“Texas is West Texas,” Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire said after the Texas Bowl win, repeating the “it’s all West Texas” mantra that’s been on billboards and become a saying around Texas Tech.
Exactly one year ago, Texas Tech football ended the 2021 season with a 35-7 win in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl over Mississippi State.
This year, Texas Tech proved that Mississippi might be West Texas too. They beat Ole Miss 42-25 in the TaxAct Texas Bowl on Wednesday in Houston to finish their first 8-5 season since 2013.
Senior quarterback Tyler Shough threw for 242 yards and one touchdown with just one interception. He also ran the ball 25 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns in a gutsy performance to win Texas Bowl MVP.
After the game, Shough said he had “unfinished business,” and he’d be back for his super-senior season.
Recap
Fourth-down conversions told the story of the game. Texas Tech was 5-for-6 on fourth down, including two touchdowns, while Ole Miss was 2-for-7 on fourth down, setting up multiple scoring drives for the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech ran out to a 26-7 lead off Shough’s three touchdowns: two fourth-down rushes and a 12-yard pass to freshman Jerand Bradley.
One of those rushes was on a very unconventional formation where freshman quarterback Behren Morton faked a quarterback sneak but had the ball snapped between his legs directly to Shough, who ran it in for the score.
When Tech could not always get the offense going, the defense stepped up with big fourth-down stops and a season-high five forced turnovers.
The defense had three of those turnovers in the first half, with two of them leading to Red Raider touchdowns on short fields.
Bradley’s touchdown was one of his eight receptions for 88 yards, and junior Loic Fouonji had seven catches for 100 yards. Fouonji also added the dagger touchdown when he recovered the Ole Miss onside kick and took it 44 yards to the end zone.
Although the numbers were close in some games, it was the first time this season that Texas Tech ran the ball (48) more times than they threw it (40).
Despite the score, Ole Miss actually outgained Texas Tech 558-484, and leading receiver Malik Heath had eight catches for 137 catches and a spectacular one-handed catch for a touchdown.
Ole Miss freshman running back Quinshon Judkins, who led the SEC in rushing yards and touchdowns, was not as successful with 23 carries for 91 yards and no touchdowns. It was Judkins’s lowest yards per carry (4.0) of the season.
Shough led Tech in rushing, but junior Tahj Brooks added 90 yards while senior SaRodorick Thompson, in his last game as a Red Raider, added the last offensive touchdown.
Senior defensive lineman Myles Cole had two tackles for loss after having just 0.5 tackles for loss all season. The entire front seven stepped up for Texas Tech with eight tackles for loss in the absence of All-American Tyree Wilson, who declared for the NFL Draft after a foot injury that required surgery.
Looking ahead
Texas Tech already exceeded expectations with a fourth-place finish in the Big 12 and an 8-5 season.
They’ll welcome a top-25 recruiting class next year and many returning starters on both offense and defense as they find their way in the upcoming 14-team Big 12, for however long that lasts.
For now, the Red Raiders will enjoy this win that finished a historic season.
Loading ...