Outplayed throughout the first half, down 10-0 after the first quarter and 17-14 at halftime, No. 12 Texas Tech secured a come-from-behind, 28-26 win against No. 23 Houston before a sold-out Galaxy Stadium home crowd.
Barely. It took a two-point conversion stop from the Red Raiders’ defense – which had just coughed up a 78-yard touchdown drive to the Conner Weigman-led Cougars offense.
Still wearing a brace on his right leg after missing almost all of the 2025 season due to injury, Red Raiders quarterback Will Hammond cemented his control of the offense in a poised effort that showcased both Hammond’s ability to read through his progressions in the passing game and flash enough mobility to uncork a 22-yard run.
Defending Big 12 Conference champion
Texas Tech had an awful lot riding on this game for just the season’s third contest. The Red Raiders presently do not have another ranked foe on their schedule.
But debuting their new, signature Patrick Mahomes custom-designed all-black Adidas uniforms with electric-red trim, the Red Raiders dodged Houston’s final-minute gasp to force overtime.
Here are the winners and losers of the contest:
WINNERS
Will Hammond
Hammond technically doesn’t get the win in this game at quarterback. Why? Because Texas Tech coaches outsmarted themselves by starting Tommy Castellanos – who rewarded them with a first-snap interception on a throw-away that didn’t get away.
Completing 17 of 27 passes, Hammond threw for 257 yards and a touchdown. He added 30 rushing yards and his only turnover came when his wideout slipped to the turf and Houston’s Jalen Mayo made an acrobatic, leaping, one-handed pick.
But the gritty Hammond led two second-half touchdown drives that totaled 162 yards and that was the difference in the game.
Mack Leftwich
Texas Tech’s offensive coordinator, by his own quarterback’s postgame admission, endured a miserable week after the Red Raiders mustered just 352 yards and fumbled three times in their 35-24 win Sept. 12 at Oregon State.
And their first four offensive plays in this game resulted in an interception and minus-3 yards.
The rest of the night was a masterclass from Leftwich, Tech’s second-year offensive play-caller after a previous run at Texas State.
"I want everyone to respect Coach Leftwich, man," Hammond said postgame on the field. "He got a lot of hate this week. He went in there and dialed it up."
Of Tech’s 425 yards of offense, 241 came after the break and the unit ended the game in victory formation.
Leftwich got a passing touchdown when Hammond connected with Kenny Johnson; he also dialed up rushing scores from three different players.
His ability to continue to grow the Red Raiders’ offense and keep it multiple will dictate much of Tech’s dreams of return trips to the Big 12 Conference title game and College Football Playoff.
Conner Weigman
The rare winner in a losing effort, Weigman spent most of the night as the best player on the field.
And he was a tortilla shy of likely forcing overtime on his diving two-point conversion attempt with less than 50 seconds to play.
In Friday Night Lights fashion, Houston came up just short on its final play pic.twitter.com/EBEaiZbNdl
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 19, 2026
Not throwing an interception, Weigman threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns on 27-for-38 passing.
He was a perfect 6-for-6 on the almost-game-tying drive. The fifth-year senior also ran the ball 13 times for 56 yards, second-best for the Cougars.
Houston outgained Tech with 458 yards and also held the ball more than seven minutes longer.
LOSERS
Houston's Big 12 title odds
The Cougars were billed by many as a potential Big 12 challenger and CFP contender.
Nothing about their performance suggests they aren’t a high-quality team.
The same cannot be said for Houston’s remaining schedule. Like Tech, Houston does not face BYU – the Big 12’s second-highest ranked team in the US LBM Coaches Poll Top 25. It faces only ranked Utah the remainder of the schedule, per the most recent poll.
Its tepid non-conference schedule, with Oregon State, FCS program Southern and next week’s foe, Georgia Southern, will do nothing to help differentiate the program in late-season.
In almost all scenarios, the Cougars must find their way to the Big 12 title game and win it to reach the CFP.
Houston's run defense
The Cougars broke up four passes, intercepted two others and even had on-the-spot coverage for Tech’s game-changing Hammond-to-Johnson completions for both a touchdown and key, one-handed sideline grab for a third-down conversion.
Stopping the run? Tech did that to itself more than the Cougars’ defense. The Red Raiders averaged 5.3 yards per carry, had four different players record a run of 11 or more yards and finished with 168 net rushing yards.
Failing to block John Curry
The real difference in this game came in the second half, when Houston moved inside Tech’s 10-yard line and trailed 21-17. The Cougars settled for a chip-shot field goal – because they couldn’t block Tech linebacker John Curry on third-and-1. Curry shot the gap, stuffed the runner in the backfield and then a fourth-down attempt became a null venture after the Cougars committed a false start – one of their seven penalties that set them back 70 yards.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Winners, losers as 'backup' QB leads Texas Tech to thrilling comeback win vs. Houston
