Graham Harrell

The Minnesota Golden Gophers outscored Tech 38–7 through the end of the 3rd quarter.

The Red Raiders, sparked by a 43-yard touchdown from Harrell to Joel Filani, went on to outscore the Gophers 31–0 through the end of regulation sending the game into overtime.

On the final drive, Harrell drove the Red Raider offense almost 70 yards in less than a minute to set up the game-tying field goal by Alex Trlica.

Following a Minnesota field goal, Tech scored a touchdown to win the game 44–41 capping a 31-point deficit, setting the record for the largest comeback victory in FBS bowl history.

Harrell threw for 445 yards, two touchdowns, and 1 rushing touchdown and was named the offensive MVP.

Graham Stanton Harrell (born May 22, 1985) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Purdue Boilermakers.

In addition, Harrell ranks second in career pass completions (805 from 2000 to 2003).

He was the starting quarterback for three seasons and led the Ennis Lions to a state Class 4A title as a sophomore in 2001.

He played college football for Texas Tech Red Raiders from 2004 to 2008.

He also played in the 2004 Oil Bowl, receiving the offensive MVP award.

Harrell set Texas high school records in these categories:

In 2004, Harrell redshirted his first season at Texas Tech.

The following season, he served as the backup quarterback behind another Texas Tech record setter, Cody Hodges, who led college football in passing yards in 2005.

Harrell started in every game of the 2006 season, beating out classmate Chris Todd.

Harrell got the Raiders off to a quick start with wins over Southern Methodist University, The University of Texas at El Paso, Southeastern Louisiana University and conference rival Texas A&M.

The lone Red Raider loss was to Texas Christian University, 12–3 in the third game of the season.

Despite the 4–1 start, Harrell was benched halfway through the next game due to poor play after the Raiders fell behind the Missouri Tigers 24–0, and Todd was inserted for two series.

Harrell came back into the game and got the Raiders within 3 points before the half but struggled in the second half as Tech lost 38–21.

The next week against a winless Colorado team that Tech was heavily favored to beat, Harrell once again was benched in favor of Todd for a 4 interception game resulting in a 30–6 loss.

However, Harrell rebounded to throw for 6 touchdowns against the Iowa State Cyclones and then threw for 519 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Texas Longhorns in a narrow 35–31 loss.

The Raiders finished the season with a 55–21 win against the Baylor Bears, a 34–24 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners, and a 30–24 win against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Texas Tech finished the regular season 7–5 (4–4 in the Big 12) and received an invitation to the 2006 Insight Bowl.

The 7–5 Red Raiders faced off against the 6–6 Minnesota Golden Gophers at the 2006 Insight Bowl in Tempe, Arizona.

Texas Tech struggled on both offense and defense during first 3 quarters of the Insight Bowl.

Harrell declined to enter the 2007 NFL Draft.

He continued the success of the previous season, mainly due to the addition of All-American wide receiver Michael Crabtree and the emergence of inside receivers Danny Amendola and Eric Morris.

As a fifth-senior in 2008, he was named a first-team All-American quarterback, Heisman Trophy finalist in 2008, and set school, conference and national records for passing yards, attempts, completions, and touchdown passes.

He played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Football League (NFL) for 5 seasons from 2009 to 2013, with his longest tenure as a player with the Green Bay Packers.

After going undrafted in the 2009 NFL Draft, he was signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League in 2009.

He was signed into the NFL in 2010 by the Green Bay Packers, where he was a part of the Super Bowl XLV win with the Packers over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He was also a member of the New York Jets.

Harrell was born to Sam and Kathy Harrell in Brownwood, Texas, where his father was an assistant under legendary Texas high school football coach Gordon Wood.

His father was hired as head coach at Ennis High School in Ennis, Texas.

Harrell played at EHS under his father's coaching.

Tech finished the year 8–5, their 13th straight winning season, and their fifth straight season with at least 8 wins 4th bowl win out of the previous 5 seasons.

He threw for 38 touchdowns and 4,555 passing yards, the third-most by a sophomore in NCAA Division I FBS history and the most ever thrown by a sophomore in the history of the Big 12.

He served as the offensive coordinator of the North Texas Mean Green (2016–2018), USC Trojans (2019–2021) and the West Virginia Mountaineers (2022).

Harrell was born in Brownwood, Texas.

He attended high school in Ennis, Texas.

After high school graduation, he enrolled at Texas Tech University and played quarterback for the Red Raiders, starting for three seasons.