Texas Tech football: 5 best individual performances of 2019
No. 3: Jett Duffey vs. Oklahoma State
It was the best win of the year for Texas Tech. Of course, there weren’t many to pick from. But regardless, in his first start of the year, Jett Duffey was fantastic by throwing for a season-high 424 yards and a career-high-tying four touchdowns with no interceptions in a 45-35 win over No. 21 Oklahoma State in Lubbock.
Duffey led the offense to a 20-0 lead in the second quarter and never let up as OSU tried to mount a rally. And it was Duffey’s right arm that was Tech’s best weapon that day.
Though he didn’t have the best completion percentage of his season (59.1%) that day, he put up his best passer rating at 170 thanks in large part to his 16.3 yards per completion. What’s more, he spread the ball around to eleven different receivers as no Red Raider has more than five receptions. That’s a sign that he was in complete command of the offense and did not have to simply rely on just one target in the passing game.
But this was also one of the few games this year when Duffey’s legs were a weapon. His first-quarter TD run of 16 yards came off an improvised scramble and reminded us just how much of a factor he could be when everything else broke down.
For most of this season, the coaching staff discouraged Duffey from running because he was the only healthy scholarship QB on the roster. That’s why the team’s leading rusher from 2018 didn’t make as many plays on the ground this fall but this play proved that he was more than capable of making something happen when a play went south.
He also found Erik Ezukanma for a game-clinching 56-yard touchdown in the 4th quarter. Facing a 2nd-and-7 at his own 44, Duffey did something that he wasn’t known for as a Red Raider, he actually looked off the coverage before hitting Erik Ezukanma streaking down the left sideline for a score.
It’s no shock that in the Red Raider’s best showing of the year, the starting QB was at the best that we’ve ever seen him. Last year against Texas, he threw for 444 yards and also had four touchdown passes but that night he also threw a pick and lost a fumble. Against the Cowboys, he was nearly flawless in the best game he ever had for the Scarlet and Black.