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Texas Tech football: Handing out game balls for victory over Mountaineers

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 24: Quarterback Henry Colombi #3 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders passes the ball during warmups before the college football game against the West Virginia Mountaineers on October 24, 2020 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 24: Quarterback Henry Colombi #3 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders passes the ball during warmups before the college football game against the West Virginia Mountaineers on October 24, 2020 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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Oct 24, 2020; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders defensive back DeMarcus Fields (23) reacts after the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Jones AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 24, 2020; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders defensive back DeMarcus Fields (23) reacts after the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Jones AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

Several Texas Tech football players stepped up in Saturday’s victory over West Virginia so let’s hand out some imaginary game balls.

Texas Tech now has a pulse.  Moving to 2-3 on the season with a 34-27 win against West Virginia on Saturday night, Matt Wells and his team finally gave Red Raider fans a weekend to feel upbeat about.

Remember that the only other win that Tech has mustered this year was an embarrassing 35-33 showing against FCS opponent Houston Baptist in the opener.  Given that Tech entered that game a multi-touchdown favorite, that result felt just like a loss despite the fact that it did go in the win column.

The rest of the season prior to Saturday night was defined by frustration, anger, cynicism, and an ever dissipating hope in the future.  But for at least one week, the Red Raiders gave us a reason to feel a modicum of satisfaction and a glimmer of optimism.

"“I think it means a lot to us, to win a close game,” Wells said in his postgame remarks. “Certainty going to be some things that we take away from it.”"

This marked the first time that Wells has won a one-score Big 12 game.  It’s also just the second time in his Red Raider tenure that he’s notched a win over a team that entered the game with a winning record.

Those are positives that Wells and Co. should be able to build upon.  They are natural steps in the rebuilding process and closing out a tough win over a quality opponent is a step in the right direction for a program that has seemingly taken nothing but steps backward this year.

Now that Tech has found a way to beat a Big 12 team in 2020, one that entered the game 3-1, there’s reason to look at the remainder of the schedule and envision at least a few more wins in this strange season.  That was not what we were doing at this time a week ago.

There were plenty of heroes in this win and Tech had some key players lead the way.  So let’s hand out some imaginary game balls to the Red Raiders that helped this program pick up a desperately-needed win.

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