Texas Tech Football Runs All Over the Jayhawks in Lubbock

Texas Tech scored first and never relinquished the lead at the Jones as the 6-3 Kansas Jayhawks fell to 6-4 and the Red Raiders move to 5-5 after their 43-28 victory.

The Red Raiders rushed for 260 yards and had four rushing touchdowns from four different ball carriers. They also had four ball carriers have more than 50 yards. Tyler Shough was the leading rusher with a touchdown and 76 yards on 12 carries. Not all designed, but solid effort from Shough nonetheless. The quarterback also had 246 yards passing and a touchdown through the air.

Tahj Brooks had the most carries with 16 finishing with 51 yards and a touchdown, Cam'Ron Valdez had nine totes for 59 yards and SaRodorick Thompson finished with seven carries and 68 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown run.

Donovan Smith had one carry. A six-yard touchdown run.

That put Texas Tech up 7-0. Kansas followed that up with a three-and-out.

No, hold on.

They actually went for it on fourth down and let the fullback/tight end slip out of the backfield for a 66-yard touchdown catch.

A field goal from Texas Tech and a doink from Kansas allowed Texas Tech to run the ball a little more. This time with SaRodorick Thompson who found a hole to make it 17-7. That capped off a 6-play 76-yard drive that was all running plays.

Texas Tech would then turn Kansas over on downs and Tyler Shough would lead a 12-play 61-yard drive that finished in a Mason Tharp touchdown catch on a beautifully designed play from Zach Kittley. Fairly certain that the play is undefendable against man coverage. Tharp catching the ball behind the line of scrimmage allows those receivers to block before the catch is made.

The end of the first half was pivotal for Texas Tech and pretty detrimental to the Kansas momentum and comeback effort. Kansas Stormed back from a 24-7 hole to get the game to 24-21 and then got the ball back with time remaining in the first half.

Fortunately for Texas Tech, Jason Bean made an ill-advised through and Kosi Eldridge made a great play to come down with an interception. The Red Raiders made them pay with a long pass to Trey Cleveland and a 51-yard field goal from Trey Wolff to end the first half 27-24.

The third quarter opened with another doink from Kansas.

A pair of punts from the teams ate up a large chunk of the third quarter before they flipped the field for the final quarter and Tyler Shough waltzed into the endzone on a scramble drill. Great job by Shough to find some space.

The 33-21 lead didn't really feel safe with Kansas getting chunk plays all over the place, but it was a lead. A failed two-point conversion kept the score at 33-21. Jason Bean would get seven back on a great play.

With a 33-28 lead, Texas Tech's Tyler Shough led a great drive that took nearly four minutes off the clock and extended the Red Raider lead with a field goal. Texas Tech would then follow up with a great defensive play by Jesiah Pierre who forced a fumble on a sack. Jaylon Hutchings would scoop the ball and nearly score but only get to the eight-yard line.

From there, it was Tahj Time.

Tyler Shough had a great game, notching his first conference win as a Red Raider and more than 300 total yards. The offensive line also played much better than they have in weeks to allow the running game to get going and Shough to have time to find receivers on all levels of the field.

Defensively, the chunk plays were worrisome, but ultimately Kansas only scored 7 points in the second half. In contrast, Kansas State scored 17 in the 4th quarter while Baylor and TCU both scored 21 in the final frame. For the defense to stand tall and force a fumble and get a late turnover on downs to hold the Jayhawks late says a lot about the resolve of the team.

The Red Raiders now head to Ames and a team that's pretty much the opposite of Kansas. The Jayhawks are a great offense and a mediocre defense while Iowa State is a mediocre offensive unit and a great Big 12 defense.