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Texas Tech football: Turning points in Red Raiders’ win over Oklahoma State

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 05: The Masked Rider, mascot of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, leads the team onto the field before the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma State Cowboys on October 05, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 05: The Masked Rider, mascot of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, leads the team onto the field before the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma State Cowboys on October 05, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
(Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

Tech’s TD on the first drive of the second half keep the momentum with the home team

Until we have reason to feel otherwise, Tech fans are always going to be waiting for the other shoe to drop.  That’s why a 20-7 halftime lead was not as assuring for the Jones Stadium crowd as many would have assumed it would have been.

Finally breaking through with a TD on its final drive of the first half, OSU had caused some doubt to enter into the equation for the first time in the game.  And plenty of Tech fans feared that the halftime break would serve to quell the Raiders’ momentum.

Fortunately, Wells’ team answered the bell in the second half by putting together a fantastic TD drive to start the third period.  It not only restored the 20-point margin but it set the tone for the remainder of the game by showing that Tech had no intention of letting this lead slip away.

The key play on the drive was one of the game’s most incremental gains.  Don’t overlook the significance of SaRodorick Thompson’s 1-yard run on 3rd-and-1 at the Tech 34 to keep the drive alive.  It was the first 3rd-down conversion of the game for the Red Raider offense and it prevented the drive from stalling out after just three plays.

As is usually the case with Yost, picking up a first down was the green light he needed to go back into attack mode.  Four plays later, Tech was again in the end zone.  The final 50 yards came on a 29-yard run by Thompson and a 21-yard TD catch by T.J. Vasher to ignite the home faithful.

Considering that OSU would score on its first drive of the second half, it is easy to see how important this drive proved to be.  If Tech had failed to extend its lead to open the third quarter, the game could have turned into a one-score game with tons of time for the Cowboys to come back.

Next. Overreacting to the win over OK ST. dark

Imagine how tight everyone in the stadium would have become had Tech’s one-time 20-point lead been cut to just six thanks to 14-straight points by OSU sandwiched around halftime. Football coaches are notorious for believing that games are often won and lost in the possession before and the possession after the intermission so by coming out of the locker room strong, the Red Raiders kept momentum on their side and did not let OSU jump back into the game.

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