Coming off a 35-33 double overtime loss to Wyoming, the Texas Tech football team had a chance to bounce back against the No. 13 Oregon Ducks at home.
Texas Tech had almost twice as many rushing yards as they did against Wyoming, rushing for 174 yards compared to last week’s 93. They even had the lead for most of the second half, leading by as many as nine points.
However, a missed field goal, a trick play on a two-point conversion, and four turnovers including a late pick-six was too much for the Red Raiders to overcome as Oregon beat them 38-30 Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium in Tech’s home opener.
After starting 2-0 last season with wins over Murray State and Houston, head coach Joey McGuire’s team is 0-2 this time around.
Shough had 282 passing yards and also led the way on the ground with 101 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. The fifth-year senior spoke on getting to rush as much as he did as well as his willingness to do so.
“Whatever it takes,” Shough said. “I’m obviously pretty sore, but you know, protecting myself, getting out of bounds, sliding, and when it’s third and fourth down, I’m obviously going to use my body to get the first down if I can.”
Fueled by a 58-yard QB draw from Shough, Tech drew first blood with an 18-yard touchdown reception from senior wide receiver Myles Price.
Despite the senior grabbing his second touchdown reception of the season, Oregon struck back quickly with a 72-yard score to junior Troy Franklin. The equalizer was Franklin’s third touchdown of the season, and he had his second straight game with at least 100 yards.
Despite two penalties pushing Oregon back 15 yards on their next drive, they went up 15-7 with third-and-long catch-and-run touchdown from Tez Johnson, and then a wild trick play with tight end Patrick Herbert throwing it to fellow tight end Terrance Ferguson got them a two-point conversion that loomed large throughout the game.
Tech took advantage of two defensive pass interference calls to get a touchdown from tight end Mason Tharp, who had just one reception for 10 yards in Tech’s 35-33 double-overtime loss to Wyoming. The Red Raiders attempted a two-point conversion of their own following the touchdown but were unsuccessful.
As the Red Raiders were looking to take the lead back on Oregon’s 12-yard line, Shough took a 22-yard sack and lost the football, giving it to the Ducks and coming up empty with a little over four minutes left in the first half.
After Oregon extended its lead 18-13 via field goal, the Red Raiders attempted to strike back with a 56-yard yard field goal attempt to end the first half, but Gino Garcia didn’t have the leg and missed it wide left.
Tech’s offense came out in full force to begin the second half, resulting in a 5-yard touchdown run from Shough to regain the lead 20-18 after the made PAT. Despite the Red Raiders blocking a punt on the following Ducks possession, Shough gave the ball right back to the ducks with an interception.
After getting a big fourth-and-1 stop on defense, the Red Raider offense took just three plays to extend the score to a two-score lead with a touchdown reception from junior Jerand Bradley with 6:16 left to go in the third quarter.
Oregon made it a two-point game to begin the final quarter of regulation with Bucky Irving punching in a 3-yard rushing touchdown to narrow down the score 27-25.
Both teams ended up trading field goals with the latter being a 45 yarder from Gino Garcia to retake the lead 30-28 with 5:13 left to play in regulation.
As Tech was marching down the field to try and potentially set themselves up for a game winning field goal, Shough threw a pick-six out of a sack, extending Oregon’s lead for the final time 38-30 with less than a minute left to go in regulation.
McGuire touched on the turnovers and how they affected his team. McGuire also praised Texas Tech’s resilience to still be in the game despite giving the ball away four times.
McGuire said he is extremely proud of his team despite the frustrating loss.
“I was proud of how hard they played,” McGuire said. “You know, I know they’re they’re extremely frustrated with a loss because it was right there to go win the football game.”
Still aiming for Big 12 championship
Although Texas Tech is 0-2, Big 12 play hasn’t started yet, which means Texas Tech can still chase the Big 12 championship McGuire and this team is aiming for.
“As bad as we wanted to beat Oregon tonight, [the Big 12 championship is] still in front of us,” McGuire said. “The only way that can happen is for us to improve and be more disciplined, take care of the football and eliminate as much bad football as possible.”
They’ll have FCS team Tarleton State coming to Lubbock next Saturday at 6:30 p.m. before Big 12 play starts Sept. 23 on the road against West Virginia.
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