<\/p>\n
Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammond (15) looks to throw a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona State, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo\/Annie Rice)<\/p>\n
Annie Rice\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Texas Tech running back J’koby Williams (20) runs for a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona State, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo\/Annie Rice)<\/p>\n
Annie Rice\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Arizona State wide receiver Omarion Miller (4) runs with the ball while Texas Tech cornerback Amier Boyd (27) attempts to tackle during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo\/Annie Rice)<\/p>\n
Annie Rice\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire looks up at the scoreboard during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona State, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo\/Annie Rice)<\/p>\n
Annie Rice\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Staff mug shot of Oscar LeRoy. Reporter-Telegram file photo.<\/p>\n
Reporter-Telegram file<\/p>\n
LUBBOCK \u2013 The Texas Tech football team had been waiting for a first half and a game like the one it got on Saturday afternoon at Galaxy Stadium.<\/p>\n
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The No. 10-ranked Red Raiders made things miserable for visiting Arizona State as it got off to a fast start, took a 43-10 lead at the half and rolled to a 53-25 victory in front of a sold-out homecoming crowd.<\/p>\n
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\u201cStart fast, I don\u2019t know, everybody says it, but how do you do it?\u201d asked Tech coach Joey McGuire. \u201cWe came out and I thought we executed at a really high level. I thought our quarterback (Will Hammond) played really well in the first half, it\u2019s probably the best half I\u2019ve ever seen him play. I thought our offensive staff did a great job of finding the run, it was extremely effective. And when you look back on those runs, it was some of the best receiver blocking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tech fans had been wondering where this has been all season as the Red Raiders (6-0, 3-0 in Big 12) were undefeated but had to scratch and claw in most of those victories.<\/p>\n
It started with Hammond, who looked as comfortable as he\u2019s looked all season since coming back from a ACL injury as he was 18-of-26 passing for 232 yards and a TD. He also used his feet effectively and had a nice 9-yard TD run in which he made a spin move before heading into the end zone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill grew as a quarterback today, he really did,\u201d McGuire said. \u201cHe did some things today extremely composed. You\u2019ve seen flashes, but you haven\u2019t seen a half like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Added Hammond, \u201cI thought I played really well, the whole offense played really well, honestly. The O-line did incredible. I think we rushed for like 260 yards tonight. So, it started with them and all the receivers making plays. It was fun. (Offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich) called a great game and we all had a blast. It all started with us having a great week of practice. I thought it was our best week all season and that carried into the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Red Raiders got a career-high rushing day from J\u2019Koby Williams, who finished with 165 yards and two TDs on 11 carries.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve heard me say this many times, but everyone needs a J\u2019Koby Williams in their life,\u201d McGuire said. \u201cHe plays with such joy and he\u2019s such a great teammate, so for him to have a day like he did today, it was special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams said he didn\u2019t feel any extra pressure to carry a bigger load with fellow running back Cameron Dickey out with an ankle injury.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ve got (Quinten Joyner) and Cam is with right there uplifting us, me and Q, just like we uplift him,\u201d Williams said. \u201cHe\u2019s giving us energy and we were just feeding off each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hammond\u2019s favorite target was Kenny Johnson, the Pitt transfer who finished with seven catches for a career-high 120 yards.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just shows that when we play a full game, all four quarters, how dominant we are,\u201d said Johnson about Saturday\u2019s team performance. \u201cI feel the bye week was beneficial, just like honing in and getting to watch a lot of (game film) and seeing what we do well and seeing the things we don\u2019t do well. I think it was great for the coaches and it was good for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tech had 404 of their 502 total yards in the first half. Tech also had 10 plays of 20 yards or more in the first half.<\/p>\n
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And then of course there was the performance of the defense, which forced ASU (3-3, 1-2) to bench quarterback Cutter Boley at the half, had a season-high six sacks and forced two turnovers, including a 24-yard pick 6 from linebacker Ben Roberts.<\/p>\n
Tech\u2019s first drive ended in a fumble by Williams at the ASU 2, but the defense picked the offense up when Roberts stepped in front of a Boley pass and returned it for the score.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a huge,\u201d McGuire said of the pick. \u201cWhen you drive all the way down and you fumble it right here. Number one, J\u2019Koby responded, but two, the defense responded and that was big. They had the momentum right there and when you cause a turnover, it was such a momentum change.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the performance that many had been waiting to see from these Red Raiders, who may have been an extra motivated by the skeptics who questioned if this team was still one of the favorites to win the Big 12.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThere was a sense of urgency, but also anger,\u201d McGuire said. \u201cThere were a lot of good people saying, \u2018this doesn\u2019t look like last year\u2019s team.\u2019 Well, it\u2019s not last year\u2019s team but this team is 6-0 and finding ways to win. I was proud of the way we responded.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Red Raiders hope they stay angry and hungry for more when they travel to Cincinnati on Oct. 24.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammond (15) looks to throw a pass during the first half of an NCAA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":469572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[168,170,169],"class_list":["post-469571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lubbock","tag-lubbock","tag-lubbock-headlines","tag-lubbock-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=469571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/469572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}