Might be safe to go ahead and deduce that the Texas Tech offense is starting to find a comfort zone, and at just the right time.
In the final game before the Red Raiders embark on the Big 12 Conference season, quarterback Tyler Shough delivered the best game of his debut season and that propelled his team to a big step in the right direction.
Texas Tech stomped past Florida International 54-21 at Jones AT&T Stadium, with Shough’s breakout performance as the centerpiece. The Red Raiders piled up a season-best 584 total yards, with Shough dissecting the Panthers in the second third quarters when his team scored 37 points to turn a close game into a blowout.
Buoyed by stretches when he hit on eight passes in a row, Shough passed for 399 yards and 4 touchdowns – much of that damage in the middle two frames. Texas Tech carved out 264 yards on four second-quarter touchdown drives alone, with Shough connecting on 12-of-13 throws for 217 yards.
Maybe as big as any numbers Shough hung up was the fact that he distributed the ball to 11 receivers. Ironically, standout receiver Erik Ezukanma was the last Red Raider to pull in a pass after he encountered double teams most of the first half.
“We got to spread the wealth a little more and you saw guys making plays,” Texas Tech coach Matt Wells said.
Added Shough, “it was just part of the progressions. Guys were getting open and I got them the ball.”
The Red Raiders needed that kind of spark after falling behind 7-0 in the first quarter. The Panthers (1-2) blended inside power runs by D’vonte Price and deep throws by Max Bortenschlager to piece together an 88-yard drive When Price bulled into the end zone with 6:27 to go in the opening, FIU put Texas Tech on its heels – a similar scenario from the first two games.
Meanwhile, Texas Tech’s offense scuffled on its first two series, both of which ended in in punts. Things got worse before they got better when Adrian Frye muffed a punt to give the Panthers a short field and an opening to extend the early lead.
The game changed on the next snap, though, when Texas Tech defensive back Marquis Waters picked off a Bortenschlager pass, found daylight on the sideline and dashed 72 yards for a touchdown return.
“It brought a spark and every game you need a spark,” Waters said. “We were in man (defense), he went across the field and I just the ball and went and got it. My first mindset was just get to the end zone.”
He got there to knot the score 7-7 and Texas Tech’s defense created a reprieve before offense took control.
FIU drove into field-goal range on the ensuing possession, but Chase Gabriel’s kick was wide left and the Panthers never recovered, thanks in large part to the Red Raider offense coming to life.
On the four series after the Panthers’ missed kick, Tech Tech rocked and rolled, driving 80, 75, 68 and 61 yards. Shough produced touchdown passes to Travis Koontz twice and Trey Cleveland, while Tahj Brooks rushed for the other score.
Texas Tech continue to move the ball after halftime, sandwiching a field goal and touchdown around FIU’s third TD in the third period. Backup quarterback Henry Colombi took over and engineered the final scoring drive, which he finished with a 19-yard scamper.
PHOTO GALLERY by Chase Seabolt
BOTTLED UP
Price’s streak of four consecutive games with 100 yards rushing or more ended. He managed only 51 on 15 attempts and never broke a run for longer than 13 yards. With him slowed, FIU managed only 55 yards on the ground on 29 carries.
“We came into the game knowing we had to slow him down because he’s a playmaker,” Waters said.
HONORING THE RECENT AND THE OLD
Texas Tech added two names to the stadium’s Ring of Honor at halftime, one name familiar to fans of modern football and one from the Red Raiders’ past. Elmer Tarbox was a three-sport letterman at Texas Tech from 1937-39, the co-MVP of the 1939 Cotton Bowl and a B-25 bomber pilot in World War II, winning both the Silver Star and Purple Heart. He later served as a Texas state representative from 1967-77. Michael Crabtree meanwhile caught 231 passes for 3,087 yards and 41 touchdowns from 2007-08 to become the first two-time winner of the Biletnikoff Award as college football’s top receiver. He spent 11 years in the NFL, the last in 2019.
THE TAKEAWAY
Texas Tech’s trend of slow starts continued for a third week in a row, but the Red Raiders snapped out of their funk much better than in the first two games to complete their first perfect non-conference season since 2017.
UP NEXT
The Red Raiders enter Big 12 Conference play with a road game at Texas on Sept. 25. The game next Saturday kicks off at 11 a.m. at Darrel K. Royal Memorial Stadium and will be broadcast on ABC.
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Randy Rosetta is the Managing Editor of RedRaiderSports.com
Contact him at (806) 407-0188 or RandyRosetta67@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter | @RandyRosetta or @RedRaiderSports
Listen to him on The Press Box on 100.7-FM from 1-3 p.m. Monday-Friday.
