Red Raiders Upset Attempt Falls Short Late Against No. 7 Cowboys, 41-31
The Texas Tech Red Raiders traveled to Stillwater, Oklahoma on Saturday and fell short of pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the college football weekend, losing to the No. 7 Oklahoma State Cowboys 41-31.
It has been a tale of two Texas Tech Red Raiders teams so far in Big 12 play, following an upset win over the Texas Longhorns with a heartbreaking loss at the hands of the Kansas State Wildcats.
Coach Joey McGuire and the Red Raiders turned to redshirt freshman quarterback Behren Morton under center to start.
Through their first quarter against the Cowboys, a shootout appeared to be in order for the Red Raiders. The Red Raiders took an early 7-0 lead on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Morton to receiver Jerand Bradley.
That was only the beginning, though, as the Cowboys would answer immediately on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Spencer Sanders to receiver Bryson Green after what looked like a perfectly executed surprise onside kick, recovered by Tech.
But one of the Oklahoma State players smartly signaled for a fair catch, which made the Tech recovery irrelevant and gave the Cowboys a very short field for their first possession.
After the first quarter of play, it was 17-14 in favor of the Cowboys, despite the Red Raiders out-gaining the Cowboys 200 yards to 144.
Early in the second quarter, the Red Raiders once again took the lead on a four-yard touchdown pass from Morton to receiver Xavier White for a Texas Tech 21-17 lead.
In his first collegiate start, Morton impressed for the Red Raiders in the first half, completing 24-of-38 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns. However, shortly before the break, he headed to the locker room with a knee injury.
The Red Raiders had 330 yards of total offense at the half, compared to the Cowboys' 222.
The Red Raiders carried a 24-20 lead into the break. It was the first time all season the Cowboys have trailed at halftime.
Oklahoma State began the second half with a Tanner Brown 34-yard field goal before Morton shook off the injury and re-entered the game for the Red Raiders to start the second half, and marched his team down the field 65 yards in eight plays to extend the Tech lead to 31-23.
The Cowboys answered with a seven-play, 53-yard touchdown drive capped off by a Spencer Sanders two-yard run and a two-point conversion to tie the game at 31-31.
Morton made his first mistake of the game late in the third quarter, and it cost him. He threw an interception that was returned to the Tech 19, and the Cowboys were able to convert that to a 24-yard field goal, and a 34-31 lead.
The Oklahoma State defense stepped up as the fourth quarter started with a Tech punt.
Morton was never the same after his knee injury as he appeared to lose the mobility that made him so dangerous and effective in the first half. But McGuire stayed aggressive with his play calling as the Red Raiders went just 6-of-19 on third down conversions and 4-of-6 on fourth down attempts.
Tech never could get the offense going again after Morton's knee injury as the Cowboys' defense held in the second half on Saturday.
With 2:27 remaining, Oklahoma State ended any upset thoughts by the Red Raiders with a Dominic Richardson seven-yard touchdown run to give the Cowboys a 10-point lead at 41-31.
Texas Tech was outscored 24-7 after the injury to Morton, and 21-7 in the second half.
Morton shows all the promise Tech fans wanted and needed to see after the struggles of Donovan Smith, and is clearly the future of this program.
Morton finished the day 39-of-62 for 379 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
Next up for the Red Raiders is a much-needed bye week before traveling to Morgantown to face the West Virginia Mountaineers on Oct. 22.
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