The Texas Tech Red Raiders opened their college football season against Abilene Christian on Saturday in Lubbock. Tech entered the game as a 32-point favorite over the Wildcats. But ACU gave Texas Tech all it could handle, and then some, as the Red Raiders needed overtime to win 52-51.
According to the ESPN+ broadcast, the Red Raiders entered the game with 23 wins in a row against FCS teams. But the Red Raiders had a scare on Saturday night in their season opener.
The issue was not Texas Tech’s offense, which piled up over 500 yards of total offense. It was the defense.
Tech’s defense gave up 615 total yards and over 500 passing yards, while allowing the Wildcats to go 11-16 on third downs. Texas Tech also hurt itself with 11 penalties for 79 yards.
The game went to overtime when Texas Tech, with the ball first, scored a touchdown after Behren Morton hooked up with Caleb Douglas for a 14-yard touchdown on a 3rd and 11. ACU got the ball in the first overtime and scored a touchdown on an Isaiah Johnson one-yard run.
But the Wildcats chose to go for the win on a two-point conversion, and the pressure got to Maverick McIvor who was nearly sacked on the final play as the Red Raiders hung on for the 52-51 victory.
How Texas Tech vs. Abilene Christian Played Out
The Red Raiders looked like they were on their way to a comfortable victory, jumping out to a 22-7 win after the first quarter. But ACU closed the gap by halftime, trailing 32-21. The two teams swapped a touchdown in the third quarter, to go into the fourth quarter with Texas Tech up 39-28.
But in the fourth quarter, Abilene Christian put together two touchdown drives, the first went four plays for 62 yards in just 1:34, while the second was an eight-play, 75-yard drive that took 3:37 off the clock. The second touchdown was sandwiched around a Texas Tech field goal and tied the game at 42 with under five minutes to play.
The Red Raiders then went nine plays and 54 yards, ending their drive with a Gino Garcia 31-yard field goal. But with over two minutes remaining, quarterback Maverick McIvor led the Red Raiders down the field on a 12-play, 71-yard drive to kick the game-tying field goal with :05 seconds to go.
Two plays that can be scrutinized late in the game are ACU’s attempted fade routes on 2nd and 1, and 3rd and 1, from the Tech 4-yard line in the final seconds. The Wildcats were rolling over Texas Tech’s defense on the drive, before stalling out with these two low-percentage plays.
It’s the second-straight season for Texas Tech going to overtime in Week 1. The Red Raiders lost in overtime to Wyoming last year to open the season. But at least this year, Tech can breath a sigh of relief to improve to 1-0 heading into Washington State next week.
