Texas Tech 28-22 Arizona (Oct. 5, 2024) Game Recap

TUCSON, Ariz. — Texas Tech blew a big halftime lead, lost two fumbles and was in danger of losing a game it had firmly in control of.

The Red Raiders stepped up at the right moment and Tahj Brooks scored the decisive blow.

Brooks ran for 128 yards and scored three touchdowns, Jacob Rodriguez forced a late fumble and Texas Tech recovered after blowing a 15-point lead to beat Arizona 28-22 on Saturday night.

“There was a lot of body blows, you couldn't bat an eyelid, but they kept fighting and were really proud of them,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said.

Texas Tech (5-1, 3-0 Big 12) put constant pressure on Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita, forcing him to quickly get rid of or throw the ball away. The Red Raiders also intercepted two of his passes and forced a turnover on downs deep in their own zone while building an 18-3 halftime lead.

The Wildcats' defense kept them within reach while the offense faltered, forcing two Brooks fumbles to take a 19-18 lead early in the fourth quarter.

They couldn't hold it.

After Arizona's Tyler Loop missed a 48-yard field goal, Texas Tech finally found a rhythm, setting up Gino Garcia's 41-yard field goal for a 21-19 lead.

Arizona (3-2, 1-1) took the lead with 2:21 left, but Rodriguez beat Tetairoa McMillan on the first play and the Red Raiders rallied. Brooks then rushed 32 yards up the middle for a touchdown

“We just didn’t finish the game,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. “We didn’t finish a drive, we missed a field goal to get to six (points) – it’s tough. Because all the pieces fell into place, we couldn’t win the game.”

Texas Tech's defense held its own after Arizona sent fans into a frenzy late, limiting Arizona to 3 of 14 on third downs. The Red Raiders have won four straight since losing to Washington State in the second game of the season and are 3-0 in Big 12 play for the first time since 2013.

“We have to figure out what’s next when good things happen, and we have to figure out what’s next when bad things happen,” McGuire said. “We had some things and we dealt with the ups and downs tonight. What a big, big Big 12 game.”

It looked like a runaway early on.

Brooks scored on a 3-yard run in the first quarter and the Red Raiders spent the rest of the half shutting down the Wildcats.

Texas Tech held Arizona to a field goal late in the first quarter and then stopped the Wildcats on fourth-and-1 at the Red Raiders' 20. Texas Tech's Quincy Ledet intercepted a pass from Fifita that landed at the line of scrimmage and Brooks' second TD run followed from nine yards out.

Fifita was intercepted again by CJ Baskerville in the end zone late in the second quarter, and Texas Tech quickly marched down the field to give Garcia a last-second 30-yard field goal for an 18-3 lead.

Arizona forced its way into Texas Tech's goal twice in the third quarter – the second time after a fumble by Brooks at the 32 – and had to settle for two more field goals.

The Wildcats finally broke through when Quali Conley scored on a 3-yard run and forced another Boyd fumble – after a review overturned the original decision – to set up Loop's 37-yard field goal to make it 19: 18-leadership to prepare.

“You have to finish people off, you have to knock them out, and we didn’t do that,” Brennan said.

THE TAKEAWAY

Texas Tech tried to let a big lead slip away, but its defense was big when it needed to be and Brooks made up for his two fumbles with the late score. Arizona came back to life in the second half, but was plagued by too many missed opportunities.

NEXT

Texas Tech: hosts Baylor next Saturday.

Arizona: Plays No. 17 BYU next Saturday.

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