Harrell sets TD record in finale, but defense falters

Jan 3, 2009 - 1:28 AM DALLAS (Ticker) -- Graham Harrell accomplished a great deal in his career at Texas Tech, but was unable to win his final game.

Harrell's collegiate career ended in bittersweet fashion Friday as the eighth-ranked Red Raiders were shocked by No. 24 Mississippi, 47-34, in the Cotton Bowl.

The defeat came on a day when Harrell broke Colt Brennan's record for career touchdown passes and became the first player in NCAA history to pass for 5,000 yards in more than one season.

Harrell threw four touchdowns Friday, finishing his career with 134 - three more than Brennan's total at Hawaii from 2005-07.

Harrell passed for a Cotton Bowl-record 364 yards - numbers that were somewhat inflated as the Rebels essentially put away the game in the third quarter when they opened a 38-21 lead.

Texas Tech coach Mike Leach insisted the Red Raiders did not take Ole Miss lightly.

"If I had a nickel for every time somebody told me how easy it was going to be to beat Mississippi. ...," Leach said. "I never bought into that and I really don't think our players did."

While Harrell didn't have his best outing - he also threw two interceptions with one being returned for a touchdown - the biggest culprit for Texas Tech was its defense.

The Rebels shredded the Red Raiders (11-2) for 515 total yards, including 347 in the first half, as Texas Tech repeatedly gave up big plays.

The play of Texas Tech's defense had to be the biggest disappointment for the Red Raiders because the unit show improvement this season - discounting the Oklahoma game - after being maligned for years.

"We had been one of the best third-down defenses all year long, and we did not step them in third down," Texas Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said.

The loss took away some of the luster of Texas Tech's banner season in which the Red Raiders started 10-0 and climbed to No. 2 before its 65-21 defeat at Oklahoma on November 22.

The defeat denied Texas Tech a school-record 12th win and left it still winless in four Cotton Bowl appearances.

Harrell finished with 15,793 career passing yards, second on the NCAA's all-time list behind Timmy Chang, another Hawaii signal-caller who passed for 17,012 yards.