Texas Tech football: Hidden moments from 37-34 win over Texas

Texas drops another pass and Tech catches a potential break

In the fourth quarter, Tech had cut Texas’ lead to 31-24 and had the Horns pinned deep in their own territory.  Facing a second-and-nine at their own 3, Texas ran a play-action pass that saw receiver Jordan Whittington get a step on Rayshad Williams.

Texas QB Hudson Card would deliver a nice pass to Whittington who got both of his hands on the ball only to drop it when he fell to the ground.  Had he held on, Texas would have had the ball near midfield and would have at worst flipped the field.  What’s more, had Card put the ball just a bit further out in front of Whittington, this could have been a touchdown for UT.

Additionally, Tech caught a break on this play as the officials decided not to flag Williams, who certainly made some contact with the receiver.  It was a bang-bang play and for once against UT, Tech got the benefit of the doubt.

On the next play, Texas would gain just a yard and on fourth down, they would have to punt from their own endzone.  That set up one of the biggest plays of the day.

After a 49-yard punt, Myles Price would return the ball 20 yards to the Texas 30.  That would set up the Red Raiders for a five-play TD drive that ended in a 19-yard Baylor Cupp touchdown.

Therefore, it is worth thinking about how different this portion of the game would have been if Whittington would have made this play.  Had Tech held UT after that, it would have been likely that the Red Raiders would have started their next drive deep in their own territory, and that would have been the best-case scenario.

So while this drop wasn’t nearly as egregious as Worthington’s in the first quarter, don’t overlook its significance.  That’s because this incompletion prevented Texas from flipping the field at a critical juncture of the game.