LUBBOCK — Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire believes championship-caliber teams play complementary football. Yet, No. 8 Texas Tech, which routed No. 7 BYU 29-7 Saturday, was impacted by a key inconsistency in its biggest game of the year.
The defense produced another top-five performance and accomplished its “Take Three” mantra, while holding an undefeated program to its lowest point total since 2023. Conversely, its offense stalled out on six occasions in which the Red Raiders were within 30 yards of the end zone.
“We have too many self-inflicted wounds,” McGuire said. “We’re still winning at the level that we’re winning at, but in a tight game, it’s going to catch up with you.”
Texas Tech’s mistakes ranged from pre-snap penalties to its quarterback drifting in the pocket, ultimately leading to four sacks for a loss of 46 yards. McGuire said dropped passes were the worst of it all.
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Wide receiver Coy Eakin and tight end Terrance Carter Jr. both dropped touchdown passes in the win. Eakin’s drop was on an uncontested slant route from six yards out, seconds before halftime, and Carter’s was two plays later on a failed fourth-down attempt.
“Those guys want to play on Saturday, and they want to play on Sunday,” McGuire said. “If you’re going to do that, you gotta catch the ball.”
Texas Tech’s hands ultimately didn’t cost it anything because the Red Raider defense held BYU scoreless for three-and-a-half quarters. The concern grew when Texas Tech forced three turnovers on BYU’s side of the field but failed to walk away with more than three points.
Special teams player Ashton Hampton recovered a muffed punt at BYU’s 29-yard line on the second drive, linebacker Jacob Rodriguez picked off Bear Bachmeier midway in the third quarter to the BYU 11 and he recovered a fumble at the BYU 16 late in the fourth quarter. All of which ended in a field goal.
Each of those drives also started with an incompletion or a minimal gain on the ground, which quarterback Behren Morton said was the offense’s biggest flaw.
“It starts with first down and going forward on first down,” Morton said. “ … Having a defense like that makes your life a lot easier, but if we can’t score more than seven points today, you got a lot of fixing to do.”
Texas Tech is in the driver’s seat of the Big 12 at 9-1 overall and 6-1 in conference play with two games remaining against UCF and West Virginia, who both rank near the bottom of the conference standings.
“If the best thing for me is not to play this week, that’s the best thing for the team,” Morton said.
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