UT topples Tech, 34-13

LUBBOCK — Texas and head coach Charlie Strong needed a win in the worst way. Thank God for Texas Tech.

Out of all the times Texas has beaten its conference neighbors in West Texas including 13 of the last 15, the Longhorns had never won on November 1st (0-3).

Mission accomplished.

Texas used big plays and big hits to hold off a undermanned, rebuilding Texas Tech squad on Saturday night, 34-13, at Jones AT&T Stadium on Saturday night.

Texas (4-5, 3-3) broke open a close game outscoring Tech 17-0 in the 2nd half. They did it with an effective run game, execution, and a game-changing hit.

“It’s a great team victory and just to watch us bounce back after getting shutout last week,” Strong said. “I told them before the game, ‘What team is it that shows up today. Is it going to be a team that plays with a lot of passion, a lot of confidence, a team that has a lot of pride and just understands what we got to go get done.'”

Texas netted 469 total yards on statistically one of the worst defenses in all of Division I. After a sluggish 1st quarter in which UT had 26 yards on 12 plays, the offense kicked it into overdrive aided by a renewed emphasis on the rush. It worked.

“We executed,” said Watson. “We had a real purpose, rhythm. Tonight, it all kind of came together.”

The offense has had its well-documented troubles in 2014, but execution was the key tonight.

“We always hurt ourselves,” said Strong. “We miss a block or Ty doesn’t make the right check. Tonight, we executed the gameplan. It’s a win and I’m happy we competed.”

The Longhorns opened the 4th quarter with a nail for the Red Raiders coffin. Swoopes to Shipley for a 4-yard TD catch on 3rd-and-goal capped a 9-play, 89-yard drive, giving UT its largest lead, 27-13. Malcolm Brown added a 3-yard scamper in the last period to seal it.

However, It didn’t look good early. After Texas got a Nick Rose 46-yard field goal to get things started, the Longhorns got the ball back deep in its own territory. That’s when Swoopes was strip-sacked near his own goal line, and Tech LB Branden Jackson scooped up the fumble for a Red Raider TD. Bustin’s missed extra point gave Tech the 6-3 lead. Tech would hold momentum until a senior member of DBU stepped up to the plate.

A Quandre Diggs hit would change everything.

Diggs leveled Tech’s freshman QB Patrick Mahomes, forcing a fumble, in which Shiro Davis would recover at the Tech 25. From there, Malcolm Brown barreled into the end zone from three yards out and gave Texas the advantage back momentarily, 10-6, with 7:12 remaining in the 1st half.

“I just came in and did what I was supposed to do,” said Diggs. “Do something to get my team wired up. Try to make plays each week to get my guys going. It was huge because anytime you get the ball back for your offense, in good field position, that’s a good feeling.”

Strong and Diggs teammates noticed the added juice.

“Quandre with that hit,” said Strong. I think that got us going. I don’t like to see an injury to any player, whether it’s mine or someone else’s, but it was just a good, clean hit, and he did kind of get everyone going.”

“We got krunk on the sidelines,” said junior DT Malcom Brown. “It was live.”

Tech would answer behind walk-on RS frosh Vinny Testaverde Jr. The son of the former NFL QB led Tech on a 9-play, 75-yard march, culminating in Kenny Williams 6-yard scoring plunge. The Red Raiders went back up, 13-10, and looked as if they grabbed back ahold of the 60,961 at Jones AT&T Stadium crowd.

Then Harris happened.

The senior WR from Garland Naaman Forest got behind the Tech secondary on 1st down and burned the young defensive backs for a 68-yard gain. “No. 9 went up and takes it from his defender,” said Strong.

“The way we run it in practice, that ball goes to (Shipley),” said Harris. “So I was kind of in shock when (Swoopes) threw it. But he was expecting me to go make play and those guys on defense were expecting me to make a play so that’s what I did.”

After seeing his RB sidekick Malcolm Brown running with authority, Johnathan Gray got into the act. He took the very next carry 17 yards to paydirt, including one of his high school cutbacks from back in the day and gave UT a lead it wouldn’t relinquish, 17-13, late in the 1st half. The duo combined for 199 yards, with Brown netting 116, his 11th 100-yard performance as a Longhorn, 7th all-time.

Harris netted 123 yards on only three grabs in the 1st half, and finished with 165 yards receiving on five catches. It was a big help for his quarterback, Tyrone Swoopes. The sophomore from Whitewright went 13-of-25, 228 yards, and one TD on the night.

The little things that have killed Texas all year were strengths tonight rather than weaknesses. The Texas defense held Tech to 46 yards in the 3rd quarter. The secondary had 10 pass-breakups and one INT. And they had this season’s first 100-yard rusher. Texas averaged 1.7 yards per carry in the 1st, 7.3 in the final three quarters. You want progress, there you go.

Texas hosts West Virginia next Saturday at DKR with a bowl game clearly in sight. Texas needs to win two of three to continue playing through the holidays, but don’t tell Malcom Brown that.

“We don’t really look at it like that,” said Malcom Brown. “We take it one day at a time like coach Strong tells us.”

Strong agrees.

“We’ve got three games left. We just got to keep playing.”