Texas Tech Football is Back in a Big Way with Blowout Win over OSU
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The national perception of the Red Raiders changed after Texas Tech defeated No. 25 Oklahoma State 52–27 in Stillwater in a huge road victory.
Especially after college football critics who watched the Paramount+ on the Red Raiders began to question whether Joey McGuire's team was a paper tiger taking advantage of a good conference schedule and questionable defensive play in comparison to last season as they entered the weekend ranked No. 12 in the CFP rankings, this victory ended that noise.
The above-mentioned doubts by critics were dispelled by defeating a good Cowboys team on the road in each of the three phases of special teams, offense, and defense.
Throwing for 263 yards and 4 touchdowns with zero interceptions (a 205.62 passer rating), quarterback Thomas Castellanos led the explosive, balanced Texas Tech offense once again with his best performance since assuming the starting position. Instead of depending on their passing game, the Red Raiders scored with amazing efficiency, averaging 7.4 yards per play with four scoring plays of 30 or more yards, including a 45-yard touchdown to Malcolm Simmons and an 80-yard catch by Micah Hudson. The physical running game came from running back J'Koby Williams, who outscored the Cowboys with 124 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
In this victory, the defense appeared to be the best it has been against a ranked opponent this season. Technically, the Red Raiders' defense held its own against formally ranked opponents like Houston, but this game the defense played like they had done for most of the season last year. Going back to their previous game when their defense had allowed 48 points to West Virginia, many college football experts were surprised by how Texas Tech's defense played against a good Cowboy's offense on the road. The unit bowed but did not break against Oklahoma State. OSU ran 87 plays, but Tech stopped them at 5.3 yards per play, tightened up on third and fourth downs (allowing just 5-of-19 on third down and 1-of-4 on fourth down), and forced two interceptions, one by John Curry and one by Ben Roberts.
In this game, Texas Tech's special teams proved to be an asset. The Red Raiders suffered with missed field goals and costly penalties early in the 2026 season, but in Stillwater, special teams made a significant comeback. In the fourth quarter, kicker Stone Harrington put the game out of reach with a 54-yard field goal on a wet field after Malcolm Simmons electrified the game with a 97-yard kickoff return score. Will Karoll punted for over 260 yards as well, with four of his punts landing inside the Cowboys' 20-yard line.
Most importantly, with this win, Texas Tech is alone in second place behind unbeaten Utah (10-0, 7-0) with a record of 9-1 overall and 6-1 in Big 12 play. The Red Raiders are in control of their own fate to make it to the Big 12 Championship Game because they have a complete game lead and the head-to-head tiebreakers over teams like Houston and Arizona. A pontential 11-1 regular-season record keeps them squarely in the at-large mix, but winning out ensures a spot in Arlington with a chance to win the Big 12 title—and the automatic CFP bid that comes with it.
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Ryan Kay is a journalist who graduated from Michigan State in 2003 and is passionate about covering college sports and enjoys writing features and articles covering various collegiate teams. He has worked as an editor at Go Joe Bruin and has been a contributor for Longhorns Wire and Busting Brackets. He is a contributor for Texas Tech On SI.