The Texas Tech defense capitalized on three turnovers and four sacks to claim a 40-27 victory over the offense Saturday night in the annual Spring Game at Jones AT&T Stadium.
The defense led for the duration of the game under the modified scoring system that rewarded the #806D for various plays such as turnovers, sacks and fourth-down stops. The defense built a 14-0 lead before the offense got on the board via a Da’Leon Ward two-yard touchdown run midway through the first half.
“I thought we had good effort on both sides of the ball tonight and that’s what we wanted to see to wrap up the spring,” Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “We improved each week this spring, so we like where we are at but we know we still have plenty to improve on as well.”
It didn’t take long for the defense to notch its first turnover of the night as Thomas Leggett punched out a fumble on just the second drive of the night. The fumble, which was recovered by Quincy Addison, stopped a promising drive for the offense, which was nearing the red zone at the time.
Octavious Morgan added an interception later in the first half to build on the defense’s lead. The defense added its third in final turnover in the second half on a JoJo Robertson fumble near the goal line that bounced into the endzone and out of bounds.
The offense only trailed 25-17 at the half after Clayton Hatfield followed Ward’s touchdown run with a 41-yard field goal. Tre King added a six-yard scamper just before the break to close the deficit just before the halftime break.
De’Quan Bowman closed the scoring for the offense as McLane Carter found him on a 28-yard slant over the middle late in the second half. Carter finished 11-of-19 overall for 139 yards on the night, while Jett Duffey was 11-of-15 for 89 yards. Alan Bowman saw significant time as well as he completed 7-of-12 passes for 76 yards.
King led the Red Raiders on the ground with 53 yards on 15 carries followed by Ward, who had 45 yards on 12 carries. Robinson powered the Tech receiving corps with 79 yards through the air on a team-leading six receptions.
Kolin Hill and Kevin Moore shared the team high with six tackles each, while the trio of Adrian Frye, Jordyn Brooks and Christian Taylor all had five each. Hill posted two of Tech’s four sacks as he was joined in the Tech back field by Michael Mays and Broderick Washington Jr. with one sack apiece.
The Spring Game marked the 15th and final practice for the Red Raiders this spring as Tech will move back into offseason workouts until preseason practices begin in early August.
Season tickets are priced for as low as $190 a seat for the 2018 season or just $38 a month for fans who take advantage of the five-month, interest-free payment play Tech is offering once again this year. Tech welcomes the likes of Lamar, Houston, West Virginia, Kanas, Texas and Oklahoma to Jones AT&T Stadium this fall.
COURTESY OF TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS
