Two points short in Lubbock
Houston scored late Friday night and skipped the extra point. Conner Weigman took the snap, ran the conversion and came up just short of the goal line. No. 13 Texas Tech won 28-26.
Both teams arrived 2-0 and ranked, which had happened only twice before in this series. Both opened Big 12 play. The Red Raiders leave it 3-0, the No. 22 Cougars 2-1.
J’Koby Williams and Cameron Dickey ran for second-half touchdowns to push Texas Tech in front. Weigman kept answering. He completed 18 of 26 passes for 182 yards and two scores without an interception, and added 48 yards on nine carries.
Try it for $0.99.
A streak that keeps growing
Texas Tech had won seven straight against Houston and 13 of the last 14 before kickoff. Make it eight and 14 of 15. Last season the Red Raiders took the meeting in Houston 35-11, one of 12 wins by more than 20 points on the way to a Big 12 title and a College Football Playoff quarterfinal exit against Oregon.
Friday looked nothing like that. Houston had arrived with the best rushing defence in the country, allowing 10.0 yards per game, after holding Southern to minus-6 on the ground in a 77-6 rout. The Cougars also knocked off Oregon State 33-20 in Week 1. Willie Fritz has built something that travels.
What it sets up
Joey McGuire said before the game that his team would need to play much better than it had through two weeks. Quarterback Will Hammond came in completing 76.7 percent of his throws for 487 yards, and Texas Tech had leaned on Williams, who piled up 187 rushing yards and two touchdowns in September.
The margin tells the rest. A defending conference champion at home, against a ranked opponent, needed a failed two-point conversion to get out of its league opener. Houston leave Lubbock with a loss and evidence that the Big 12 race will not be settled early.
Discover the rest of our college football news on MathODDS!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply