Stephen F. Austin spent most of the week embracing the idea of being an underdog coming its game against Texas Tech.
There may not have been a need to because the feisty-as-hell Lumberjacks didn’t need anything fluky or dramatic to nearly spring an upset of their in-state Big 12 Conference brethren.
The Red Raiders staved off SFA 28-22 at Jones AT&T Stadium, staving off a last-gasp potential game-winning drive when defensive tackle Jaylon Hutchings came up huge with a tackle for loss, a sack and a fourth-down quarterback pressure on consecutive plays in the closing minutes after the Lumberjacks got as deep as the 8-yard-line.
Hutchings’ pressure harried Lumberjacks’ quarterback Trae Self into a desperate pass that fell harmlessly in the end zone with 1:07 on the clock – his 58th pass attempt on a night when he methodically picked Tech’s defense apart for 343 yards.
Earlier in the drive, Hutchings had been flagged for a facemask call, so he was seeking redemption and found it with the game on the line.
BOX SCORE | Texas Tech 28. SFA 22
“I just knew earlier that series I got the facemask and coach took me off the field,” Hutchings said. “That was a critical error that kept the drive going. I knew I cost us pretty badly and that I had to redeem myself.”
Tech (2-0) had to do the same on offense to shrug off a first half of offensive malaise and the Red Raiders did so by going back to the basics, which turned out to be just enough to escape an upset bid.
Tahj Brooks’ two third-quarter touchdown runs helped Texas Tech erase a surprising halftime deficit: A 67-yard dash on the Red Raiders’ first series of the third quarter to put them ahead and a short run that was set up by Xavier White’s 52-yard scamper as part of a 97-yard touchdown march.
Those first two drives of the third frame featured 12 rushes for 177 yards, which eclipsed Texas Tech’s offensive output in the first half (156 yards on 25 plays).
Mixed in with struggles moving the ball, the Red Raiders turned the ball over four times – a pair of Tyler Shough interceptions and two fumbles. The Lumberjacks turned one takeaway into Willie Roberts’ 18-yard pick-six, the two fumbles (one on a punt muff) gave SFA short fields that led to 10 points and the other interception prevented Texas Tech from taking momentum into halftime.
“We handed them things, and that was one of the things we talked about all week, and we certainly did not do it,” Red Raiders’ coach Matt Wells said. “We gave them cheap scores and cheap points. … You can’t do that and hand a team 13 points and it doesn’t matter who they are.”
Reverting to the power rushing attack changed the game’s complexion long enough for Tech to seize momentum long enough.
During the two game-turning drives, the common thread was how well the offensive line operated – creating space in the box to give Brooks and White options to choose from. White ran for 115 yards, White carved out 87 and Shough tacked on 39, all part of a 201-yard day on the ground.
Shough passed for 163 yards on 11-of-21 accuracy with Erik Ezukanma snaring 6 passes for 144 yards. His 75-yard touchdown catch-and-run on the third snap of the game and a later 55-yard grab accounted for a major chunk of the Red Raiders’ damage through the air.
“It’s a credit to the o-line, being able to block it up – to be able to create those clear schemes – and being able to run the ball that well when we’re not executing in the pass game that well,” Shough said. “We just put it on the backs of those guys and they played well.”
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Stehen F. Austin didn’t fold after the back-to-back scores and caught a break when a fourth-down sack and Shough’s fumble cost Texas Tech 39 yards and put the Lumberjacks 26 yards away from the end zone as the third period ended.
Three plays into the fourth frame, Self hit Ja’Bray Young on a dumpdown pass at the goal line and the back powered in to close the gap to 21-19. On the two-point try, Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Morgenstern busted through to drop the receiver for a loss to keep his team in front.
The Red Raiders answered with White’s 4-yard touchdown run, which was set up by a Shough-to-Ezukanma pass that ate up 55 yards.
Texas Tech slogged through an uninspiring first half and trailed 13-7, with the defense allowing two long drives and the offense moving very little after a quick-strike touchdown to begin the game.
The Red Raiders took an immediate lead when Shough drilled a pass to Ezukanma downfield, and the Tech receiver split a pair of would-be tacklers and raced to the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown.
As promising as that start was, the Red Raiders sputtered and coughed offensively most of the rest of the first half and SFA contributed by eating up chunks of time when it had the ball.
The Lumberjacks generated drives of 18 and 13 plays, both covering 65 yards, and had the ball in their hands for 20:57 of the initial 30 minutes. But those two long drives yielded only three points.
SFA’s other first-half damage came on Roberts’ 18-yard interception return for a touchdown and Chris Campos 23-yard field goal which was a result of a Texas Tech punt muff.
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That was enough for a lead because following the long TD pass, the Red Raiders’ offensive drive chart read punt-interception (TD)-punt-punt-interception. Texas Tech ended the first half with only five first downs.
Stephen F. Austin produced a huge time-of-possession edge in the first half (21:57 to 9:03) and finished with 88 offensive snaps to only 47 for the Red Raiders.
“We’ve got to be better,” Shough said. “We can’t have three-and-outs that keeps (the defense) on the field as long as we did.”
Despite a skewed final box score, though, Texas Tech found a way to prevail – fighting from behind for the second week in a row. That was the bottom-line silver lining on a night when the Lumberjacks did everything they could to win but walked away empty-handed.
“I was proud of our guys finding a way to win it at the end,” Wells said. “Defense certainly has played with their back against the wall and played a lot of the game.
“Again, I’m proud of our players’ fight. We found a way to win, and it’s hard to win.”
UP NEXT
The Red Raiders will play host to Florida International at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Panthers (1-1) dropped a 23-17 decision in overtime against Texas State on Saturday.
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Randy Rosetta is the Managing Editor of RedRaiderSports.com
Contact him at (806) 407-0188 or RandyRosetta67@gmail.com
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