Big 12 fans who were fond of the 2010s had to love what took place in Lubbock on Saturday night into Sunday morning. In what was an old-school Big 12 shootout reminiscent of the days when it seemed like the vast majority of the games in this conference were played in a video game simulation, Texas Tech survived a scare from West Virginia to keep alive hopes of returning to the College Football Playoff.
Ironically, though, a game that featured over 100 points and 1,200 yards of offense between the two teams was sealed by the Texas Tech defense. Edge rusher Trey White came up with the play of the game when he tripped up WVU quarterback Michael Hawkins in the end zone for a safety in the final two minutes of play to give the home team just enough breathing room to claim a 53-48 victory.
The sack, which came with Tech leading by just three points, was the third of the game for the Red Raiders. All three of those sacks proved to be monumental.
Entering the fourth quarter trailing 48-41 after being outscored 21-0 in the third quarter, Tech turned the tables and won the final frame 12-0. In that final quarter, the Mountaineers had four possessions and managed to pick up not a single first down. That felt impossible given the way they marched up and down the field on the Red Raiders prior to that.
After the Red Raiders took a 51-48 lead, WVU took over with three timeouts and 2:44 on the clock. However, Mateen Ibirogba came up with a sack on third down. Then, a Trey White sack would end that possession on fourth down.
Those plays, combined with White's game-sealing safety, meant that Tech came up with sacks on the final three West Virginia offensive snaps. On a night when the Tech defense was abused, it found a way to make enough plays down the stretch to fend off the upset bid.
Sometimes, winning football doesn't look as dominant as we'd like. Rather, it can be timely plays that help pull a team out of the fire. That's what the Red Raiders managed to do on Saturday night/Sunday morning to keep their Big 12 title hopes alive. Here are some other observations from the victory.
Texas Tech doesn't win this game if Castellanos isn't playing QB
For most of this season, the Texas Tech offense would have been incapable of winning a shootout like this. However, the insertion of Thomas Castellanos into the lineup has given the offense new life.
In this game, the new starting QB for the Red Raiders accounted for a career-high 464 yards of offense. What's more, 362 of those yards came through the air.
Castellanos threw for five TDs in the game, including the game-winner to Kenny Johnson in the fourth quarter. That's one fewer touchdown than Will Hammond has thrown for all season. In short, this game would have been a loss had Castellanos still been just a red-zone gadget QB for the Red Raiders.
Micah Hudson finally makes an impact for Texas Tech
All season, fans have been waiting for former 5-star signee Micah Hudson to make a true impact for the Red Raiders. That finally happened in this game.
Though the junior caught only two passes, he had a career-high 76 yards receiving. What's more, he made one of the most pivotal plays of the game.
His improbable 26-yard reception on 4th-and-3 with 4:29 to play kept alive Tech's game-winning TD drive. On the play, Hudson broke off his route and came from out of nowhere to snag a ball Castellanos simply threw up for grabs.
That play might be overlooked given all that happened in this shootout, but it was the biggest play of Hudson's Red Raider career. In fact, without Hudson's heroics, Tech likely would have lost this game.
The Texas Tech secondary continues to have maddening coverage busts
It is hard to understand what is happening to the Texas Tech secondary this year. Nearly every week, we've seen this team give up huge plays through the air simply because of blown coverages that allow receivers to run free down the field.
That was the case against the Mountaineers. Hawkins, who isn't known as an amazing passer, averaged 18.9 yards per completion. In fact, he threw for 303 yards despite attempting only 16 passes.
Time and again, Tech's secondary had coverage breakdowns that seemed hard to explain. That is a scary thought with Oklahoma State up next on the schedule.
We will worry about the Cowboys later, though. For now, Texas Tech fans can go to bed knowing that their team's playoff hopes remain alive thanks to a crazy win at home, one that set a new program record of 14 straight victories in Lubbock.
Add us as a preferred source on Google