TEXAS TECH 28, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 22
First Quarter
TEXAS TECH – Erik Ezukanma 75 pass from Tyler Shough (Jonathan Garibay kick), 13:51
DRIVE: 3 plays-77 yards-1:109
KEY PLAYS: Three passes from Shough to Ezukanma, three very different results. The third was executed well, with Ezukanma snaring the ball downfield at the 36-yard-line, shrugging off a tackle and outrunning a trio of Lumberjack defenders the rest of the way. Texas Tech 7, SFA 0
SFA – Willie Roberts 18 interception return (Chris Campos kick), 1:57
DRIVE: None
KEY PLAYS: Shough threw an out and the receiver either misread coverage or got caught up in the wash and was nowhere near the ball or Roberts, who grabbed the ball and didn’t meet with much resistance until the goal line, which he somersaulted over for the score. Texas Tech 7, SFA 7
Second Quarter
SFA – Campos 23 FG, 10:15
DRIVE: 7 plays-17 yards-2:47
KEY PLAYS: The short-field drive was propped up when McLane Mannix muffed a punt and Tanner Hooker smothered the loose ball at the 23-yard-line. Back-to-back passes from Trae Self to Xavier Gipson gobbled up 16 yards before the Red Raiders buckled down and forced the go-ahead field goal. SFA 10, Texas Tech 7
SFA – Campos 35 FG, 1:23
DRIVE: 13 plays-65 yards-6:22
KEY PLAYS: SFA put together its second grinding drive of the day and this time got points out of it. Self was on point in the series, hitting 6-of-7 throws for 62 yards, none bigger than a 27-yard hookup with Gipson on a quick out route that got the Lumberjacks cooking. SFA converted its third fourth down of the first half to keep the series alive on a 9-yard Self-to-Gipson throw but couldn’t get any closer than the 18-yard-line. SFA 13, Texas Tech 7
Third Quarter
TEXAS TECH – Tahj Brooks 67 run (Garibay kick), 12:46
DRIVE: 3 plays-80 yards-1:15
KEY PLAYS: The Red Raiders got breathing room with a first-down pass for a new set of downs when Shough zipped a 12-yard throw to Myles Price and two plays later, T.J. Storment and Weston Wright created a hole that Moses would’ve envied when he was parting the Red Sea, and Brooks dashed through and covered the rest of the distance untouched. Texas Tech 14, SFA 13
TEXAS TECH – Tahj Brooks 1 run (Garibay kick), 6:24
DRIVE: 9 plays-97 yards-3:25
KEY PLAYS: Brooks bulled his way to 20 yards on three totes to give the Red Raiders some breathing room from the shadow of the goal post, then Xavier White punched SFA in the gut with a 52-yard gallop to the 6-yard-line. Brooks scored three plays later and the common thread on every one of the nine running plays was the room the backs had to run.
Tech 21, SFA 13
Fourth Quarter
SFA – Ja’Bray Young 4 pass from Self (pass failed), 13:57
DRIVE: 3 plays-26 yards-1:03
KEY PLAYS: Although the Lumberjacks did their part to put the ball in the end zone, it was a Red Raider meltdown on offense that set up the short field. On a fourth-down snap, the pocket collapsed around Shough and he lost a fumble as he was spun around. The ball squirted downfield 39 yards before it was recovered and SFA scored three plays later. Texas Tech 21, SFA 19
TEXAS TECH – Xavier White 4 run (Garibay kick), 12:30
DRIVE: 4 plays-65 yards-1:27
KEY PLAYS: After dominating the third quarter on the ground, Texas Tech finally struck big through the air again when Ezukanma grabbed a pass, shimmied through two defenders and high-stepped out of another would-be tackle on the way to a 55-yard pickup. White plowed through the middle on the next official snap after a substitution flag on SFA. Texas Tech 28, SFA 19
SFA – Campos 46 FG, 7:13
DRIVE: 10 plays-58 yards-5:17
KEY PLAYS: Self stood tall as the Red Raiders’ pressure picked up and completed six passes on the drive for 64 yards – a 44-yard hookup with Gipson to flip the field was the biggest one. After allowing SFA’s fourth conversion of fourth down, Texas Tech stiffened to force the Lumberjacks to settle for Campos’ third field goal. Texas Tech 28, SFA 22
FINAL SCORE: Texas Tech 28, Stephen F. Austin 22
RECORDS: SFA 1-1, Texas Tech 2-0
UP NEXT: Florida International at Texas Tech, 6 p.m. Saturday
