TANGERINE BOWL Kingsbury leads Texas Tech's romp over Clemson
He became the third Division I-A player to top 5,000 yards passing in a season.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- One series into the Tangerine Bowl, Kliff Kingsbury knew he was in for a big night.
"I felt like we could do some things, seeing their defensive base package and how they lined up," Kingsbury said. "I felt like we could exploit it."
Kingsbury became the third Division I-A player to top 5,000 yards passing in a season, throwing for 375 and three touchdowns as Texas Tech defeated Clemson 55-15 on Monday night.
Texas Tech (9-5) won its first bowl game since beating Air Force in the 1995 Copper Bowl, and gave coach Mike Leach his first postseason victory.
Spreading the wealth
Five receivers caught touchdown passes for the Red Raiders, and Wes Welker had a 59-yard punt return for a score.
"We went out there and really played with a good tempo and I think that everybody fed off one another," Leach said. "I'm proud of the way we came down here and stuck to business."
It was the worst loss of the season for Clemson (7-6), and the worst in a bowl since a 41-0 defeat to Syracuse in the 1996 Gator Bowl.
"I'm totally embarrassed," defensive tackle Nick Eason said. "This was my last game as a Clemson Tiger, and I got destroyed."
Kingsbury, the game's MVP, completed 32 of 43 passes and finished his career with 5,017 yards. The only other players to reach the mark are BYU's Ty Detmer, who had 5,188 yards, and Houston's David Klingler, who had 5,140. Both players did it in 1990. Detmer played in 12 games, Klingler 11.
"Five thousand yards, that's a big number," Kingsbury said. "That shows how well our offense played this season."
Slight setback
Kingsbury left briefly in the third quarter after Clemson defensive end Khaleed Vaughn appeared to roll onto his right leg. Kingsbury quickly got up, but he hopped only a few yards before falling to the turf and motioning to the training staff. He got his ankle re-taped and jogged on the sideline without a limp, and returned on the next possession after approval from the trainer.
"He wasn't keeping me off the field," Kingsbury said. "I was going to get back out there."
The Red Raiders were playing for the first time since a 60-15 loss to Oklahoma on Nov. 23, but they went ahead 3-0 lead after taking their opening possession 82 yards in 13 plays. It was 24-0 in the second quarter before the Tigers blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety and their first points.
Charlie Whitehurst, a redshirt freshman who led the Tigers to victories in three of their last four games after taking over as the starting quarterback, couldn't match Kingsbury.
He finished 20-of-48 for 263 yards and four interceptions after being intercepted only twice in 166 attempts coming in.