No. 22 Houston was *this* close to pulling off a massive upset against No. 13 Texas Tech on Friday night, but Cougars quarterback Connor Weigman was tackled short on a two-point conversion attempt with 49 seconds left, sealing a wild 28-26 win for the Red Raiders in Lubbock. What a finish!
Heartbreak at the Goal Line
Houston fought back with everything they had. Weigman connected with tight end Patrick Overmyer over the middle for a 10-yard touchdown with under a minute left, cutting the deficit to two. The choice was clear: go for the tie right then and there. Weigman kept it himself, trying to scramble around the left end, but Red Raiders defenders swarmed him. His knee hit the turf short of the goal line. They reviewed it, hoping for a miracle, but replay officials confirmed the call on the field. Not enough evidence to overturn it. Denied. The dream was dead right there, inches from glory.
Red Raiders Claw Back from Early Blunders
Texas Tech somehow managed to escape, but they made it hard on themselves. They started rough, giving up an early 10-0 lead to Houston. Red Raiders quarterback Thomas Castellanos got chased from the pocket on their opening play, tried to throw it out of bounds, and instead tossed an easy interception to Will James. Whoops. Houston capitalized, driving 55 yards for an 11-yard touchdown pass from Weigman to Amare Thomas. Head coach Joey McGuire saw enough, pulling Castellanos and putting Will Hammond in at quarterback. Hammond went three-and-out on his first series, but the defense forced a punt, giving him another shot. That’s when he found Kenny Johnson for a huge 28-yard gain on third-and-12, then hit him again for a 35-yard touchdown to get Texas Tech on the board.
The Decisive Blow
The Red Raiders finally took the lead, 21-17, on a 29-yard touchdown run by J’Koby Williams in the third quarter. Houston kept battling, cutting it to 21-20 with a Jonathan Dimas field goal. But Texas Tech landed the decisive blow in the fourth quarter with an 87-yard drive that ate up 11 plays and six minutes off the clock. Cameron Dickey punched it in from the 1-yard line, extending the Red Raiders’ perfect record to 12-0 when he gets a touchdown. That long drive put the game just out of reach enough for Tech to hold on.
Man, what a game of swings and gut punches. For Texas Tech, a win is a win, and staying at No. 13 is huge in the early season. But that one was way too close for comfort. For Houston, that’s just pure heartbreak, ending literally inches away from a huge upset. Every game matters, and this one showed just how thin the margin for error is when you’re fighting to establish yourself early on. You gotta finish strong, every single play.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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