Texas Tech and Oklahoma State put on an entertaining show on Saturday night in Lubbock, combining for 59 first downs, 1,041 yards of offense, 186 plays, 18 penalties, five turnovers and 86 points.
But was the No. 18 Cowboys (7-1) who got the win, 52-34, over the No. 15 Red Raiders (7-2).
OSU roared out to 21 first-quarter points, only to see Tech close to within 28-24 heading into the half. OSU used another 21-point quarter in the third to stretch the lead to 49-34, and then the two teams traded field goals to end the game.
Usually, J.W. Walsh is known as the more mobile of the two Cowboy quarterbacks, but Clint Chelf did much of his damage against the Red Raiders on the ground, rushing for 88 yards and two touchdowns on six carries, including a back-breaking 67-yard scoring scamper midway through the third quarter that put OSU back up by three scores (he also passed for a season-high 211 yards). The Cowboys totaled 281 rushing yards, including a game-high 96 from Desmond Roland, who also scored three TDs.
Tech responded with a flurry of footballs in the air, as freshman quarterback Davis Webb chucked the ball 71 times. He completed 45 of them for 425 yards and two scores, but he was also intercepted twice. Red Raiders tight end Jace Amaro continued to put up dominant numbers, catching 15 passes for 174 yards and a TD.
The win keeps OSU in the Big 12 title hunt and makes the path for the Red Raiders -- losers of two straight now -- a bit more difficult. Both teams still have to face Baylor which means more track meets to come for these teams in the near future.