Taj Brooks rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns, Jacob Rodriguez forced a late fumble, and Texas Tech fought back from a 15-point lead to defeat Arizona 28-22 on Saturday night. It broke.
Texas Tech (5-1, 3-0 Big 12) faced consistent pressure on Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita, forcing him to quickly get rid of the ball or throw it away. The Red Raiders also intercepted two of his passes and forced turnovers on downs deep in their own half while building an 18-3 halftime lead.
The Wildcats’ defense, led by Jim Thorpe’s reigning National Defensive Back of the Week Tacario Davis, kept them within reach while the offense sputtered. The group took a 19-18 lead early in the fourth quarter on two fumbles by Brooks.
they couldn’t stand it.
After Arizona’s Tyler Loup missed a 48-yard field goal, Texas Tech finally found its rhythm and extended its lead to 21-19 with Gino Garcia’s 41-yard field goal.
Arizona (3-2, 1-1) took over at its own 25 with 2:21 left, but the Red Raiders rallied when Rodriguez stripped Tetailoa McMillan on the first play. Brooks then burst 32 yards up the middle for a touchdown, giving Texas Tech its fourth straight win since losing to Washington State in Game 2 of the season.
The Red Raiders are 3-0 in Big 12 play for the first time since 2013.
It seemed like he quickly got out of control.
Brooks scored on a 3-yard run in the first quarter, and the Red Raiders spent the rest of the second half shutting out the Wildcats.
Texas Tech held Arizona to a field goal late in the first quarter, stopping the Wildcats at 4-and-1 with 20 Red Raiders points. Texas Tech’s Quincy Ledet intercepted a pass from Fifita and Brooks that was tipped at the line of scrimmage. He then scored his second TD run from 9 yards left.
Late in the second quarter, Fifita had a pass intercepted by C.J. Baskerville in the end zone, and Texas Tech moved quickly down the field until Garcia made a 30-yard field goal in the final seconds to take an 18-3 lead.
Arizona went into Texas Tech’s side twice in the third quarter, the second time on a Brooks fumble in the 32nd minute, and had to settle for two more field goals.
The Wildcats took a 19-18 lead when Qualli Conley scored on a 3-yard run and after a review overturned the original call, Boyd forced another fumble and set up Loop’s 37-yard field goal. I finally broke through.
Conley gained 97 yards on 14 carries, including a 20-yard tote in the second quarter. McMillan led Arizona State’s receiving group with eight catches for 161 yards, but failed to score a touchdown for the fourth consecutive game.
Main points
Texas Tech tried to blow away a big lead, but the defense came up big when it needed to and Brooks made up for two fumbles with a late score. Arizona rallied in the second half, but suffered from too many missed chances.
to the next
Texas Tech: Hosts Baylor next Saturday.
Arizona: Plays No. 17 at BYU next Saturday.
