Kenny Johnson caught 4 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown and J'Koby Williams and Cameron Dickey also found the end zone once each as the Texas Tech football team beat Houston 28-26 in a Big 12 conference opener on Friday, Sept. 18, at Galaxy Stadium.
Tech stopped a two-point conversion try with 49 seconds left after Conner Weigman hit Patrick Overmyer with a 10-yard touchdown pass at the end of a 10-play drive. On the two-point attempt, Weigman scrambled left, was wrapped up by Austin Romaine and Mateen Ibirogba and came up inches short as the ball squirted into the end zone. The ruling stood after video review.
Tech (3-0, 1-0) in the Big 12 had to overcome an early 10-point deficit. Houston (2-1, 0-1) kicked a field goal on the first series
of the game, intercepted Thomas Castellanos on Tech's first play and converted that into a Weigman touchdown pass to Amare Johnson.
Johnson started the comeback, catching a 35-yard TD pass from Will Hammond. The Red Raiders took the lead for good on Williams' 29-yard run on the series of the second half, making the score 21-17, and Dickey's 1-yard run on fourth down made it 28-20 with 7:36 left in the fourth quarter.
Hammond threw for 257 yards on 17-for-27 passing. Dickey rushed for 65 yards and Williams for 62.
Offense: D
Kenny Johnson continues to emerge as a No. 1 receiver. The run, though again not as consistent as the Red Raiders need, helped down the stretch.
Defense: C
Remember that Texas Tech defense that completely shut down anything and everything? This one gave up three drives longer than 70 yards and two more that covered at least 55.
Special Teams: B
Will Karoll averaged 58.7 yards on three punts. That makes his season average 49.0.
Coaching: C
The decision to use Thomas Castellanos on the first play — and to throw a pass on that play — backfired. To their credit, the staff kept the Red Raiders together after an early 10-0 deficit and when they lost the lead and the momentum a second time.
Overall: B
Texas Tech remains undefeated and should at least maintain its positioning in the polls. Three weeks in a row, however, the Red Raiders have given Big 12 teams reason to believe they're beatable.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football — Grading the Raiders after they squeeze by Houston
