Texas Tech entered today’s game ranked No. 24 in the country, and the chance to make a statement with a road win over a good West Virginia team. Things were looking up for the Red Raiders early in Morgantown, but a brutal second half collapse resulted in a disappointing Saturday.
The Texas Tech offense started strong. After the defense forced a three and out on West Virginia’s first series, the Red Raiders struck quickly. On just a two-play drive, redshirt freshman TJ Vasher took a screen pass 60 yards to open the scoring and take an early 7-0 lead.
However, West Virginia responded with a quick strike of their own to even up the scoring. The two teams traded blows in the first quarter, which concluded with a score of 14-10, Tech. The second quarter began with one of the game’s bigger storylines – a missed Texas Tech field goal.
After another defensive stop and a touchdown to wide receiver Keke Coutee, the missed field goal didn’t seem to loom large as Tech held a 21-10 lead. After a bunch of penalties against Texas Tech, West Virginia was able to respond with a touchdown to cut the lead to 21-17.
The Mountaineer defense appeared to force a three and out on Texas Tech’s next possession, but a fake punt executed by Texas Tech allowed the Red Raiders to maintain possession. They capitalized when Vasher made a leaping 53-yard touchdown grab to extend the lead to 28-17.
Texas Tech got the ball back with a couple minutes remaining in the half and a chance to really put West Virginia in a bind before the half. After electing not to go for it on 4th and goal from the 1-yard line, Texas Tech missed another field goal and took a 28-17 lead into the half.
In the third quarter, Texas Tech forced their only turnover of the day on an interception from Desmon Smith. The interception led to another Texas Tech touchdown and a 35-17 lead. The game seemed pretty much over, as the Red Raiders had pretty much dominated throughout and had a three-score lead.
Then the Mountaineers came roaring back while the Tech offense flat out disappeared. West Virginia trimmed the lead to a manageable 35-24 score through three quarters, but that was only the beginning.
Texas Tech’s offense went three and out three consecutive times in the fourth quarter, and the Mountaineers capitalized big time. WVU scored another touchdown and converted the two-point conversion to make it 35-32. On their next possession, they passed up the chance to tie it with a field goal, converted on 4th and 1, and scored another touchdown on the next play to make it 39-35.
After another three and out from Texas Tech, West Virginia struck again and it was suddenly 46-35 with just over two minutes left. An interception from Texas Tech quarterback Nic Shimonek iced the game, and West Virginia snapped its nine-game losing streak against ranked teams.
A win for Texas Tech would have been its biggest win as a program for quite some time, and would have helped them turn a proverbial corner. The Red Raiders would have been 5-1 with Iowa State at home next week, and likely ranked in or near the AP Top 20.
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