LUBBOCK – Texas Tech entered Saturday’s home game vs. Arizona State with a 5-0 record, a No. 10 national ranking, yet, lacking a wow statement in any of the 10 halves of football played.
The wow has arrived.
Tech looked every bit the part of the No. 10 team in the nation racking up 43 points in the first half and rolling to a 53-25 Big 12 victory overwhelming Arizona State before 60,228 fans on Cody Campbell Field at Galaxy Stadium.
Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire was thrilled to see his team play a like first half like that, especially after the 3-point first half effort in the last time out against Colorado.
“That was something that was totally different,” McGuire said of the 43 points. “We’ve been really slow starting and then playing great in the second half. I was really excited the way we started. It wasn’t that we did anything different. We just executed better and played at a really high level.”
Here are five things we learned as Tech finishes the midway mark of its regular season at 6-0.
1. Pick Six – again
Texas Tech fifth-year senior linebacker Ben Roberts opened the scoring of the game when he jumped an out pass thrown by Arizona State quarterback Cutter Boley and returned it 24 yards untouched for a touchdown with 7:52 remaining in the first quarter.
Roberts was defending ASU star receiver Reed Harris and deftly anticipated the pass looking more wide receiver than linebacker as he stretched out on the run and easily scored.
Roberts impressive effort jump-started Tech’s best half of football all year and enabled him to join teammates and fellow linebackers Austin Romaine and Johny Curry with “pick sixes” this season.
“When I saw them motion the tight end out I I knew like with Number Three (Harris)their their top receiver right there they are gonna do something to try to challenge me and he’s going run away from me,” Roberts said. “So when I saw him break out I knew what was happening so I just undercut the route.”
Roberts said Tech’s mentality to produce turnovers starts in practice.
“I think guys are taking more chances when the balls in the air and it’s a big point that’s made during practice and throughout the week that we need to attack and we need to make plays on the balls,” Roberts said. “When the balls in the air it’s as much right ours is it is theirs so I think that the defense is doing a great job of attacking the ball and taking the message from practice to the game.”
Tech now owns four interceptions for touchdowns – aka Pick Sixes – this season – which ties the most in a season for a Big 12 team since Oklahoma in 2023.
Roberts said he was pleased to join Romaine and Curry and earn some bragging rights in the linebacker room.
“We just compete in the linebacker room so when one guy does it , it’s like ‘Hey man, I don’t care’ I’m trying to have more than you,” Roberts said.
The Tech coaching staff also presented Romaine and Curry photos of their interceptions and Roberts said he’s hoping now to own one of those.
2. Run, J’Koby, Run
Texas Tech junior running back J’Koby Williams lit up the Arizona State defense running for a career‑high 165 yards and two touchdowns. He already owned a career-high 141 yards rushing by halftime and lit the crowd up with his touchdown runs of 62 and 38 yards.
The thing is, Williams did all this damage on 11 carries averaging 15.7 yards a carry.
Williams is dazzling type running with his cut backs, quick bursts and refusal to go down to arm tackles.
Williams’ running punch was a key cog in Tech topping its previous best first-half point total this year by 22 points and busting the 500-yard mark in total offense.
Tech coach Joey McGuire is big-time Williams fan.
“Everybody needs a J’Koby Williams in their life,” McGuire said. “He’s just one of those guys that just lights up the room.”
3. Fans galore
Although it will always be The Jones to me as now the official name for the home of Texas Tech football is Galaxy Stadium, no matter what you call the place call it packed.
Saturday 60,229 tickets were sold and that means a sell-out crowd at Galaxy Stadium watched Texas Tech dismantle Arizona State leading 43-10 at halftime before settling on the 53-25 victory.
While this crowd might not have been as amped as say some night games in Lubbock, these Homecoming fans were plenty loud and made an interesting look with fans dressed in a red-out on the West side and white-out the East side.
This year in four home games Tech has drawn 60,229 fans for Abilene Christian, Houston and Arizona State, then 59,704 for the Sam Houston State game.
If one doesn’t thing fan support matters, think again.
With the over Arizona State, Tech has won 12 straight home games matching the second-longest home winning streak in program history, last accomplished during the 2007-09 seasons. Tech will attempt to tie the program’s all-time home winning streak record on Oct. 31 against Arizona. The current record spanned the 1939-42 seasons.
The 1939 season was the first time in college football helmets were made mandatory so that Tech winning streak record has been around for a long, long time.
4. Where there’s a Will, there’s a way good QB
Texas Tech junior quarterback Will Hammond played confidently, ran the ball, showed accuracy on his throws and put a lot of doubts to rest if he’s capable of playing at an elite level.
Remember, this was just Hammond’s eighth career start for Tech against Arizona State and he is coming off the torn ACL suffered last season.
Hammond finished 18-of-26 for 232 yards passing and one touchdown to Coy Eakin, a pass fit into a tight window and perfectly thrown. Hammond also kept the ASU defense off-balance with his aggressive running as he carried six times for 25 yards and one TD. Hammond also did not give up a turnover for the second game in a row.
Tech coach Joey McGuire heaped heavy praise on Hammond.
“Will grew today as a quarterback,” McGuire said. “Probably the best half of football I’ve seen him play with the decisions he made. He did some things today, extremely composed, that I haven’t seen. You’ve seen flashes. But I haven’t seen a half like that out of him.”
Hammond said the game plan was for him to run a bit more and he was pleased with the way he handled the game/
“I thought I really played really well in the first half,” Hammond said. “The whole offense played well, honestly. The o-line was incredible we rushed for like 260 tonight. So it really started with them. All the receivers played well. Yeah, it was just fun.”
Hammond did have an experience that was pretty common for him during his high school playing days for the Hutto High Hippos. One he had to laugh about.
Hammond was asked if he threw up on the first series?
He did.
“It wasn’t like I was sick or anything,” Hammond said. “I was just pretty amped up. It felt good to get that out. I did it a lot in high school. I did it one time my freshman year here (at Tech) and didn’t do it much last year.”
Well, if Hammond plays like he did Saturday a new tradition might just have started for him as a Red Raider.
5. This-n-That
The city of Amarillo is represented on the Texas Tech roster by true freshman Krush Johnson. Besides owning the perfect first name for a football player, Krush is a true freshman defensive lineman from Tascosa High. He wore No. 91 on the sidelines Saturday and with the loaded Tech roster full of talent it’s not surprising he hasn’t seen any playing time yet this season. … The son of former Canyon High and Texas Tech football play Cody Campbell – yes, that Cody Campbell who has the Tech field named after him and a reported billionaire – was on an official visit to Texas Tech Saturday. Carson Campbell is a 6-3, 290-pound sophomore offensive lineman for All Saints Episcopal School in Fort Worth. Carson has several DI offers. …. Texas Tech’s next home game will be on Halloween Oct. 31 vs. Arizona. … Tech’s first eight drives Saturday ended like this and tells the story of the dominating first half: fumble, touchdown, touchdown, field goal, field goal, touchdown, touchdown, field goal. … Tech leads the all-time series vs. Arizona State 4-3.
Photo gallery by Roy Wheeler:
