TALE OF 2 HALVES
After Cougars surge to an early lead, Red Raiders storm back with 31 unanswered points.
The University of Houston insisted things would be different this season.
And things were for one half Saturday night.
The Cougars were in control, ahead 14 points, and apparently ready to start the party early in what could be a monumental week for the athletic program with an invitation to the Big 12.
Then the offense went lifeless. Clayton Tune threw four interceptions. The defense struggled with tackling and allowing big plays.
A second-half no-show eventually spelled a 38-21 loss to Texas Tech before a crowd of 43,478 in the Good Sam Texas Kickoff at NRG Stadium.
The Cougars blew several chances at delivering the knockout blow in what would have been the signature win of the Dana Holgorsen era. Still, UH is expected to be among four schools — along with Central Florida, BYU and Cincinnati — to receive an invitation this week to join the Big 12.
Tune’s four picks gave him 23 in the past two-plus seasons. His last two were costly, as Tech’s Riko Jeffers returned one for a touchdown to tie the game at 21 in the third quarter and Eric Monroe had another to set up Jonathan Garibay’s 34yard go-ahead field goal.
After a strong start, UH was held scoreless in the second half, managing just 53 total yards with four punts and three turnovers.
“From an offensive perspective, that was one of the worst halves I’ve ever been a part of,” Holgorsen said. “I admit that. I own that. We’ll work hard on trying to fix that.”
The Red Raiders put the game away with a 3-yard touchdown catch by Xavier White with 2:05 left in the game.
Texas Tech scored 31 points and had 246 yards in the second half to beat UH for the fourth straight time. The Red Raiders scored 17 points off turnovers.
“We turned up the heat on defense,” Tech coach Matt Wells said of the Red Raiders’ second-half performance.
Holgorsen kept some secrets leading into the matchup against his old employer and unveiled a little of everything — a ball-control offense that consumed all but two minutes in the first quarter, aggressive playcalling with three fourthdown conversions, and a defense that forced a fumble near the goal line and came up with two critical sacks.
And that was just the first half.
Tune passed for two touchdowns — both times to wide open receivers — and capped off a methodical 16play, 75-yard opening drive with a 1-yard sneak.
Before the season, Holgorsen said it was time for the football program to carry its weight — after a Final Four run by the men’s basketball team — and “time to just win.” Maybe some of the basketball magic rubbed off early; coach Kelvin Sampson was at midfield for the pregame coin toss and the team served as honorary captains.
Holgorsen, who was 7-13 in his first two seasons, did not waste any time pulling some tricks out of his bag. UH converted three fourthdown attempts on the opening drive, which lasted almost 8½ minutes. On the ensuing kickoff, UH executed an onside kick that bounced off a Tech player and was recovered by Jake Herslow.
Tune hooked up with Christian Trahan for a 17yard completion. That set up a 23-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Nathaniel Dell in the left corner of the end zone for a 14-0 lead.
Texas Tech’s offense marched down the field and appeared on the brink of slicing the lead when Erik Ezukanma took a pass near the sideline, avoided a defender, and streaked down the sideline. But cornerback Marcus Jones had other ideas, delivering a crushing hit that knocked Ezukanma out of bounds at the 2. On the next play, defensive end D’Anthony Jones delivered a jarring blow to White to cause a fumble that was recovered by UH near the goal line.
Tech’s only first-half touchdown came on a breakaway 41-yard touchdown run by Tahj Brooks.
In the second quarter, Tech caught a break when Tune looked deep to KeSean Carter, a former Red Raider, but had his pass intercepted by Reggie Pearson Jr.
Tech’s offense sputtered for the rest of the first half as the Cougars brought pressure from all directions.
Jones, who had 10½ sacks at Long Beach (Calif.) City College in 2019, dropped Tech quarterback Tyler Shough for a 7-yard loss to force a punt. On the Red Raiders’ next possession, Shough was sacked again on third down, this time by Sedrick Williams for a 7-yard loss.
UH went on another clock-consuming, 13-play drive just before halftime, capped off by a 9-yard Seth Green catch for a 21-7 lead.
Tech trimmed the lead on an 8-yard touchdown run by Shough midway through the third quarter. Before the score, the Red Raiders had managed just 15 total yards and three punts on their previous three possessions.
Tech caught fire from that point. Brooks ended the game with a 44-yard touchdown run, his second of the game.