No. 11 Texas Tech Up 17 Over Houston Entering the 4th

HOUSTON, TX — The No. 11 Texas Tech Red Raiders traveled to Houston on Saturday, October 4, for a battle of unbeaten Big 12 teams against the Houston Cougars. 

Houston won the toss and deferred until the second half. Texas Tech received the opening kickoff and the offense immediately went to work. The Red Raiders drove inside Houston's 15-yard line before stalling out there. Texas Tech kicked a 26-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

The Red Raiders' defense did not take long to make an impact. On Houston's first drive, Tech forced a turnover. Ben Roberts recovered the backward pass for the Red Raiders' first takeaway of the contest. Tech's offense took over at Houston's 16-yard line. Three plays and one yard later, Texas Tech had to attempt another field goal. The kick sailed through the uprights, and the Red Raiders took a 6-0 lead with 9:38 remaining in the first quarter.

Houston's offense finally got going near the end of the first quarter. A 44-yard catch set the Cougars up inside Texas Tech's 15-yard line, but the offense stalled. The offense put up three points but still trailed, 9-3.

Texas Tech's offense finally found the end zone with 11 seconds remaining in the 1st quarter. Behren Morton found Cam Dickey out of the backfield on a pass down the seam. Dickey then made the safety miss to spring 69 yards to the house and the Red Raiders' first touchdown. Texas Tech took a 15-3 lead into the 2nd quarter.

Texas Tech's defense made another play later in the second quarter. Jacob Rodriguez stepped in front of a pass and picked off Connor Weigman. He then made a man miss, hurdled another, and took the ball deep inside Houston territory at the 25-yard line. This set up a short touchdown run by J'Koby Williams and put the Red Raiders up 22-3. picked off and hurdled for 26 yards to Houston 25.

Houston showed signs of life just before the half. Backup quarterback Zeon Chriss-Gremillion came in for a banged-up Weigman and immediately sparked the Cougars' offense. He connected on his first pass attempt to Amare Thomas for a 64-yard touchdown. Houston completed the 2-point conversion to pull the Cougars back within 14 points. Both teams hit the locker rooms with Texas Tech up two scores, 25-11.

 The 3rd quarter was an extreme defensive battle, where only three points were put on the board. Texas Tech made one field goal and missed another, while Houston could not get anything going on offense. Texas Tech's Brenden Jordan snagged himself an interception near the end of the period, but Houston's defense stopped Texas Tech cold right after. The 3rd quarter ended with Tech up 28-11.