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1989 Texas Tech

9–⁠3 (5–⁠3 Southwest Conference), coached by Spike Dykes, finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Texas Tech in 1989, game by game: won vs. No. 20 Arizona 24–14; won vs. New Mexico 27–20; won at Oklahoma State 31–15; lost at Baylor 15–29; won vs. No. 19 Texas A&M 27–24; lost vs. No. 7 Arkansas 13–45; won vs. Rice 41–25; won at No. 22 Texas 24–17; won vs. TCU 37–7; won at SMU 48–24; lost at No. 13 Houston 24–40; won vs. No. 20 Duke 49–21+30−32Won 24–14 vs. No. 20 Arizona+10No. 20 ArizonaWon 27–20 vs. New Mexico+7New MexicoWon 31–15 at Oklahoma State+16Oklahoma StateLost 15–29 at Baylor-14BaylorWon 27–24 vs. No. 19 Texas A&M+3No. 19 Texas A&MLost 13–45 vs. No. 7 Arkansas-32No. 7 ArkansasWon 41–25 vs. Rice+16RiceWon 24–17 at No. 22 Texas+7No. 22 TexasWon 37–7 vs. TCU+30TCUWon 48–24 at SMU+24SMULost 24–40 at No. 13 Houston-16No. 13 HoustonWon 49–21 vs. No. 20 Duke+28No. 20 Duke
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9vs20ArizonaW 24–⁠1446%
Sep 16vsNew MexicoW 27–⁠2081%
Sep 23atOklahoma StateW 31–⁠1537%
Sep 30atBaylorL 15–⁠2955%
Oct 7vs19Texas A&MW 27–⁠2447%
Oct 14vs7ArkansasL 13–⁠4541%
Oct 21vsRiceW 41–⁠2582%
Nov 4at22TexasW 24–⁠1742%
Nov 11vsTCUW 37–⁠773%
Nov 18atSMUW 48–⁠2471%
Nov 25at13HoustonL 24–⁠4031%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvs20DukeAll-American BowlW 49–⁠2146%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Duke 49–⁠21 in the All-American Bowl; No. 19 in the final AP poll; 4th in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The 15th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 101 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 11: 23
  2. Wk 12: 20
  3. Wk 13: 18
  4. Wk 14: 25
  5. Wk 15: 25
  6. Wk 16: 24
  7. Final: 19
Record
9–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠3 4th in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 18
Points
360–⁠281
Coach
Spike Dykes
Elo
1625 +116 this season
SP+ rating
11.8 No. 27 of 103; offense No. 20, defense No. 47
SRS
10.2 No. 26 of 106 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Dick Winder
Defensive coordinator
Carlos Mainord
Captain
Ronnie Gossett DT
Offense
No-huddle spread
Defense
3–⁠4

Drafted in 1990

The 1990 draft
Rd 5James Gray RBNew England Patriots

All-Southwest Conference

7 first team, 4 second team

First team

  • James GrayRBAP-1
  • Charles OdiorneOLAP-1
  • Nathan RichburgOL
  • Tom MathiasmeyerDL
  • Sammy WalkerSecondary
  • Tracy SaulRSAP-1
  • Spike DykesMiscellaneousAP

Second team

  • Len WrightCAP-2
  • Charles PerryDLAP-2
  • Charles RoweLBAP-2
  • Jamie SimmonsPAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1989 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1989 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Arkansas7–⁠110–⁠213
Houston6–⁠29–⁠214
Texas A&M6–⁠28–⁠420
Texas Tech5–⁠39–⁠319
Texas4–⁠45–⁠6
Baylor4–⁠45–⁠6
TCU2–⁠64–⁠7
Rice2–⁠62–⁠8–⁠1
SMU0–⁠82–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.