No. 13 Texas Tech Escapes Late Scare at Oregon State with 35-24 Win

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Oregon State outgained No. 13 Texas Tech 472 yards to 352, with 240 coming from the connection between quarterback Braden Atkinson and freshman wide receiver Jesse Legree. But the Red Raiders prevailed with timely play-making in the second half to escape Corvallis with a 35-24 victory.

Texas Tech improves to 2-0 as the Big 12 opener comes six days from now, a home contest against No. 22 Houston, who blew out Southern University 77-6 on Saturday.

Red Raiders quarterback Will Hammond threw for 189 yards on 20-of-27 passing. His 32-yard strike to receiver Coy Eakin put Texas Tech ahead in a competitive back-and-forth with the Beavers, who are led by first-time head coach Jamarcus Shephard.

J'Koby Williams slowly got introduced into the Red Raiders' offense, but finished as the team leader in rushing with 116 yards on the ground, much of which came in the second half. Dual-threat quarterback Thomas Castellanos was a much larger factor in Tech's run game (he was one of three Red Raiders to rush for a touchdown), but it was his only pass attempt of the season that found the end zone to seal the win in the fourth quarter.

Legree shined with eight receptions, with two going for touchdowns, on an average of 30 yards per grab. Atkinson finished with 399 yards passing on 29-of-49 completions.

Full Game Recap – Texas Tech Survives Late Scare at Oregon State

First Quarter

The Beavers targeted Legree for two catches of 18 and 17 yards, respectively, on the opening drive to get his big day started. After Tech cornerback Brice Pollock broke up a third-down pass – in which the Oregon State receiver slipped on the damp, slippery turf – the Beavers' punt pinned Texas Tech inside its own five-yard line.

Cameron Dickey fumbled the first carry of the game for the Red Raiders, but the offense recovered. The skies opened up on Tech's opening possession, but Hammond managed to complete two third-down throws to extend the drive. Texas Tech would eventually punt it back to the Beavers after a pair of pass deflections and short runs.

Oregon State was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty, which backed up the Beavers to third and long outside of field goal range. Atkinson checked it down to regain the yardage, and before a field goal attempt, Texas Tech was forced into calling a timeout before committing a 12-men-on-the-field penalty.

The Red Raiders were flagged for a similar mistake against Abilene Christian last week.

Oregon State kicker Caleb Ojeda hooked the kick wide left, ending a 12-play scoring drive without points.

The Beavers, however, opened the game with success on the ground against Tech's stout defense. Oregon State rushed for more yards in the first quarter against Texas Tech (28) than the Beavers did in their entire game last week (26).

Second Quarter

Hammond was sacked for a loss of seven yards as he struggled with his footing amid the rain. After a punt and despite setting up late at the line of scrimmage, the Red Raiders nearly took down Atkinson for a safety as AJ Holmes sacked the quarterback at the one-yard line.

A high-tempo offense brought Tech within the red zone as Oregon State committed several penalties trying to keep up. Castellanos came in and rushed for a seven-yard touchdown to break the scoreless draw.

Oregon State wasted no time answering. Atkinson found Legree downfield on a 75-yard touchdown pass. A perfectly placed over-the-shoulder ball went just past the outstretched arms of Tech safety Peyton Morgan in defense.

Texas Tech used its committee of running backs to get into an offensive flow following the back-to-back scores. Both Hammond and Castellanos lined up as wide receivers deep in the red zone before Dickey's rush was stopped at the one-yard line. Facing fourth-and-goal, Dickey was successful this time, taking another direct snap and leaping over the offensive line into the end zone to regain the lead for the Red Raiders.

Atkinson stayed aggressive looking for his top receivers, but a third-down throw was jumped by Texas Tech defensive back Amier Boyd for an interception.

After a stalled offensive sequence, the Red Raiders forced a punt, but had just four seconds to work with after Johnson's return to the Oregon State 45-yard line. Stone Harrington, who was 4/4 on field goals last week, lined up for a 63-yarder, but it fell short and was returned out of bounds.

Texas Tech lead 14-7 at the halftime break.

Third Quarter

Oregon State's attempts at a big play finally paid off, though it took some trickery. The Beavers dialed up a pitch-out to the running back, who turned back and threw a touchdown pass to a wide-open Atkinson from four yards out. The Beavers failed to tie the game, however, as a botched point-after snap was tackled by Texas Tech, who held their lead at 14-13.

Williams broke free for a big play on the next possession, a touchdown on a 38-yard rush to grow the lead to 21-13.

Legree found space in the Red Raiders' secondary again as his fourth-down catch turned into a 37-yard touchdown. Atkinson calmly rushed into the end zone for a 2-point conversion that tied the game at 21-21 with five minutes left in the quarter.

After quick punts from both teams, Hammond was stripped as he evaded pressure. Oregon State recovered the fumble at Texas Tech's 22-yard line after replay review deemed the quarterback's shin was not down before the ball was jarred loose.

Fourth Quarter

The Beavers used the turnover to take their first lead of the game with a 34-yard field goal, making the score 24-21. The Red Raiders couldn't mount a formidable immediate response; two holding penalties forced Texas Tech into punt formation.

The Red Raiders nearly coughed up possession again as Johnson's next punt return was muffed but recovered. Williams was busy on the ground in a drive that ended with the senior receiver Eakin rising over the defender for a 32-yard touchdown catch – one of his team-high six receptions on the night. Texas Tech retook the lead for good at 28-24 with six and a half minutes to play.

On fourth and 9 from Tech's side of the 50-yard line, Legree made a circus catch in the corner of the end zone but was out of bounds. Texas Tech was awarded possession with four minutes remaining and each team owning all three timeouts.

Texas Tech receiver Micah Hudson was flagged for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty – Tech's second such penalty of the game – to set up second-and-long. Castellanos tripped on a rush for no gain as the two-minute warning arrived, and another rush set up the Red Raiders to punt.

Atkinson found Hampton streaking down the left seam to move the chains on fourth down, but Legree was flagged for an apparent pick play and costly offensive pass interference – the 14th combined penalty of the game. Oregon State tight end Eric Olsen couldn't hold onto a catch at the sticks, so the Red Raiders took over in plus territory.

Texas Tech sealed the win as Matt Ludwig hauled in Castellanos' first pass attempt of the season, an eight-yard find in the back of the end zone.

Up Next

Texas Tech hosts Houston on Friday, Sep. 18 in the conference opener.

Oregon State stays at home to face Montana next Saturday.

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