Copper Bowl
1995
Texas Tech 55
Air Force 41
TUCSON, Ariz. (Dec 28, 1995 - 01:47 EST) -- Texas Tech figured out
how to offset Air Force's wishbone - trump the running game with a
player like Byron Hanspard and add the arm of Zebbie Lethridge. Hanspard
upstaged the Falcons and set Copper Bowl records with 260 yards and four
touchdowns Wednesday night (video), and
Lethridge threw for 245 yards while directing a no-huddle offense that
powered Tech to a 55-41 victory.
The Red Raiders (9-3) worked on a no-huddle attack in practice but never
showed it during the season. Coach Spike Dykes credited offensive
coordinator Dick Winder for the ploy. "We came out with the intention of
showing them something different. We knew they would be keying on me,"
said Hanspard, a sophomore who led the Southwest Conference in rushing
in its last year of existence.
Air Force (8-5) made a game of it early in the third quarter, taking
advantage of mistakes by the Red Raiders to close a 31-13 halftime
deficit to 31-28 in the first seven minutes of the period. But Hanspard
got his third TD with 5:06 left in the period, then ran 63 yards to set
up another Tech score and a 45-28 lead.
Air Force, which was No. 3 in the NCAA in rushing offense and No. 105 in
passing offense, wasn't able to come from behind. "We had several points
where we were about to turn the game around," qyarterback Beau Morgan
said. "But it seemed like we were playing catch-up the entire game."
The teams shattered most of the offensive records in the 7-year-old
bowl, which is sponsored by Weiser Lock.
Hanspard, who carried 24 times, scored on runs of 2, 11, 2 and 29 yards.
Lethridge, who also ran for 85 yards, threw a 38-yard scoring pass to
Stacy Mitchell and scored on 1- and 3-yard runs. Tony Rogers kicked
field goals of 24 and 31 yards for Tech.
Air Force cornerback Mickey Dalton, the defensive player of the game
after picking off a pass by Lethridge, who had set a SWC record with 211
consecutive throws without an interception, said the quick-paced Raider
attack didn't wear him out. "We just had poor execution," Dalton said.
"We didn't tackle very well and we had a lot of breakdowns on defense."
Air Force's Danta Johnson scored on 71- and 60-yard runs. Nakia Addison
ran for scores of 2 and 7 yards. Jake Campbell ran for a 7-yard TD and
Morgan scored on a 1-yard run. Johnson was the first to break the
previous Copper Bowl rushing record of 133 yards by Kansas State's J.J.
Smith in 1993. Johnson had 145 of his 148 yards in four carries, but
Hanspard, with 201 yards in the second half, passed him up.
The Raiders opened a 28-7 lead by marching 80, 75, 74 and 80 yards to
TDs on their first four possessions. Lethridge had big plays in three of
the four drives - a 42-yard run before his pass to Mitchell for the
first score, a 46-yard pass to Donnie Hart to set up Hanspard's first
TD, and a 25-yard run and 26-yard pass to Field Scovell before he
produced the 21-point lead with his keeper.
But the biggest play of the third drive was a penalty after the Falcons
had stopped Tech. Air Force's Sam Ransom slid into Tech punter Brad Cade,
incurring a 15-yard penalty that kept the drive going. Hanspard broke
loose for 12 yards to the Raiders 47-yard line on the next snap, and
Lethridge minutes later got 13 yards on back-to-back plays -- a keeper
and a pass to Scovell -- before Hanspard's run.
Johnson cut the lead to 28-13 with the longest run in Copper Bowl
history, but the Raiders responded with Roger's 24-yard field goal
before halftime.
Campbell's TD early in the third quarter and a two-point conversion run
by Addison following Dalton's 32-yard interception return to the Tech 20
tightened the score to 31-21, and Johnson's 60-yard gallop put the
Falcons within three points with 8:00 left in the period.
Zebbie Lethridge runs past Air Force
Beau Morgan runs for a first down
Attendance- 41,004
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
TT- Mitchell 38 pass from Lethridge (Rogers kick)
AF- Addison 2 run (Thompson kick)
TT- Hanspard 2 run (Rogers kick)
TT- Hanspard 11 run (Rogers kick)
Second Quarter
TT- Lethridge 1 run (Rogers kick)
AF- D.Johnson 71 run (kick failed)
TT- FG Rogers 24
Third Quarter
AF- Campbell 7 run (Addison run)
AF- D.Johnson 60 run (Roberts kick)
TT- Hanspard 2 run (Rogers kick)
Fourth Quarter
TT- Lethridge 3 run (Rogers kick)
TT- FG Rogers 31
AF- Morgan 1 run (Roberts kick)
TT- Hanspard 29 run (Rogers kick)
AF- Addison 7 run (run failed)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
AF- D.Johnson 5-148, Morgan 22-129, Addison 17-72, Ellers 4-29, Campbell
6-20
TT- Hanspard 24-260, Lethridge 10-85
Passing
AF- Morgan 5-11-51
TT- Lethridge 22-41-245
Receiving
AF- Campbell 4-43, Ranger 2-21, Hancock 1-19
TT- Darden 7-47, Mitchell 4-53, DuBuc 4-26, Scovell 2-39, Hanspard 2-18,
Adams 2-16, Hart 1-46
