SaRodorick Thompson Breaks Tie For No. 5 in All-Time Rushing TDs

The senior running back had one score in the Red Raiders' victory over Texas, along with 70 rushing yards.
SaRodorick Thompson Breaks Tie For No. 5 in All-Time Rushing TDs
SaRodorick Thompson Breaks Tie For No. 5 in All-Time Rushing TDs /

Texas Tech running back SaRodorick Thompson broke a tie for fifth-place in career rushing touchdowns with his third-quarter score on Saturday against Texas. He and Shannon Woods (2005-08) entered the game with 33 touchdowns each.

Thompson now has two more Red Raiders greats in his sights — Ricky Williams (1997-01), who had 36, and Byron ‘Bam’ Morris (1991-93), who had 37.

If Thompson catches both, he’ll be third all-time. But it may be hard to catch the top two this season — James Gray (1986-89) with 52 and Taurean Henderson (2002-05) with 50.

Thompson finished with 70 rushing yards, giving him 2,148 career rushing yards. He remained just outside of the career Top 10. Donny Anderson (1963-65), who gained 2,280 yards, is in 10th place.

COMEBACK KIDS: Texas Tech staged a comeback from 10 or more points down in a Big 12 game for just the second time in its history on Saturday. The Red Raiders were down by 14 points on at least two different occasions.

Before Saturday, the Red Raiders were 1-35 in Big 12 games in which they were down by at least 10 points. The one victory? It came against Texas in 2017. The Red Raiders were down 23-13 before rallying to win, 27-23.

The game was also the second time the Red Raiders and Longhorns went to overtime. The first overtime game was in 2020, a game Texas won, 63-56.

SERIES STATS: With the 37-34 victory, the Red Raiders are now 18-54 against the Longhorns all time. The victory also changed the series stats in the following ways:

The Red Raiders are now 11-22 at home against Texas, with an 11-20 record at Jones AT&T Stadium;

The Red Raiders are now 7-20 in Big 12 play against Texas;

The Red Raiders are now 4-1 in games decided by three points or less and 8-5 in games decided by seven points or less;

The Red Raiders are now 9-32 against Texas when the Longhorns are ranked, as they were on Saturday;

The Red Raiders are now 3-7 in their last 10 games against Texas and 5-15 in their last 20 games.

BIG 12 OPENERS: With the victory, Texas Tech is now 15-12 in Big 12 openers all-time. The Red Raiders had dropped each of their last three Big 12 openers, falling to Oklahoma in 2019 and losing to Texas each of the last two seasons.

Saturday was the sixth time the Red Raiders opened big 12 play against the Longhorns, but the first time Texas Tech won. Texas had won the previous games in 2001, 2009, 2010, 2020, and 2021. Texas was in the Top 10 in four of those previous five games.

Texas Tech is now 4-9 in Big 12 league openers against Top 25 teams. The victories before Saturday came against No. 23 Texas A&M in 2002, No. 24 TCU in 2013, and No. 15 Oklahoma State in 2018.

Texas Tech is also 6-4 in Big 12 openers at home. Texas Tech had dropped its last two Big 12 openers at home, losing to No. 8 Texas in 2020 and No. 15 Oklahoma State in 2017. The Red Raiders’ last win at home in a Big 12 opener came in 2016 with a 55-19 victory over Kansas.

RAMIREZ IN LUBBOCK: Texas Tech linebacker Bryce Ramirez, who suffered a devastating leg injury against North Carolina State last Saturday, was in attendance for Saturday’s game with Texas.

Ramirez’s leg injury was so bad that he remained behind in Raleigh, N.C., for several days to undergo two surgeries to help in his recovery from a lower leg fracture that was so gruesome that ESPN cut away from the game for 10 minutes and chose not to show a replay of the injury.

There is no timetable for Ramirez’s recovery.


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Matthew Postins
MATTHEW POSTINS