LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — J'Koby Williams and Cameron Dickey ran for second-half touchdowns and defending Big 12 champion No. 13 Texas Tech held on for a 28-26 victory Friday night when Houston quarterback Conner Weigman came up just short of a 2-point conversion in the final minute.
Weigman's third TD pass, a 10-yarder to Patrick Overmyer with 49 seconds left, gave the Cougars (2-1, 0-1) a chance to tie in the conference opener for both teams. On the try
for 2, Weigman took off to the left and lunged forward with the ball extended, though his knee came down before the ball broke the plane of the end zone.
“There’s no moral victories,” Houston coach Willie Fritz said. “We came here to win. And we didn’t win.”
The audience viewing on Fox Sports was able to watch and listen to the Big 12 replay officials at the conference headquarters reviewing and discussing that play before ruling that Weigman was short. That was one of several replays on which viewers got an inside look.
Will Hammond was 17-of-27 passing for 257 yards and a touchdown for the Red Raiders (3-0, 1-0), who were down 10-0 and had only one offensive snap 9 1/2 minutes into their first Friday home game since 1941.
“It just shows the resilience of this team and the belief they have in each other. There was never a time that those guys got down. They just kept fighting,” Tech coach Joey McGuire said. “I just continue to believe that as the season goes, we’ll keep getting better and better again.”
Weigman finished 27 of 38 for 282 yards.
After only two carries for 5 yards before halftime, Williams had consecutive runs of 19, 5 and 29 yards — the last a burst through the left side and pretty much untouched to the end zone to make it 21-17 only 2 1/2 minutes into the second half. Dickey had a 1-yard scoring run with 7:36 left.
Houston led 17-14 just before halftime after Koby Young made an over-the-shoulder catch and pinned the ball against his shoulder pads while falling over the pylon for a 46-yard touchdown.
Hammond had a 28-yard pass to Kenny Johnson to convert third-and-12 before they also hooked up for a 35-yard touchdown a minute into the second quarter. Johnson finished with four catches for 113 yards.
After a field goal on the game's opening drive, the Cougars immediately got the ball back on Will James’ nifty interception along the sideline when Tommy Castellanos, who started instead of Hammond, was trying to throw away the ball while under pressure.
That led to Amare Thomas’ 11-yard TD reception when he twisted and extended the ball lunging forward toward the end zone while being knocked down for a 10-0 lead. He was initially marked short, but it became a score after a replay review.
Castellanos, the former Florida State and Boston College QB, didn’t join the Red Raiders until a week before the season opener. After the interception, he didn't take another snap until his 3-yard TD run with 3:39 left.
“Will Hammond is our starting quarterback. We have packages for Tommy and those packages will continue to grow,” McGuire said. “We had two plays we're going to run right there. If we don’t get pressure, then I think we have a huge play starting right off the bat. ... The plan was two plays and Will come into the game."
Hammond had been expected to be the starter this year before an ACL injury last October. But there was also the offseason saga surrounding departed transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who would have started before being declared ineligible after NCAA gambling investigation. Hammond, meanwhile, had no setbacks in his recovery and was ready for the start of this season.
Houston: The Cougars were 6-0 in road games last season on way to a 10-win season. ... Houston had 104 yards rushing by halftime, and finished with 176 against a Texas Tech defense whose seven-game streak not allowing 100 in a game was the longest in FBS.
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders won their 10th consecutive home game, though they gave up more than 17 points for the first time in that stretch. It is their longest home winning streak since 12 in a row from 2007-09.
Both teams play their final nonconference game at home Sept. 26. Houston hosts Georgia Southern, and Texas Tech takes on Sam Houston.
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