No. 13 Texas Tech survived a serious upset bid from Oregon State on Saturday night, escaping Reser Stadium with a 35-24 victory to improve to 2-0 on the season.
The Red Raiders entered the night as a heavy favorite after opening the season with a 33-10 win over Abilene Christian, but Oregon State made Texas Tech work for nearly everything on Saturday.
The game was scoreless after the first quarter before Texas Tech finally broke through in the second. Quarterback Will Hammond and the Red Raiders took a 14-7 advantage into halftime, but Oregon State refused to go away.
The Beavers were looking for their first win under head coach JaMarcus Shephard after opening the season with a 33-20 loss at Houston. For the second consecutive week, Oregon State gave a ranked Big 12 opponent a legitimate scare before ultimately coming up short.
Texas Tech led 28-24 in the final two minutes, forced Oregon State into a turnover on downs, and then scored a touchdown to seal the 35-24 victory.
For Texas Tech, there will be plenty to clean up. Tech had seven penalties for 70 yards, while only rushing for 3.4 yards per carry, and the defense gave up nearly 350 passing yards. The Red Raiders were actually outgained on the night 472-352. Will Hammond finished 20/27 for 189 yards and one passing touchdown.
But surviving a road game in which you’re not playing your best football is never something to apologize for, particularly early in the season. The Red Raiders avoided what would have been one of the biggest upsets of Week 2 and kept their unbeaten start intact.
Now the attention turns back to Big 12 play. The Red Raiders Houston in their Big 12 opener on Friday evening in Lubbock.
