Be honest, you thought this was going a different way.
Nobody would blame you after that display by the Texas Tech football team in the first quarter of Friday's Big 12 Conference opener against Houston. Getting diced up by the Cougars offense on back-to-back drives, with a Thomas Castellanos interception on the first play of the drive sandwiched between those, spelled trouble from the jump.
Texas Tech fans were nervous, angry, frustrated after Houston went up 10-0. The Red Raiders showed little life, the defense not able to stop much and the offense generated negative yardage on two possessions.
The thing about football, though, is you have to play all 60 minutes, give or take an extra second.
Will Hammond settled in, finding Kenny Johnson for
big plays when needed. The defense, while still exposed as lacking last year's credibility, got the game-sealing stop on Conner Weigman's two-point try late in the fourth.
Will anybody be overly enthused by Texas Tech's 28-26 escape? Unlikely. But Tech fans are rarely ever content with a win.
Last year's team spoiled the Red Raider fans. Even with a 2-0 record entering the game, they wanted more out of their team. All the criticism was fair. Necessary, even. Texas Tech spent most of the offseason talking about being the bully, the villain in their own story.
Being the villain is fun and games until it's time to answer the call. When push comes to shove, do you have the goods to get the job done?
Maybe this team isn't going to dominate the competition all year long. Maybe this is just the 2026 version of the Red Raiders, a talented bunch that has much less margin for error than the 2025 squad that pummeled just about everybody.
After a year where everything seemed so easy, it shouldn't be surprising that isn't the case anymore. Houston's good, much better than the one Tech saw a year ago. The playing field has been leveled, and that makes everything a bit more dramatic.
Who doesn't love drama? It's the jolt of caffeine through your veins that can make even the most mundane circumstances become more memorable.
This year's team might not be as good as last year's, but maybe that's exactly what Texas Tech needs.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football handles Houston's challenge in dramatic fashion | Giese
