LUBBOCK, Texas — It was a tale of two halves for the Texas Tech defense Saturday night. In the first half, the unit buckled down and held Kansas State to six points. After halftime, Kansas State exploited cracks in the secondary and put up 24 points en route to a 30-27 win.
Texas Tech fell to 4-7 on the season and 2-6 in Big 12 play with the loss.
While Texas Tech’s defense played an excellent first half, its offense did not start well. The Red Raiders failed to gain a first down on their first two possessions, and a drive into Kansas State territory ended when Duffey threw an interception. After another punt, Texas Tech finally got a field goal, its only points of the first half.
Duffey had mostly avoided turnovers in prior weeks but committed two huge ones Saturday. His first half interception quenched a good-looking drive, and he followed up a brilliant 34-yard fake punt throw by punter Austin McNamara with his second pick of the game.
McNamara’s excellent throw actually came on Matt Wells’ second fake punt call of the day. On fourth and four from his own 46-yard line with less than a minute before halftime, the ball was snapped directly to Jaylon Hutchings. The big defensive lineman was tackled a yard short of the first down line. The Red Raiders caught two breaks before halftime as Gill dropped a long throw in the end zone and Blake Lynch missed a field goal, keeping Kansas State’s lead at 6-3.
Coming out of halftime, the Wildcats made sure that they wouldn’t need Lynch to get points. They marched down the field and Skylar Thompson reacted quickly against a blitz to find Phillip Brooks for a 14-yard score, putting Kansas State up 13-3.
Texas Tech’s offense got in a rhythm in the second half as well. SaRodorick Thompson ran in a touchdown, bringing the score within three points. After a Kansas State kickoff return touchdown, the Red Raiders answered right back as Duffey hit Erik Ezukanma in the back of the end zone for a score.
Texas Tech had trouble getting stops in the third quarter, and penalties played a major part in that. Several Kansas State incompletions were wiped away by coverage penalties, keeping drives alive and moving the ball down the field.
Riko Jeffers was able to stop one of those drives with a key red zone sack, and a field goal gave Kansas State a six point lead. But KeSean Carter couldn’t hold on to a potential game-tying touchdown on the other end and Texas Tech settled for a field goal of its own.
After another Kansas State touchdown and Duffey’s second interception, Texas Tech’s chances of winning the game seemed improbable. But the Red Raiders didn’t quit.
Adrian Frye played perfect coverage to pick off a deep ball and Duffey threw a 58-yard touchdown to R.J. Turner on a fourth and eight.
Turner crossed 100 yards for the second game, coming up big as Duffey was without one of his favorite targets. Dalton Rigdon took a brutal shot against TCU last week and remained out for Saturday’s game. In his absence, Turner caught seven balls for 141 yards.
Ultimately, it wasn’t enough. Down three with 3:58 remaining, Texas Tech gave up first down rushes to Skylar Thompson and James Gilbert, sealing the game.
Duffey finished the night with 334 yards, and while the yardage has been there for him in Big 12 play, the wins haven’t. Texas Tech’s defense could not get enough second half stops and it proved costly for the Red Raiders in the end. Texas Tech will look to redeem itself against Texas on Friday.
