TUCSON, AZ — The Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-1) traveled to Tucson on Saturday night to play a Big 12 matchup against the Arizona WIldcats (3-1). Despite two 2nd half turnovers, the Red Raiders' defense dominated on the evening to claim a 3-0 start to Big 12 play, 28-22.
FINAL: Texas Tech 28 Arizona 22
1st Quarter
Texas Tech's quarterback Behren Morton led the Red Raiders' offense out onto the field to start the first drive of the night at Texas Tech's 25-yard line. The Red Raiders did nothing with the ball and went three and out. After a punt, the Wildcats took over at their 21-yard line.
The Red Raiders came out strong on defense. After giving up one first down to the run game, a sack put the Wildcats far behind the sticks. Coy Eakin fielded the ensuing punt at Texas Tech's 26-yard line.
Texas Tech found some initial success on their second drive. However, a drop on 3rd and long ensured another punt. Arizona took over at the Wildcats' 15-yard line. The Red Raiders' defense gifted the offense with another three and out, and Texas Tech had the ball back at the Texas Tech 39-yard line with 8:05 left in the 1st Quarter.
Tech kept the ball on the ground to begin their next drive. Brooks and wideout Drae McCray moved the ball to midfield. Morton then took a 2nd down pass and dropped back. He loaded up and launched a ball towards the end zone, where freshman receiver Micah Hudson hauled in the pass for a gain of 38 yards. Brooks took the 1st and Goal carry the final three yards to the house for the games first touchdown. Texas Tech led 7-0 with 5:38 remaining in the 1st quarter.
Arizona's offense went on a methodical march on when they got the ball back. Several first downs moved the football down the field from a combination of passes and one quarterback scramble. However, the Red Raiders' defense stepped up inside the 35-yard line. Tech forced a 4th down and the Wildcats had to settle for a 47-yard field goal. Texas Tech led 7-3 with 22 seconds remaining in the 1st Quarter.
2nd Quarter
The Red Raiders went backward to open the 2nd quarter. A sack and then a penalty on 4th down backed Tech up inside their own 10-yard line. Arizona got the ball back at near midfield. A 15-yard facemask penalty moved the Wildcats inside the Red Raiders' 30-yard line on the first play of the drive. From there, the stingy Red Raider defense held strong to force a 4th down. The Wildcats went for it, but ran into a wall. Texas Tech took over on downs at the Red Raiders' 21-yard line with 10:32 remaining in the 2nd quarter.
It was the Tahj Brooks show on Tech's next drive. He carried the ball on several carries to midfield. A string of short gains then saw Texas Tech faced with a 3rd and long. A blatantly missed defensive hold killed the drive there and Tech punted the ball away.
The Tech defense delivered again when the Red Raiders' needed it. After Arizona drove down the field, it looked like the Wildcats were well on their way to taking the lead. However, pressure forced a quick throw from Arizona's Noah Fifita. The pass was batted up in the air at the line and it fell into the hands of Quincy Ledet. The big man rumbled down the field to set Texas Tech up in Arizona territory with time winding down in the 2nd quarter.
A series of short passes moved the Red Raiders' inside the 20-yard line. Arizona started calling timeouts to preserve as much time as possible in the first half, but Texas Tech was on the doorstep. Brooks took a 3rd down carry the final nine yards to the endzone for his second rushing touchdown. Texas Tech ran a "swinging gate" formation to punch in a 2-point conversion successfully. Tech led 15-3 with 1:38 remaining in the 2nd Quarter.
Arizona made another mental mistake just before the half. Fifita launched a deep pass toward the endzone after Arizona drove the ball into Tech's territory. CJ Baskerville tracked down the deep ball and intercepted it in the corner of the endzone. Morton later launched a deep ball to Caleb Douglas for a 58-yard gain to put Texas Tech into field goal range with just seconds remaining. Tech nailed the field goal to take an 18-3 lead at the half.
3rd Quarter
Texas Tech forced a three-and-out on Arizona's opening possession. The offense took over at Tech's 46-yard line. Arizona's defense proved up to the task and delivered another Texas Tech punt. Both teams exchanged field positions, and Arizona took over at the Wildcats' 21-yard line.
Arizona put together a decent offensive drive that put them into field goal range. Tech's defense forced a 4th down from there, but Arizona narrowed the Red Raiders' advantage to 18-6. Tahj Brooks then committed a rare fumble on offense. The Wildcats jumped on the ball, and the momentum swung the other way. However, Texas Tech refused to bend on defense. Another Arizona field goal left the score 18-9 with 6:46 remaining in the 3rd Quarter.
After another Texas Tech three and out, Arizona was in business again. Future NFL draft pick Tetairoa McMillan made a huge play to put Arizona inside Texas Tech's 20-yard line. The Red Raiders forced another 4th down attempt, but Arizona delivered. One play later, the Wildcats scored their first touchdown of the contest. Arizona trailed by just two points, 18-16, with time winding down in the 3rd quarter.
4th Quarter
Tahj Brooks's rough 2nd half continued on the ensuing possession with his second fumble on the evening. What would have been an excellent 3rd down conversion turned into another turnover. Tech's offense continued to flounder in the final quarter as Arizona looked to take the lead. The defense held Arizona to another 4th down, but a made field goal gave the Wildcats the lead 19-18 with 10:07 remaining in the 4th quarter.
Yet another three and out gave the ball straight back to Arizona. Tech's defense came up with another stop, but Arizona drained a lot of time off the 4th quarter. A missed 48-yard field goal gave the ball back to Texas Tech with less than five minutes to play.
Texas Tech's Caleb Douglas came through as the hero the Red Raiders needed with the game on the line. Morton hit Douglas in stride for a 32-yard gain to put Texas Tech in field goal range. Douglas almost caught the go-ahead touchdown later in the drive, but it was just off his fingertips. Gino Garcia hit a 41-yard field goal to give Texas Tech a 2-point lead with less than three minutes to play.
The Red Raiders' defense truly was the MVP on Saturday night's matchup. When Texas Tech needed a play, the defense delivered. Jacob Rodriguez forced a fumble after Tetarioa caught a ball near midfield. Texas Tech took over with victory in their sights.
It was Tahj Brooks's time to redeem himself after the previous two fumbles. Two carries and a first down pushed the clock to the two-minute warning. A third carry scored. Brooks sprinted 32 yards to the end zone to give the Red Raiders a 9-point lead with 1:53 remaining in the 4th quarter.
Arizona managed another field goal but failed to recover the onside kick. Morton kneeled out the remaining time on the clock, and the Texas Tech Red Raiders went on the road and defeated Arizona, 28-22.
This article will be updated as the game progresses.
Stats:
Passing:
- B. Morton - 17-29 for 214 yards
Rushing:
- T. Brooks - 21 carries for 128 yards and 3 TDs
- D. McCray - 1 carry for 13 yards
- A. Hill - 1 carry for 1 yard
- B. Morton - 4 carries for -22 yards
Receiving:
- C. Douglas - 5 catches for 116 yards
- J. Kelly - 5 catches for 27 yards
- J. Conyers - 2 catches for 14 yards
- C. Eakin - 2 catches for 12 yards
- M. Hudson - 1 catch for 38 yards
- M. Tharp - 1 catch for 9 yards
- T. Brooks - 1 catch for -2 yards
Sacks:
- J. Rodriguez - 1 sack
- T. Tillman - 1 sack
Interceptions
- Q. Ledet - 1 interception
- C. Baskerville - 1 interception
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