raiders' pass-happy offense. He threw for 333 yards and five TDs. Stat of the game... 70, 352: Texas Tech won this game in the air -- tallying 352 yards. The Red Raiders' D forced SMU to put the ball on the ground. Complete Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	10	28
Total Yards	189	501
Passing	71	363
Rushing	118	138
Penalties	8-67	9-70
3rd Down Conversions	3-13	10-17
4th Down Conversions	0-0	1-1
Turnovers	1	1
Possession	25:46	34:14

Individual Leaders

Southern Methodist Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Willis 9/16 69 0 0 Slater 1/3 2 0 0	Texas Tech Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Harrell 34/49 342 5 1 Todd 4/5 21 0 0
Southern Methodist Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Willis 12 39 0 22 Martin 12 30 0 9 Fitzgerald 5 25 0 10	Texas Tech Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Woods 15 104 0 23 Britton 3 26 0 13 Lewis 2 6 0 3
Southern Methodist Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Chase 3 25 0 13 Pellerin 3 22 0 9 Sanders 2 20 0 12 Kennedy 1 2 0 2	Texas Tech Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Johnson 15 139 2 23 Woods 6 32 0 9 Amendola 4 60 1 45 Filani 4 54 1 31

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				SMU	TTU
	FG	6:30	THOMAS MORSTEAD 38 YD FG Drive info: 14 plays, 69 yards.	3	0
	TD	2:21	TODD WALKER 8 YD PASS FROM GRAHAM HARRELL (ALEX TRLICA KICK) Drive info: 8 plays, 80 yards.	3	7
SECOND QUARTER				SMU	TTU
	TD	13:11	ROBERT JOHNSON 14 YD PASS FROM GRAHAM HARRELL (ALEX TRLICA KICK) Drive info: 7 plays, 63 yards.	3	14
	TD	0:46	ROBERT JOHNSON 10 YD PASS FROM GRAHAM HARRELL (ALEX TRLICA KICK) Drive info: 9 plays, 77 yards.	3	21
THIRD QUARTER				SMU	TTU
	TD	2:21	DANNY AMENDOLA 45 YD PASS FROM GRAHAM HARRELL (ALEX TRLICA KICK) Drive info: 3 plays, 60 yards.	3	28
FOURTH QUARTER				SMU	TTU
	TD	6:33	JOEL FILANI 3 YD PASS FROM GRAHAM HARRELL (ALEX TRLICA KICK) Drive info: 11 plays, 72 yards.	3	35

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- After his first college start, Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell received the highest of praise from his favorite receiver.

"Graham Harrell reminds me of Tom Brady," said Robert Johnson, who caught two of Harrell's five touchdown passes as the 25th-ranked Red Raiders defeated SMU 35-3 on Saturday night.

"He's a calm guy out there. He's just cool."

Harrell calmly picked apart the Mustangs in the season opener for both teams, throwing for 342 yards. Johnson set a school record with 15 catches for 139 yards.

It was offense as usual for the Red Raiders, whose quarterbacks have led the nation in passing the past four years. Harrell threw TD passes of 8, 12, 14, 45 and 3 yards, two more scoring strikes than he threw all last season as the backup in Tech's high-octane aerial offense.

Texas Tech coach Mike Leach agreed that Harrell showed composure but for one exception.

"He threw one bonehead ball and there was about a series and a half where I called some bad plays and he couldn't overcome my coaching," Leach said. "I thought he was pretty good."

SMU coach Phil Bennett said he wasn't disappointed in his team's effort but for their offensive sputters.

"When we would get something going we would have penalties," he said. "Obviously, the biggest part of the game that was disappointing was our third-down conversions. They were able to convert third and long, and we weren't."

SMU's secondary couldn't stop Tech's passing attack, even though the Red Raiders (1-0) were without Jarrett Hicks, one of their leading receivers who is awaiting word from the NCAA on an appeal of his academic eligibility.

So Harrell focused on Johnson, a quarterback turned receiver who broke a Tech record for catches set in 2002 by Wes Welker when he had 14 in the Red Raiders 42-38 win over Texas.

Johnson is one of a corps of receivers who are a "quarterback's dream," Harrell said.

"He knows where the open area of the field is, and he knows how to get there and get open," Harrell said. "With a player like that, all you have to do is put it near him and let him work."

The five touchdown passes by Harrell, who holds the Texas high school record for touchdown passes in a season with 67, bested first-outing performances by his four predecessors. Cody Hodges had four TD in his debut last year, as did Sonny Cumbie the year before. B.J. Symons had three and Kliff Kingsbury threw two.

Harrell, whose 45-yard scoring pass went to Danny Amendola late in the third quarter to put Tech up 28-3, completed passes to eight receivers. Despite a good showing, Harrell said he knows there's work still to be done.

"I think we did some good things out there," he said. "We have to continue to improve, and I'm sure coach will emphasize that."

Harrell, who completed 34-of-49 passes, showed poise even as the Mustangs pressured him with numerous blitzes. Though he ran a couple of times, he seemed more comfortable hanging in the pocket until he found an open receiver.

SMU (0-1) jumped in front with a field goal and had a good opportunity to pull within 11 points early in the second half. Blake Warren nearly returned a punt for a touchdown but was tackled by Tech punter Alex Reyes at the Red Raiders' 26.

Four plays later, after first-time starting quarterback Justin Willis fumbled the snap and lost 9 yards, the Mustangs missed a field goal from 49 yards to trail 21-3.

"He was not intimidated whatsoever," Bennett said of Willis, who finished 9-of-16 for 69 yards. "He didn't have great numbers, but I definitely see a future for him."

SMU finished last season on a three-game win streak, but the Mustangs faded as the game wore on. They got only 64 total yards and four first downs in the second half. Tech held SMU to 189 total yards.

Tech unveiled its new FieldTurf surface to fans. Gone is the tired AstroTurf -- Tech was one of the last schools in the country with the surface -- and the crown over the center of the field that aided in drainage. Also missing was the running track that used to encircle the field.

The school also built a low, brick wall around the perimeter of the field area to match the facade on the stadium's west side.