By Wendell Barnhouse | wendell@big12sports.com
Big12Sports.com Correspondent
DALLAS - All you needed to know about the outcome of the Southwest Classic at the Cotton Bowl was illustrated by the two coaches.
Art Briles was as dejected as he has been after any of his 18 losses at Baylor. For the third consecutive year, his team had lost to his alma mater by seven points.
"I'm proud of how we played, our heart, belief and resiliency," Briles said in a monotone. "That's a nice trademark. It's unfortunate we didn't score at end when we had opportunities."
Texas Tech's Tommy Tuberville had the benefit of meeting the media after Briles. Tuberville was showered, dressed in a suit and relieved to be a coach of a team that had won a make-or-break game.
On a day when offense ruled until a cage match of a fourth quarter, the Red Raiders (3-2, 1-2) held off the Bears, 45-38. The teams combined for 1,142 yards on 160 plays but the scoreboard didn't change for the final 14:11 of the fourth quarter.
"It's a huge moment," Tuberville said. "It feels great to get back on track. It came down to running the ball and playing defense at the appropriate times."
The media and fans like to talk about "must wins" and usually that's dismissed by coaches and players. That wasn't the case with the Red Raiders. They understand the significance between a 3-2 and a 2-3 record.
"All week I was telling the guys this was a must win," said running back Barron Batch, who rushed for 97 yards as the Tech running game finally produced. "I haven't lost three straight games since high school. When you play in the Big 12 and start losing, other teams smell the blood in the water. This was a defining point in our season."
Baylor (4-2, 1-1) went up 7-0 and then 14-7 when Tech botched an onside kick and Terrance Ganaway returned it 38 yards. The Red Raiders' offense, with quarterback Taylor Potts slingin' it (42-of-59 for 462 yards and four touchdowns), built a 45-28 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Bears' rally was gritty but their last three possessions ended on a punt, downs and 0:00. Junior receiver Kendall Wright had his hands on an end zone pass from Robert Griffin III on a third-and-15 play from the Tech 21 but he couldn't hold on.
"We had a lot of missed opportunities," said Griffin, who completed 31 of 42 passes for 384 yards and two touchdowns. "I'm not gonna single (Wright) single him out on that. That just happened to be one of the plays we didn't complete."
There were 39 plays that covered 10 or more yards. Those plays totaled 779 yards, an average of nearly 20 yards. With so many highlight-worthy plays, two significant plays flew under the radar.
After Baylor took a 7-0 lead on its first possession, Texas Tech nearly put itself in jeopardy. Detron Lewis fumbled after a six-yard reception. He was able to pull it back despite being surrounded by three Bears. On the next play, Potts hit Lyle Leong for 40 yards. The Red Raiders completed the drive with a touchdown and a 7-all tie.
Texas Tech finally broke serve and took a 28-21 lead with 6:56 remaining before halftime. The Red Raiders only had to drive 44 yards because Baylor punter Derek Epperson shanked a 22-yard punt and the Bears were also penalized on the play.
"Baylor's good team, they're not the old Baylor," Batch said. "Every game, there's about four or five plays that determine the outcome. Sometimes there are plays you don't even notice."
One play that was noticed also helped open up the Tech running game. Its second touchdown drive was sparked by Potts' 43-yard run.
"We call him the flash," Tuberville cracked.
Potts kept on a zone read play, faking the hand off to the running back and running through a huge hole on the left side. The zone read isn't all that effective unless the quarterback decides to keep it every so often. Potts' run also kept the Baylor defensive ends on edge the rest of the game.
The edge was also big for both teams. Texas Tech ran at least a dozen wide receiver slip screens. Tuberville said it's "nothing but a sweep." The Red Raiders got plenty of yardage out of those plays, enhancing their 173 yards rushing.
"It's like a running play and the receivers really did a good job blocking on the edge," Texas Tech offensive coordinator Neal Brown said.
Baylor also ran similar plays but Texas Tech's tackling usually kept the Bears' gains on those plays to single digits. The Bears' tackling left a lot to be desired.
"In practice we focused on trying to break tackles," Batch said. "Everybody did a good job of that."
Baylor had a two-minute edge in time of possession but Texas Tech ran 95 plays to the Bears' 75. The Red Raiders' offense was in rhythm thanks to converting 10 of 16 third downs. Those 10 conversions averaged 15.2 yards.
"We were putting drives together, we got first downs and we had a great tempo," Potts said. "The credit goes to our offensive line in how quick we were playing. We play like that, we can wear the defense out."
For the third consecutive season, Texas Tech beat Baylor by a touchdown. The scores: 35-28 in 2008, 20-13 in 2009 and Saturday.
"Knocking on the door? It's barred up," Briles said. "You gotta win. I'm not into playing exciting games. We didn't win. We came to win and we prepared to win. It didn't happen."