Texas Tech Turns Back Houston At The Goal Line

Texas Tech had not played a home game on a Friday night since 1941. Houston made sure the first one in 85 years started ugly.

The Cougars drove for a field goal on their opening possession. Then they intercepted Thomas Castellanos on Texas Tech's very first offensive snap and turned it into a touchdown. Houston led 10-0 before the Red Raiders had run a second series worth remembering.

No. 13 Texas Tech eventually beat No. 22 Houston 28-26 in Friday night's Big 12 opener in Lubbock. The game swapped leads three times and came down to a goal-line stand with 49 seconds on the clock.

Backup quarterback Will Hammond, in for Castellanos, finished 17 of 27 for 257 yards and a touchdown, a 35-yard throw to Kenny Johnson. Castellanos came back in on a short-yardage package in the second quarter and scored on a 3-yard run that pushed him past 2,000 career rushing yards. Houston answered right back, Conner Weigman hitting Koby Young for a 46-yard touchdown just before halftime to lead 17-14 at the break.

Tech ran for 168 yards on the night. J'Koby Williams turned two first-half carries for five yards into a 29-yard touchdown run once the Red Raiders got rolling in the second half, and Texas Tech led 21-20 entering the fourth quarter.

Cameron Dickey put it away, capping an 87-yard, 11-play drive that ate more than six minutes with a 1-yard touchdown run and a 28-20 lead. Weigman, who finished 27 of 38 for 282 yards and three touchdowns on 458 total yards, found Patrick Overmyer for a touchdown with 49 seconds left to cut it to 28-26. Houston went for two and the win right there. Weigman's dive on the conversion came up short of the goal line, and after a failed onside kick, Dickey ran out the clock.

The defense held up too. Linebacker Ben Roberts and safety Brenden Jordan each had 10 tackles, with Roberts reaching 300 for his career along the way. Trey White got a sack in his first start back from injury. Adam Trick added a second-quarter strip-sack.

The win was Texas Tech's 10th straight at home and its eighth in a row over Houston, a streak that has the all-time series knotted at 18-18-1. It also moved coach Joey McGuire to 4-1 in games against ranked opponents.

McGuire's message after the ugly start was simple, he said afterward. "A lot of it's just take a deep breath, man. Get the call and play four to six seconds as hard as you can play."

McGuire had the last word. "They fight, man," he said. "These guys have a lot of confidence."