Can Tech, Kingsbury knock off Sooners?

Posted: Friday, November 22, 2002

LUBBOCK - A thick layer of numbers coats Kliff Kingsbury's career like West Texas dirt covers his black Cadillac Escalade.

But long before Kingsbury was breaking NCAA records and driving around town in style, the New Braunfels native was trying to survive his first college start against the Oklahoma Sooners.

Tech won the 1999 matchup, 38-28, and Kingsbury was immediately known as the hero who guided the Red Raiders to victory in former coach Spike Dykes' final game.

Coincidentally, Mike Leach served as Oklahoma's offensive coordinator that day. He was hired to lead Tech one month later.

Kingsbury, who now operates Leach's spread offense with surgical precision, is one victory away from going down in school history as something greater. Kingsbury could be the quarterback who guides No. 24 Tech to its first Big 12 South championship.

Standing in the way of Tech's first South division title is a familiar foe: the fourth-ranked Sooners.

"This program has a chance to get over the hump Saturday," said Kingsbury, fully aware his career has come full circle, "and we just need to go out there and do it."

Kingsbury has already established himself as one of the most prolific passers in NCAA history, ranking fourth in Division I-A history with 11,867 yards. He's also first in Tech and Big 12 history with 66 career touchdowns.

But unlike the SUV his grandparents bought him last summer, nobody could buy the amount of national publicity Kingsbury has received since he led Tech to a 42-38 win over Texas.

Kingsbury, once deemed an also-ran in the Heisman race, relit his campaign by torching the Longhorns for six touchdowns and 473 yards. The victory capped a three-game homestand in which Kingsbury completed 73.3 percent of his passes for 1,271 yards and 13 touchdowns with no interceptions.

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said the quarterback his team will face at 6 p.m. Saturday is nowhere near the same signal caller the Sooners saw three years ago.

"Going into the 1999 game, he hadn't played a whole lot, and we didn't know a bunch about him," Stoops said. "But after the game, we recognized that he was a great player. There's a lot to him. He's got great ability and a great arm."

Kingsbury's numbers are the result of spending countless hours on the artificial turf throwing hundreds of footballs to receivers or into gray heavy-duty trash cans. Now, Leach's no-name offense is second nature, just like it once was to Kentucky's Tim Couch and Oklahoma's Josh Heupel, Leach's former pupils.

"It's been a long journey, and it was a developmental process," Kingsbury said.

As Kingsbury learned, Leach's system is a quandary. It takes a long time to master even though it is not rocket science.

The entire playbook, if there was one on paper, consists of about 50 to 60 plays pieceed together from Leach's various coaching stops. The key is learning all the formations and motions that disguise where the ball is going.

For example in Tech's "ace" formation that features a four-wideout set, Kingsbury has six options. He has to read the four receivers, dump off to the running back in the flat or scramble. It's not as complicated as it sounds, said Kingsbury, who is working on a master's degree, but it takes time to grow accustomed to it.

Kingsbury struggled with the offense early, throwing five interceptions in the first three games of the 2000 season. "Against North Texas, I threw three interceptions and I was thinking, 'What the heck is going on?' I had to sit back and refocus," Kingsbury said.

He finished his sophomore campaign with 17 interceptions and 21 touchdowns. The numbers became more favorable in 2001 - 25 touchdowns, nine interceptions - as Kingsbury posted five 300-yard games. The Red Raiders finished 7-5 but won only one game oddsmakers said they wouldn't (Kansas State).

Now a senior, Kingsbury is playing with a full grasp of the system. Against Big 12 opponents, Kingsbury has thrown 30 touchdowns and six interceptions in leading Tech to an 8-4 record. Kingsbury leads the nation in passing yards (4,455) and touchdown passes (44).

"He's made strides from his sophomore year to his junior [year] to this year," tight end Mickey Peters said. "He's three times a better quarterback this year. He's making easy reads, knows what the defense does, and he doesn't miss many targets."

The Sooners confused Kingsbury last season by moving safety Roy Williams all over the field. Williams is gone, but OU has the second-ranked pass defense in the Big 12. UT was No. 1.

OU may be best served by following Colorado's plan. The Buffaloes played a two-deep zone and blitzed their safeties straight up the middle of the field. Colorado also walked their safeties closer to the line of scrimmage, which took away Kingsbury's high-percentage routes on blitzes.

Leach said Kingsbury has seen everything a defense can throw at the Tech offense. Kingsbury simply has to think fast enough to figure it out.

If he does, Kingsbury could quietly drive off in style with Big 12 South and Heisman trophies riding shotgun.

"He's a vocal guy, but his actions do most of the talking," flanker Carlos Francis said. "When you throw for 50 touchdowns and 500 yards per game, you don't have to do any talking."