A dreary day in Morgantown lulled the Texas Tech offense to a halt most of the game, and the Red Raiders opened Big 12 play with a 20-13 loss to West Virginia. Road woes continued to plague Tech, which is now 0-2 away from Lubbock this season

Needing a touchdown to tie the game at 20 apiece, a late drive stalled at the Mountaineers’ 11 yard line ending with a turnover on downs.

The win for the Mountaineers snapped a four-game losing streak in the series and gave West Virginia head coach Neal Brown his first win over Tech. The sides exchanged punts to open the game. In the first start of his collegiate career, West Virginia quarterback Nicco Marchiol was forced into a mistake, throwing an interception straight to Tech defensive back Malik Dunlap. The pick was the third for Dunlap in two games, as the super-senior had two a week ago against Tarleton State.

What became a common theme in the contest however, was the Red Raiders inability to capitalize on defensive stops. Even being aided by a short field, Tech was only able to muster a field goal attempt, a 39-yard make from Gino Garcia. A 13-play, 75 yard drive followed from West Virginia, which was finished off by a two-yard scamper from Mountaineers’ star running back CJ Donaldson. It would not get any better for the Red Raiders on the drive after, a three-and-out that finished with Tyler Shough being carted away with a lower leg injury. Shough was replaced by Behren Morton.

Austin McNamara had a busy day, Tech’s next seven drives after Garcia’s field goal finished in either a punt or turnover on downs. A pair of Mountaineer field goals extended the lead to 13-3 before halftime, a scoreline that remained unchanged through the third stanza of play.

It would not be until the final period that either side would find more points. A 13-play drive was Tech’s longest of the game, spanning almost five minutes and ending with Morton finding Jerand Bradley for a jump ball touchdown pass in the endzone to make the score 13-10.

The Tech defense held solid for a majority of the game, but the relentlessness of the Mountaineer offense paid off for West Virginia with a touchdown drive.

Tahj Brooks shined again for Tech, his 25 carries went for 158 yards and he received most of those carries in the second half.

The Red Raiders return to Lubbock for a reunion with Houston and the Cougars quarterback Donovan Smith. Kick off against Houston is set for 2:30 p.m. with TV coverage on either FS1 or FS2.