No. 13 Texas Tech had to grind, absorb a real scare, and still found a way out of Reser Stadium with its unbeaten start intact.
The Red Raiders beat Oregon State 35-24 on Saturday night, but this was no routine road win. Texas Tech came in off a 33-10 opening victory over Abilene Christian and looked like the stronger team on paper, yet Oregon State kept dragging the game into uncomfortable territory for the ranked visitors.
It took until the second quarter for Texas Tech to get on the board after a scoreless first period. By halftime, Will Hammond and the Red Raiders were holding a 14-7 lead, but the Beavers kept answering and never let the game slip away easily.
Oregon State, still searching for its first win under head coach JaMarcus Shephard after a 33-20 loss at Houston to start the year, again gave a ranked Big 12 opponent a real fight before falling short. For the second straight week, the Beavers made things difficult on a Power conference team and came up just short.
Texas Tech was still in a tight spot late, leading 28-24 inside the final two minutes before forcing a turnover on downs. The Red Raiders then punched in another touchdown to close it out and move to 2-0.
The box score wasn’t especially tidy for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders were flagged seven times for 70 yards, managed just 3.4 yards per carry on the ground, and saw Oregon State throw for nearly 350 yards.
Texas Tech was also outgained 472-352. Hammond finished 20 of 27 for 189 yards and one passing touchdown.
Still, escaping a road game when your best stuff isn’t showing is a result plenty of teams would take. Texas Tech avoided one of the biggest upsets of Week 2 and kept rolling into conference play.
Next up is Big 12 action, with Texas Tech set to face Houston in its league opener Friday evening in Lubbock.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Fans Are Already Sounding The Alarm After Corvallis
Texas Techs first two games have left plenty of Red Raiders fans uneasy, and it is not hard to see why. A narrow win over Oregon State followed by a less convincing showing against Abilene Christian has already turned the early part of the season into a referendum on how sharp this team really is, with social media filling up quickly with complaints about penalties, play calling and the kind of execution that tends to separate a comfortable September from a tense one.
The frustration is less about one bad night than the feeling that the same concerns are showing up too early and too often. For a program that wanted cleaner football out of the gate, the online reaction has made clear that the leash is short and the patience is thinner, which means Texas Tech will have to answer some real questions on the field before the noise around Corvallis fades. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Techs First Road Test Will Answer One Big Defensive Question
Texas Techs first road trip of the season arrives with a chance to see how far this group has come, and it comes in a setting that usually tells on a team fast. The Red Raiders are headed to Reser Stadium in Corvallis to face Oregon State in a game that will air on CBS, and Joey McGuire made clear this is the kind of test he wants early. With Texas Tech sitting at 12-2 and Oregon State at 2-12, the record gap might look lopsided, but the value here is less about the matchup on paper and more about how the Red Raiders handle a different environment.
McGuire has talked about the importance of the road game and the standard he expects defensively, which is where the real interest lies for Texas Tech. Away from home, the Red Raiders will get a cleaner read on whether that side of the ball can travel and hold up when the surroundings change, the crowd gets louder, and the game asks for answers in tougher spots. For a team with bigger goals ahead, this is the kind of early-season trip that can confirm a lot without necessarily telling the whole story. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Techs 2-0 Start Just Put Its QB Situation In Focus
Texas Techs 35-24 win over Oregon State gave Joey McGuire plenty to like in the record column, but not nearly as much at quarterback. Will Hammond delivered a solid-enough stat line, hitting 20 of 27 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown, yet McGuire made it clear after the game that the Red Raiders need cleaner play from the position as the competition around him continues to take shape.
The concern was not just about the final numbers, either. McGuire pointed to turnovers, sacks and decision-making as the issues that need attention, while Florida State transfer Thomas Castellanos also saw snaps at quarterback. With Texas Tech off to a 2-0 start, the question now is less about whether the Red Raiders are winning and more about how settled their quarterback room really is. [Read more 🡒]