No Leach, No Problem as McNeill Leads Texas Tech to Victory

Texas Tech interim coach Ruffin McNeill called it the most difficult week of his life as he watched his boss be suspended and later fired.

But Saturday easily became the best night of his life as McNeill led the Red Raiders to a bold 41-31 Mike Leach-like win over the Michigan State in the Valero Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio to make his strongest case to assume the job full-time.

"I am ready when they are," said McNeill, when asked about his impending job interview on Monday. "I think my body of work speaks for itself, not just my 10 years here but my entire career."

But his coaching performance, which included a few gutsy fourth-quarter decisions that produced 14 critical points, may have delivered his boldest statement. McNeill, the Texas Tech defensive coordinator, made the decision to go with quarterback Steven Sheffield over starter Taylor Potts, who already thrown for an Alamo Bowl record 372 yards, in the fourth quarter.

Then on a critical fourth-quarter drive to seal the game, McNeill went for it twice on fourth down and made both to set up running back Baron Batch's game-icing 13-yard touchdown run that put the game out of reach with 2:08 remaining. The Raiders could have elected to kick a field goal on either fourth down to force Michigan State to have to score a touchdown to win on its final drive, but instead they elected to slam the door shut.

"We executed them and I'm glad we went for it," said Sheffield, who guided Tech on those two critical fourth-quarter touchdowns and finished with 88 yards and a touchdown on 9 of 11 completions. "There was kind of a debate on the second one about whether we would go for a "field goal or go for it. We're close so we might as well go for it."

With inside receivers coach Lincoln Riley calling the offensive plays, the Red Raiders (9-4) didn't seem to miss a beat without Leach on the sidelines. They put up 580 yards of offense with 472 yards and three touchdowns coming through the air against the Spartans.

But the most Leach-type move came late in the fourth quarter when the decision was made to leave Potts on the sidelines and insert Sheffield with Tech trailing 31-27. Potts, who completed 29 of 43 passes for 372 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, originally left the game because of an injury to his none throwing hand.

Sheffield, who had been a crowd favorite after leading Tech to some improbable wins this season, immediately rallied the Raiders. He marched the offense down the field before firing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Detron Lewis to pull the Raiders ahead 34-31 with 5:03 remaining in the game.

"I wasn't as much for the spark but it happened that way," Riley said of the decision to go with Sheffield over Potts in the fourth quarter. "But I wouldn't have pulled him (Potts) if not for the injury. It was nothing too serious but something enough that I thought it might hurt his performance."

Then, McNeill's defense followed with a huge interception of a Kirk Cousins pass to return the ball to the Raiders with 4:19 remaining. Tech made good with the touchdown run by Batch to put a positive spin on a rather turbulent week.

"We've been there before," McNeill said of the Red Raiders fourth-quarter rally. "It's not the first time we've been behind. It's not the first time we've had adversity. The main thing I had to do was get them settled down. They were so hyped I was having to do them down yesterday and then today I got a little hyped at the hotel and in the locker room it was really intense. Asked them to play hard was not the problem. Getting them to settle down and do the little things (was the challenge)."

Leach was fired Wednesday because of his alleged mistreatment of receiver Adam James, who was suffering from a mild concussion. The school announced it would begin a national search for a replacement of the program's winningest coach and that McNeill would receive consideration.

McNeill, a favorite among the players and coaches at Tech, likely made the decision difficult for the Tech administrators with an impressive coaching job on both sides of the ball Saturday night.

There was no doubt who the Raiders would like see succeed Leach.

"Speaking for everyone we all want Coach Ruff to be the next head coach," said Batch, who put forth a critical performance with 100 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries for the night."That was kind of us just showing that. There's no divisiveness amongst the team or players or anything for that matter. We fully support Coach Ruff and we're ready to run through a brick wall for him."

For McNeill it was the right result after a turbulent week in which he saw the ouster of the man he considers his best friend and then watched the players put the controversy aside to rally around the program.

"This was the most challenging week I've had in my 29 years of coaching," McNeill said. "It was a fun challenge though and this is the most rewarding night I've had in my coaching career. I love those players."