Halloween just became a whole lot scarier for Arizona.
No. 13 Texas Tech (7-1) defeated No. 22 Arizona (6-2) 34-26, delivering a massive blow to the Wildcats’ College Football Playoff chances and Big 12 championship hopes. For Texas Tech, it was its 13th-straight win at home, which tied a program record.
After Texas Tech’s loss to Cincinnati last week, head coach Joey McGuire benched quarterback Will Hammond for Thomas Castellanos, and the move paid off. Castellanos thrived with both his arm and his legs, as he completed 11 of 24 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns while running for 117 yards and a touchdown. It was his fifth career game with more than 100 rushing yards.
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The Texas Tech run game was fantastic, rolling up 332 yards in the win. Running back J’Koby Williams ran for 175 yards and a touchdown. However, it wasn’t all great for the Red Raiders, as they fell behind early.
Both teams scored on their opening drives, with Arizona getting on the board first with a 35-yard field goal from kicker Michael Salgado-Medina. Texas Tech responded with a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that was capped off with Castellanos’ 24-yard touchdown pass to tight end Terrance Carter Jr. to put the Red Raiders up 7-3.
The two teams then traded punts and turnovers on downs before the Wildcats scored their first touchdown in epic fashion. On third-and-12 from their own 6-yard line, quarterback Noah Fifita dropped back into the end zone before scrambling to the sideline.
As he scrambled, Fifita threw a dart to Isaiah Mizell, who then turned on the afterburners and raced up the sideline for a 94-yard touchdown to put Arizona up 10-7.
The Wildcats then built on their lead coming out of the two-minute timeout in the second quarter with the Wildcat formation. Running back Kedrick Reescano took the direct snap and ran for the five-yard touchdown to finish the 14-play, 81-yard drive and put Arizona up 17-7.
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The Red Raiders managed a field goal before the first half concluded to cut the deficit to seven, making it a 17-10 game.
Texas Tech built on its end-of-half momentum and scored on the opening drive of the third quarter to tie it 17-17. Castellanos faked a pitch outside before knifing through the Wildcats’ defense for an eight-yard touchdown.
The Wildcats didn’t blink, however, as they marched down the field with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with Reescano punching the ball in from the 1-yard line for his second touchdown of the day. However, the Wildcats’ extra-point attempt was blocked, so Arizona had just a 23-17 lead.
Texas Tech capitalized on the mistake, as on its second drive of the second half, it rifled down the field to score another third-quarter touchdown. On fourth-and-2 from the Arizona 27-yard line, Texas Tech decided to go for it on fourth down. Wide receiver Kenny Johnson ran a go route, and Castellanos found him for a touchdown.
Texas Tech nailed the extra point, going up 24-23. On defense, it shut down Arizona and kept its good vibes going, as kicker Stone Harrington made his second field goal of the day, a 42-yarder, to put Texas Tech up 27-23.
After trading scores to start the second half, the defenses started to show up.
Arizona’s response to Texas Tech’s field goal fell short, as it went for it on fourth-and-1 from Texas Tech’s 18-yard line, but Fifita’s pass was too high for tight end Tyler Powell.
Texas Tech, still up 27-23, had a chance to take a two-score lead but squandered it. Red Raiders running back Cameron Dickey fumbled, and Arizona recovered on Texas Tech’s 43-yard line.
However, Arizona did not take advantage of the field position, as it was forced to punt. Yet, it forced a punt from Texas Tech to get the ball back with about four and a half minutes left.
Arizona then went three-and-out, as the Red Raiders’ defense once again dominated the series and forced another punt, and then the offense took care of the rest.
On third-and-1, with Arizona needing just one more stop to get the ball back, Williams burst through a hole in the line and scored a 64-yard touchdown, putting the Red Raiders up 34-23. Williams’ touchdown marked 17 unanswered points for the Red Raiders.
Arizona got a field goal late, but didn’t convert the onside kick, sealing the crushing loss.