Texas Tech just got its first win over Texas in Austin since 1997, 48-45. The Red Raiders got it in large part thanks to this nifty trick play, a 40-yard rushing touchdown by 5’7, 168-pound Jakeem Grant with less than three minutes left.
Texas Tech beat Texas by hiding its smallest player behind its biggest ones
The Red Raiders beat the Longhorns in a critical game of hide and seek.
After the game, head coach Kliff Kingsbury told FOX’s Bruce Feldman the play is called “Little People, Big World.” Here’s why:
The play itself is a Gus Malzahn trick. He’s run it a few times over the course of his career, including with Auburn this year against Texas A&M. The idea is you have your offensive line stand as close together as possible and have your team’s smallest, fastest player hide behind them.
It’s a silly premise, but this screencap from the Auburn game should show you how effective it can be at obscuring an opponent’s vision.
For Tech, Grant is the tiny guy. He’s the shortest player on the roster and the second lightest, at 168 pounds. Texas didn’t appear to see him, as its linemen and linebackers all ran the wrong way after the snap.
The Longhorns had a few chances to tackle him, but, well, Grant is also fast. That’s why he’s one of Tech’s best receivers in spite of his diminutive stature.
On first glance, I thought this was a fake victory formation. After all, the Red Raiders were up late with the lead, their RB was lined up unusually deep, and Grant did appear to go near a knee before sprinting. But I think I was just biased by the previous kneel incident in a Texas-TTU game, the only fake kneel incident I can currently think of. Tech’s actual victory formation is out of the shotgun, and Grant’s semi-knee was just him trying to let the misdirection develop while being as small as possible.
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