CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Will Hammond hit Coy Eakin with a 32-yard touchdown pass with 6:31 left to put Texas Tech in front and the No. 13 Red Raiders went on to a 35-24 comeback victory over resilient Oregon State on Saturday night.
J'Koby Williams ran for 116 yards and a touchdown for Texas Tech (2-0), which trailed 24-21 early in the fourth quarter.
After Eakin's touchdown catch, Oregon State appeared to be marching downfield but Aeryn Hampton's dropped
pass and Braden Atkinson's subsequent fourth-and-9 pass attempt was unsuccessful.
Texas Tech's defense held the rest of the way and Tommy Castellanos hit Matt Ludwig with an 8-yard scoring pass with 1:03 left for the final margin.
“Just like Will says all the time in the huddle, find a way to win," Eakin said. "It doesn’t matter what kind of game it is, sometimes it goes that way, sometimes it’s us on offense that can’t get things going. So at the end of the day, just got to find a way to win. And I just like how we came in there, you know, with one mindset, keeping the huddles tight, creating our own energy. I think we did a great job of that.”
Atkinson threw for 399 yards and two touchdowns for Oregon State (0-2). Jesse Legree caught eight passes for 240 yards and two scores. The last time an Oregon State player had over 200 yards receiving at a home game was in 2003.
Hammond threw for 189 yards and a touchdown for the Red Raiders, who went into the game favored by 26 1/2 points.
“As frustrated as as I am at times, I’m not going to apologize for being 2-0,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said.
The Red Raiders were coming off a 33-10 victory over Abilene Christian but the win still dropped the team a spot in the rankings.
Hammond is in his first season as a full-time starter after transfer Brendan Sorsby parted ways amid the fallout from a gambling scandal. Sorsby sued the NCAA and gained a court-ordered reinstatement that prompted nationwide backlash toward Texas Tech.
Oregon State opened with a 33-20 loss to Houston, another ranked Big 12 team. The Beavers had just 26 rushing yards and Atkinson was sacked four times.
After Caleb Ojeda's 54-yard field goal attempt for the Beavers at the end of the first quarter was short, Tommy Castellanos put Texas Tech in front with a 7-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter.
The Beavers answered on the very next drive with Legree's 75-yard touchdown reception from Atkinson.
Cameron Dickey's 1-yard run on fourth-and-1 made it 14-7 for the Red Raiders, but Stone Harrington's 53-yard field goal as time expired in the half fell far short.
The Beavers narrowed the score to 14-13 early in the half on Atkinson's 4-yard pass to AJ Newberry, but the point-after attempt failed.
On Texas Tech's next drive, Williams ran 38 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead. Again Oregon State answered with Atkinson's 37-yard scoring pass to Legree. Atkinson scampered for the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 21.
After Oregon State's Tyler Bailey recovered Hammond's fumble on Texas Tech's 22, the Beavers went on to take the lead on Ojeda's 34-yard field goal.
“I expected this out of our team and I expect more. ... We know what we’re capable of. We know what’s possible here," Oregon State first-year coach JaMarcus Shephard said.
The two teams met last season and Texas Tech won 45-14 in Lubbock. Saturday's game was Texas Tech's first-ever trip to Corvallis.
The Red Raiders are 13-1 against teams in the currently in the current Pac-12. The conference re-launched this year after it fell apart in realignment during the summer of 2023.
Washington State and Oregon State, the lone remaining members of the Pac-12, added Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State this season. Gonzaga also joined the new conference as a non-football member.
Texas Tech: Hosts Houston on Friday night.
Oregon State: Hosts Montana on Saturday night.
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