The #12 ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders are hosting the Southern Methodist Mustangs on Saturday 9/13 at 6 p.m. This is a big rivalry game, so expect Harrell and Michael Crabtree to come out gunning. Texas Tech is favored by 36 1/2 points. Vegas isn’t usually wrong so expect a high scoring shoot out.

SMU is coming Texas Tech with their first year head coach June Jones. Remember Jones is the one that said Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is a “system quarterback.” I wonder if he thinks Graham Harrell is a system qb too.

Last week against Nevada, Crabtree put up 158 yards and a score. It was great to see him stretch the field on that 82 yard catch and then the other 50 yarder. I’d look for him to have a repeat performance. Something along the lines of 9 receptions, 160 yards and two touchdowns.

Michael Crabtree help push the Texas Tech Red Raiders over the top of the Nevada Wolfpack in Saturday’s 35-19 victory. Crabtree finished the game strong with 7 receptions, 158 yards (including a long of 82 yards) and 1 touchdown. He double his yardage from week 1. In addition to his 82 yard catch, Crabtree also had a 50 yarder that almost went in for a score, but was stopped just short of the goal on the 1 yard line.

Texas Tech has one of the most high powered offenses in the NCAA. However, they started the game off slow and were only up by 5 points heading into the half. “We just had a miscommunication earlier,” Harrell said. “It just seemed like we were a little off all night. We missed some opportunities and it was frustrating. But we knew we could get it if we tried again.”

It’s great to see Crabtree return to his 2007 form. Even though he had a ton of catches last week, we missed those big play catches. We saw two plays of 50+ yards against Nevada, and that’s what we’re used to.

Michael Crabtree and the Texas Tech Red Raiders are traveling to Reno, Nevada for a matchup against the Wolfpck at 8:05 p.m. CT. The Wolfpack put up 620+ yards of offense last week, which proves they can move the ball up and down the field. Texas Tech shouldn’t have any problem beating them though. The Red Raiders have a much stronger defense and one of the best offenses in the country.

Crabtree did have 9 receptions last week, but only managed to get 73 yards from them. It’s time to let Crabtree stretch the field. If he has 9 catches again this week, it needs to be for 150 yards. Michael has said over and over that he’s not concerned with his individual stats this year. He wants the team to do well. With that said, we as fans, however, do want to see him put up crazy stats. It makes him exciting!

I predict Texas Tech will roll Nevada 49-23. Michael Crabtree will have 8 receptions for 120 yards and two touchdowns.

What do you think?

Michael Crabtree caught a touchdown pass from Graham Harrell at the end of the first quarter last week. I didn’t realize that the touchdown marked the 23rd of his career and he is now tied with Joel Filani for second place on the all-time TD receptions list at Tech.

That’s insane to think about considering this is only his 2nd year! I expect Crabtree will break the record this week against Nevada.

Check back tomorrow for my complete pre-game analysis including my stat predictions.

We all know Texas Tech loves to throw the ball, so how does this sound for some Graham Harrell numbers. He was 43/58 and threw for 536 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-24 on Saturday night. He connected with eight different receivers but it was our favorite Red Raider Michael Crabtree, who caught the first touchdown pass of the 2008 season in the first quarter. The All-American finished with 73 yards on nine catches, and one TD.

Michael Crabtree didn’t put up those nasty 150+ 3 touchdown type of numbers we’ve seen before, but that’s OK. He got a ton of receptions and got on the scoreboard with a touchdown. Harrell was spreading the ball like a wild fire. He made sure everyone got a piece of his 536 yards. If Texas Tech continues to throw the ball like this all year, Crabtree will put up amazing numbers… you can bank on it.

Don’t ask me what city Eastern Washington University is located in because I don’t know, and I don’t care. All I know is the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Michael Crabtree are going to destroy the Eagles on Saturday. College football is finally here and I’m ready to see Michael explode in his second full season.

Last year on opening day, Crabtree caught 12 balls for 106 yards and 3 touchdowns. I’m looking for similar production from him this week, only maybe 130 yards instead. There’s no doubt that Graham Harrell is going to air it out often and early. Eastern Washington will have a bunch of scrubs in the secondary. They may even have to triple team Crabtree just to slow him down. I expect the Red Raiders to put up a minimum 49 points.

It’s going to be an awesome game and a great atmosphere. It’s a 6:00 game so it won’t be too hot. If you’re as amped as I am posted a comment here and let me know!

Crank that Crabtree baby!!

Michael Crabtree and the Texas Tech Red Raiders are getting ready for their opening game of the 2008 season against Eastern Washington on Saturday, August 30 at 6:00. It feels great to finally say we’re in a game week. It felt like this summer would never end. You know when big things are expected, the offseason can just seem to drag on forever.

Crabtree is looking to build on his 1962 yard 22 touchdown season last year. Trying to type numbers bigger then that on a football player stat sheet is mind boggling.

Coach Mike Leach picked the captains for the Eastern Washington game, but Crabtree is missing from the list. Three of the captains are seniors, so it’s understandable. Michael will get his fair share as the season progresses. Check back later in the week as I’ll be bringing you a preview of this week’s game and my stat predictions for Michael Crabtree.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders are known for running a pass heavy offense. Quarterback Graham Harrell threw the ball 713 times during the 2007 season. Compare that to Heisman winner Tim Tebow’s 350 attempts, Chase Daniel’s 452 attempts, or John David Booty’s 436 attempts. The Red Raiders clearly love to launch the ball up and down the field.

So that begs the question, is Michael Crabtree is a “product of the system”? Would Crabtree be as dominant a wide receiver if he played for another team, like the Miami Hurricanes or Florida State Seminoles?

I think answer is somewhat of a yes/no. Yes Crabtree benefits from the pass-heavy system he is in, but also he is a very talented and gifted wide receiver. Let’s not forget that he was on of the most highly recruited players out of high school and put up nearly 2,000 yards receiving as a true freshman. I believe he could have succeeded in any system on any team. He may have had a ton of catches and yards, but his average per catch was still only 14.6 yards. That’s less then Limas Sweed and Mario Manningham’s YPC, and comparable to Percy Harvin’s 14.5.

A true measure of how great Michael Crabtree really is, will be if he can increase his yards per catch in 2008 to something like 16.0 ypc. If given the same number of receptions, he could break the single season NCAA receiving yards record (2060 yards).