Rapid Reaction: Texas Tech beats BYU in a blowout to win Big 12 title, secure CFP bye
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Texas Tech has won its first Big 12 championship in program history. The No. 4 Red Raiders walloped No. 11 BYU 34-7, securing a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff, with the field to be announced on Sunday.
Things actually got off to a slow start for the Big 12 champs. BYU broke the scoring ice with a 14-play, 90-yard scoring drive and took a 7-0 lead into the 2nd quarter. From there, however, it was all Red Raiders.
Texas Tech scored 13 points in the 2nd quarter and never looked back. The Red Raiders won the 2nd half 21-0, cruising to a 34-7 blowout win.
BYU struggled on both sides of the ball. Bear Bachmeier was 16-of-27 for 115 yards and threw 2 interceptions without a touchdown. The Cougars were held under 100 rushing yards on the ground. BYU was plagued by 4 turnovers on offense and the defense was unable to get a takeaway of its own.
Texas Tech’s Behren Morton was 20-of-33 passing for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Red Raiders rushed for 159 yards as a team, adding 1 score on the ground.
The blowout could have been even more lopsided. Texas Tech left points on the field in the 3rd quarter, going for it on 4th down unsuccessfully. Red Raiders kicker Stone Harrington missed 2 field-goal attempts, going 4-of-6 in the game.
Texas Tech 34, BYU 7
Here’s the complete Big 12 Championship box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
