What if I told you that Texas Tech started the game against Oklahoma with a 67-yard kick return on their way to victory?
It would make sense, and technically, it is what happened last night.
Context matters, however, and Texas Tech had a terrible first quarter and a half before they went on a 32-7 run to take a seven-point lead.
From there, they survived a comeback to force overtime and defeat the Oklahoma Sooners 51-48 Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium to get their seventh win of the season on senior night.
It was the first time Tech beat Oklahoma since 2011, and it was the first time Tech beat both Texas and Oklahoma in school history.
The Red Raiders finished the regular season fourth in the Big 12 with a 5-4 record, the highest finish and first winning record in conference play since 2009.
Recap
You can click the final book if you really want to get deeper, but here is what happened.
Jordan Brown returned the first kick of the game 67 yards for Texas Tech, but junior running back Tahj Brooks fumbled the ball on the next play.
Tech looked completely out of it from that point as they let Oklahoma gash them for two touchdowns on drives that did not last more than three minutes each.
The rest of the quarter and the start of the second was not much better, even with the rushing touchdown from senior defensive tackle Jaylon Hutchings, who played running back in high school in Forney, Texas.
Oklahoma wide receiver Marvin Mims already had two long touchdowns and 162 yards.
The Red Raiders had figured out their offense by that point, leaning on senior running back SaRodorick Thompson and, later, senior quarterback Tyler Shough to go on a 32-7 run.
Freshman wide receiver Jerand Bradley was also important throughout the game as a big target for Shough. He had eight catches for 173 yards and a touchdown.
Junior defensive back Dadrion “Rabbit” Taylor-Demerson had an interception after the first Tech touchdown of that run, likely the biggest turning point of the game as it helped set up another touchdown during the run.
Sophomore quarterback Donovan Smith was big during the offensive explosion as well, running for a touchdown and receiving one to put Texas Tech up 38-31. Yes, you read that right.
From there, Oklahoma went on a 17-7 run as their offense found their rhythm and Shough threw an interception when Bradley fell on a route. The defense held strong, however, to keep it from being a 21-7 run.
It allowed senior kicker Trey Wolff to send it to overtime with a 43-yard field goal, and after Oklahoma missed a field goal to start overtime, Trey Wolff made a 35-yarder to end it.
Takeaways
If you did not watch the game, you missed a great game, but a strange one.
The recap did not cover how Oklahoma failed a fake field goal up 14-0, Wolff missed an extra point that Tech had to make up later, a defensive tackle ran for a touchdown, a quarterback caught one, Oklahoma missed an overtime field goal, and five plays went over 40 yards, including three of the touchdowns.
It was a fitting game for the two teams that have led the nation in offensive yards since 2000.
Let’s focus on a few things that this game means, other than where Texas Tech will go this season and even afterwards. There is time to discuss that.
The defense had problems, especially in the secondary that has always been the weakest point during the season.
Even they made some key stops. Taylor-Demerson had his interception, the defense got off the field on fourth down a few times, and a three-and-out after Shough threw an interception to force Oklahoma to kick a field goal rather than possibly score a touchdown.
They had eight tackles for loss, and they still got pressure even without junior defensive end Tyree Wilson, who declared for the NFL draft after his foot injury against Kansas. He could very well be a top-10 pick.
Offensive coordinator Zach Kittley has been criticized many times for his playcalling and tendency to not stick with the run or make things too complicated in certain moments.
His offense failed miserably in the first quarter, but he adjusted by letting Thompson pound the rock, and Shough settled into the game.
The plays with Donovan Smith worked well so often, and there’s a lot of credit that has to be given to a man who was essentially benched from the starting quarterback job after he got it back when Shough got hurt against Murray State.
Shough is also someone who has had a rollercoaster career at Tech. He transferred from Oregon after an up-and-down 2020 season where he was benched at the end of the year, then he broke his collarbone against Texas in 2021.
He hurt the same shoulder this year in less than a quarter, but even as he came back, freshman quarterback Behren Morton showed why he was a four-star recruit, and he had abilities that made this team feel like he was the guy.
When Morton got hurt, Shough came in, and after he did not finish well in the loss to TCU, he led Tech to a 3-0 record, leading the team in rushing yards against Kansas and throwing for 436 Saturday against Oklahoma.
Shough was asked about what he thought when people said he would not play again at Tech after the injury and Morton seemingly taking the job.
“I didn’t really care at all because I knew they were going to be proved wrong anyway,” Shough said, “especially people on staff too. A lot of people in this building didn’t believe in me either.
“So, you know, screw ’em, ’cause I know what we’re going to do and I believe in my teammates, especially how [some] fans and lot of the media…it doesn’t really matter just because I knew I was going to get my opportunity, especially [with] the way we were playing, I was going to have a chance.”
It was a shot at everyone. Shough was actually projected to be No. 1 overall in the 2022 NFL draft by some mock draft experts when he came to Texas Tech. The talk around Shough has been far from all positive, and it was good to hear and see what he really thinks about it.
Seniors
Joey McGuire said he tried not to cry talking about his seniors, a group that has meant a lot to him in his first year as the Texas Tech football head coach.
He said they are brand. They can be coached hard, and the young guys follow their lead. He specifically talked about Marquis Waters, who got hurt last year and finally got to play a full season before hopefully going to the next level.
Some seniors still have eligibility because of the COVID year; most players seem to have not made a decision either way based on what McGuire and some of the seniors themselves said tonight.
McGuire said Thompson is one player who has pretty much decided to leave because Thompson is a running back and he graduated in December.
Regardless, this team has been special to watch. Their three overtime games lead the nation with Houston and UTSA for the most this season, and Tech is the only one of those teams to win all three.
It is over at the Jones for the season, and now that Oklahoma has been beaten, they can knock down the south endzone and take down the Double T.
Assuming TCU makes the College Football Playoff, the Red Raiders will likely play at the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando, Florida, December 29 against an ACC team.
Little different ending than finishing ninth in the Big 12.
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