Texas Tech is only a handful of wins away from getting a BCS National Championship birth. The Big 12 South is so congested that the Red Raiders will probably have to be undefeated to get in. They have a big matchup with No. 5 Oklahoma this weekend. A win here would be huge and kill the Sooners BCS Championship dreams.

Michael Crabtree is going to try his absolute hardest to get his team into the Title game. He still thinks about the time when his High School squad missed out on States.

“From my years in high school, I feel like I didn’t give it all I could give,” Crabtree said. “I feel like I could have gone to state if I would have given it my all. I didn’t want to feel like that again – should’ve, could’ve, would’ve. I’m at that time right now that I’m remembering that, so every time I go on the field, it’s like I’m giving it my all because I’m not going to feel that same way I felt in high school. I don’t want any regrets.”

I have no doubt that Michael Crabtree won’t give it 100% on gamedays and lead this team to the promise land. The Red Raiders season feels magical in a way, almost like it’s their destiny.

Before the season started, Michael Crabtree was on a lot of potential Heisman lists. Since his stats weren’t as hot as last year, he kind of dropped off the radar this year.

However, that amazing performance he had against former No. 1 Texas (10 receptions, 127 yards and a game winning touchdown) has propelled him back into the discussion. ESPN has him ranked #4 on their Heisman Watch.

Here’s what they had to say:

4. Michael Crabtree — I have Michael Crabtree at No. 4 even though his numbers are slightly down from last year. If you can live with calling it a down season while he’s on pace to catch 93 passes for more than 1,200 yards and 20 TDs despite being the No. 1 focus of rival defenses every week. Simply put, Crabtree is better at what he does than any other player in college football. He carves up defenses, snatches passes away from defenders in traffic and runs through would-be tacklers like he’s a tailback. The only downside is his QB is drawing a lot of the hype since Tech’s attack is just so diversified.

It’ll be tough for him to win it because Graham Harrell is also on the list, and in fact he is No. 1 on ESPN’s Heisman rankings. But there is still hope!

When asked about Michael Crabtree’s ankle yesterday, Coach Mike Leach simply said “Like everybody, they like a little attention. Some people try to get their 15 minutes at once and some try to spread it out.”

I’m not quite sure what that means though. Does it mean he thinks Crabtree is acting out just to get his name in the papers? Nah… couldn’t be that. Who knows? All we can do is assume he’ll be ready to play on Saturday vs. Kansas. Texas Tech needs Crabtree on the field if they want to keep this undefeated season going.

A few weeks ago I posted about Pass or Catch 2008: You Decide. It’s a Heisman campaign with a Presidential twist that Texas Tech is running with Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree.

Here’s one of the Crabtree campaign videos.

Doublenation.com posted the top 5 reasons why Texas Tech will win the Big 12 South. Reason number 5 is our very own Michael Crabtree. Check it out:

Reason #5: Mr. Crabtree

Michael Crabtree (29 catches, 457 yards and 6 TD’s) is still the unquestioned playmaker on offense and despite not having quite the burst onto the scene as he did last year in no way diminishes what he brings to this team. There is not a player in the Big 12 that has Mr. Crabtree’s combination of size, speed and ability to turn a short pass into a game-breaking spectacular play. Defenses will have to game plan around Crabtree, which is part of the reason why the receivers mentioned above are having so much success. His presence allows for other players to step up and make plays. I’m not sure that Mr. Crabtree has the type of season that he had last year, but make no mistake that his presence is helping this offense be that much more efficient. Crabtree will get his in conference play, I’m fairly confident of that. Teams can’t cover him and everyone else. He’s just too special not to make a difference.

What’s your take?

With Big 12 Media Days just wrapping up, there was a lot of news coming out about Texas Tech and other Big 12 teams. Even though Michael Crabtree wasn’t in Kansas City for the Media Days (Leach thinks Crabtree already gets enough attention), USA Today posted an article article in their sports section all about Crabtree. It’s a tremendous read and I recommend everyone take a few minutes to check it out. Here’s the link.

But for those of you looking for some quick excerpts, here you go:

“He doesn’t know ESPN from WKRP,” Leach says. “I think he’s so focused on what he does on the field and has devoted so much time, energy and emotion to what he does on field, when he gets off the field, it’s uncharted territory (dealing with the media). That’s what makes him kind of mysterious. He’s so quiet. He had a lot of success early. Is he big-headed, cocky? He’s kind of a quiet, introverted guy. He hangs out with younger, unsure guys on the team. On the field, everything he does is elevated.”

Crabtree says he is an astute observer of the game. He learns from watching players at any level and says, “I can watch on my team and take a little bit from them. I can watch my running back and how he cuts and use it when I catch the ball.

“I look at everything and take notes and create my own style. I learned from watching a whole bunch of people — Jerry Rice, Chad Johnson, Steve Smith, Larry Fitzgerald. I really watched and learned from Michael Irvin.”

Texas Tech standout wide receiver, Michael Crabtree, has been named to the Maxwell Award official Watchlist by Maxwell Football Club President Ron Jaworski. The Maxwell Award is given to the most outstanding collegiate football player. Last year’s winner was Florida Gator quarterback Tim Tebow.

Crabtree, who pulled in 134 catches for 22 touchdowns and 1,962 yards, all NCAA freshman records, last season is one of 75 players listed on the watchlist. Semifinalists for the Maxwell Award will be announced in early November and three finalists will be announced November 25th. The winner of the 2008 Maxwell Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show in December.

Michael Crabtree has his work cut out for him if he wants to win the Maxwell Award. A wide receiver hasn’t won it since Desmond Howard in 1991.

About a month ago, Chris Steuber from Fox Sports interview Michael Crabtree. You can read the entire interview here. It’s a must read for anyone wanting to know more about the red-shirt freshman standout from Texas Tech. He dives into what it was like playing high school football in Texas and how he became a wide receiver after playing quarterback while growing up. Below is a small excerpt from the interview:

Chris Steuber: What went into your decision to go to Texas Tech?

Michael Crabtree: They throw the ball, and I wanted to be a receiver. They say that this system only has system players. It doesn’t matter what the system is, if you’re a football player, you can ball.

CS: Was there another school that you were strongly considering?

MC: Kansas was the other school, but everyone was saying that Kansas wasn’t good. Everyone was telling me that Kansas is just a basketball school; don’t go there, don’t do that.

CS: They finished 12-1 last year and won the Orange Bowl.

MC: Yeah, I know.

Pretty funny huh? At the end of the interview, Michael describes what is most important to him and what his goals are for 2008. He’s not worried about his personal stats, he just wants to get his team to a BCS game.