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Texas Tech running back Baron Batch was named the Big 12 co-offensive player of the week on Monday after a stellar performance against Kansas.
Not bad for a guy who plays for a school that makes a living throwing the ball.Batch rushed for a career-high four touchdowns Saturday and gained 123 yards on 17 carries. He also caught five passes for 13 yards in the Red Raiders’ 42-21 victory.Batch downplayed his performance against the Jayhawks and said teammates Harrison Jeffers and Eric Stephens could easily have done the same thing."The offensive line did a great job just opening things up for me," Batch said. "If it would have been Harrison or Eric — any of those guys — they probably would have had the same night I did."Batch shared the offensive player of the week honor with Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones, who went 26-of-37 for 294 yards and four touchdowns against Kansas State. Nebraska defensive lineman Jared Crick (five sacks against Baylor) was named the defensive player of the week, and Kansas State’s Brandon Banks earned the special teams honor for the third time this season for his 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against OU.Batch is the first Tech player since Taurean Henderson in 2005 to score four rushing touchdowns in a game.Defense firstThe Red Raiders collected six sacks for 45 lost yards, recovered four fumbles, had 10 passes defended and finished with nine tackles for 54 yards of losses against Kansas. Cornerback LaRon Moore returned a fumble 31 yards for a touchdown.It was a complete 180 for the Raiders, who allowed 559 yards in a 52-30 loss to Texas A&M but limited Kansas to 258 yards."You get knocked down in life and you’ve got two choices," defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said. "You better learn how to get up and keep fighting."You’re disappointed and you want to play well and you want to do well each game. But it was very rewarding to see our kids bounce back and do a good job and play a very good football team."One of Kansas’ three touchdowns occurred when defensive end Maxwell Onyegbule picked up a fumble by Tech quarterback Seth Doege and ran it in from the 3. Doege also lost a fumble at his own 2, which led to a Kansas touchdown.The off weekThe Raiders are off this week and won’t play until a Nov. 14 contest at Oklahoma State.This week gives the Raiders an opportunity to heal and catch their breath as they head into the home stretch."We haven’t had that break like we normally have in the early part of the season," Ruffin McNeill said. "[Catching up on] academics is first, and this also gives our coaches a chance to get on the road recruiting."And the third thing is it gives our guys a chance to step away from [football] a little bit."McNeill said the team will get some work in and start preparing for OSU near the week’s end.ESPN timeMike Leach spent Monday at the ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., doing a series of interviews on the network’s various TV and radio shows.Ruffin McNeill said the national exposure is big for the Red Raiders."Any time we can get the university exposure, that’s a plus," McNeill said. "Not just for football or athletics, but for our university."ESPN calls the various stages of interview sessions its "Car Wash."Dwain Price, 817-390-7760
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