Castellanos unlocks Tech passing game in 52-27 win over Oklahoma State
In this story:
Texas Tech football came out of the gates with a 97-yard kick-return touchdown and its newfound lightning-strike offense followed suit—something the Red Raiders haven’t had much this season.
Quarterback Thomas Castellanos threw for 263 yards, four touchdowns, and numerous splash plays as the No. 12 Red Raiders rolled past No. 25 Oklahoma State University 52-27 Saturday night in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
“I feel like the guys believe in me.” Castellanos said. “The energy and the juice being out there with them, and being able to get those ones reps in practice like that is definitely going to build a chemistry throughout a season.”
Castellanos connected on four passes of over 20 yards with three of them touchdown passes. His second quarter 80-yard touchdown pass to Micah Hudson helped stall the Cowboys’ momentum that had scored 17 unanswered points.
Since quarterback Will Hammond was benched after Tech’s lone loss against the University of Cincinnati, Castellanos has thrown 11 touchdowns, zero interceptions and 769 yards in his three starts. Hammond had six touchdowns and six interceptions in seven starts.
The Red Raiders are averaging 517.3 yards per game of offense with Castellanos compared to 419 yards per game with Hammond. Castellanos’s impact in the run game is also significant. The Florida State transfer has averaged 85.7 rushing yards per game compared to Hammond’s 15.7.
“If (a receiver) is not there right off the bat to where we’re getting the ball out of our hand, (Castellanos) does a great job of moving the pocket,” said Joey McGuire, Texas Tech head coach.
Castellanos rushed for 38 yards on 11 attempts and was briefly tended to by the medical staff in the fourth quarter after he was tackled near the goal line. He said he was fine after the game with only the wind being knocked out of him and did not return to the game.
The threat of Castellanos in the scramble drill forces defenses into tough positions to defend both the run and the pass. That element has been another key factor in opening up the deep ball for receivers Kenny Johnson, Malcolm Simmons and Hudson.
“We kind of practice those things when I get outside the pocket, scramble drill, different ways where the receiver is supposed to come and go,” Castellanos said.
The Red Raiders travel to Baylor University and host Texas Christian University the next two weeks and are in the driver's seat to a second consecutive Big 12 title berth. The more Castellanos and the offense continue to click and match the play of the defense, the more likely Tech will be able to defend its conference title.
Despite his effective performance, Castellanos misfired on several passes and said he still has more to clean up in his game coming down the home stretch.
“There’s definitely a lot I could do better.” Castellanos said. “I could have put up 70 (points) tonight. I missed two touchdowns, but the chemistry continues to grow.”
Stay up to date on Texas Tech Athletics by bookmarking Texas Tech On SI and following us onX/Twitter.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Andrew is a contributor for Texas Tech On SI. He has interned at Front Office Sports in New York and is now a freelance contributor for the outlet. Andrew got his start in sports covering Texas Tech teams with the student newspaper The Daily Toreador.