LUBBOCK, Texas — There’s no doubt that the possibility of a loss to Kansas could test the patience of any Big 12 football coach.

On Saturday, Texas Tech’s Tommy Tuberville took some of that frustration out on a Red Raiders assistant, ripping the head set off of a graduate assistant named Kevin Oliver and creating a minor controversy during Texas Tech’s 41-34 overtime victory over Kansas.

“I reached and grabbed him,” Tuberville said after the game, trying to explain the incident. “He was on the field, and I reached to grab him and pull him off. When I pulled, I missed his shirt and I grabbed his (head set) and his microphone ripped off his head. I was trying to get him off the field.”

The video of the incident seemed to suggest something a little more direct and aggressive than what Tuberville described. The swipe came after the Red Raiders had committed back-to-back penalties, with confusion and substitution issues compounding the frustration.

“He’s standing out on the field and we’re trying to get him off, and the referee’s standing there,” Tuberville added. “I just pulled him off and missed his shoulder and grabbed his — I mean, it wasn’t anything. It was just one of those deals where I missed his shoulder and ended up grabbing the microphone on his head set and pulled it off.

“We couldn’t get the right personnel. We got two back-to-back penalties. That’s what I was hot about.”