Texas Tech football: Hidden moments from the victory over Houston

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LUBBOCK, TEXAS – OCTOBER 24: Tight end Travis Koontz #15 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders runs a route during the first half of 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) /

Travis Koontz 9-yard catch on third down

When Sonny Cumbie was tabbed to be the Texas Tech offensive coordinator, we were led to believe that the tight end position would be more of a weapon in his offense than it was in the scheme that his predecessor, David Yost, ran. And though starting TE Travis Koontz didn’t have a monster game on Saturday, he had one of the most critical plays of the game.

With 3:11 to go in the game, Tech still led just 24-21. But the Red Raiders had driven the ball to the Houston 14 where they faced a 3rd-and-8.

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On the play, QB Tyler Shough had to look off of his first read and turn his attention to Koontz, who had settled down in the middle of the Houston zone. The senior made the grab and turned up field to gain nine yards to pick up a critical first down.

Three plays later, Shough would find running back Xavier White for what was essentially the game-clinching touchdown. But think about how critical Koontz’s play proved to be.

Had this drive stalled out, the Red Raiders would have had to settle for a field goal. That would have only staked them to a six-point lead meaning Houston would be one TD away from winning the game.

While White’s TD catch was also a critical third-down play, it wouldn’t have happened had Koontz not made his pivotal third-down catch. And you could argue that this was the most impactful play of Koontz’s career as a Red Raider.

Remember that last year, he caught only 15 passes and the only one that was memorable was his 75-yard TD against OU. But given that that particular play took place in a massive Sooner blowout, it was hardly considered impactful.

But this catch was one that helped the Red Raiders seal a game and that’s what we’ve been waiting to see from him for the last two seasons.

For the game, Koontz caught four passes for 28 yards. While those numbers are modest, they do represent a career-high in receptions and his fourth-best yardage total.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how Cumbie utilizes the tight ends on his roster because he’s got some talent at his disposal with that position group. And hopefully, Koontz can continue to come up clutch the way he did on this critical third-down against Houston.

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