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Texas Tech football puts the hurt on Arizona State in Big 12 opener | Report card
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- Texas Tech football puts the hurt on Arizona State in Big 12 opener | Report card
Behren Morton threw two early touchdown passes, the Texas Tech football defense got three key fourth-down stops and Tahj Brooks had another 100-yard rushing performance as the Red Raiders beat Arizona State 30-22 Saturday in a Big 12 opener at Jones AT&T Stadium.
Arizona State (3-0, 0-1 Big 12) moved within 24-16 late in the third quarter when Cam Skattebo scored one play after he broke a short pass for 66 yards to the 3-yard line. Reese Burkhardt and Gino Garcia each made fourth-quarter field goals for Tech (3-1, 1-1).
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Skattebo scored his second TD with 1:39 left. He finished with 60 yards on 18 carries.
Brooks carried 27 times for 117 yards, topping 100 for the 11th time in 14 games.
More: Can Texas Tech football make hay with manageable schedule? Our game-by-game predictions
Tech led 14-0 less than eight minutes in on Morton touchdown passes of 2 yards to Johncarlos Miller and 20 yards to Josh Kelly. The latter was set up by a C.J. Baskerville interception at the ASU 38-yard line.
ASU's comeback efforts were slowed by the fourth-down stops. Maurion Horn cut down Skattebo for no gain from the Tech 14 line in the first quarter.
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After a Conyers rushing TD gave Tech a 24-10 lead in the third, Chapman Lewis and Ben Roberts tripped quarterback Sam Leavitt for no gain from the ASU 48 on the subsequent series. Macho Stevenson also broke up a fourth-down pass with ASU at the Tech 32 in the fourth quarter.
Garcia sandwiched field goals of 30 and 39 yards around a 40-yarder by Burkhardt.
More: Jalin Conyers finds his happy place with Texas Tech football
Offense: B
Fast start, strong finish with some uneven play in between, dropped passes playing a part. It seemed every catch Caleb Douglas made mattered.
Defense: B
The Red Raiders slowed the FBS's 21st-ranked rushing offense, and their anxiety level was reduced considerably by stoning the Sun Devils twice on fourth-and-1. Bralyn Lux's absence for the second time in four games made cornerback play spotty.
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Special teams: A
Gino Garcia made two field goals, Reese Burkhardt hit one and each kicker extended one-score leads to two. Also key: Drae McCray killing a punt at the 2, and Dooda Banks blocking an extra point.
Coaching: B
In a tossup game, scoring two quick touchdowns enabled Tech to play from ahead all afternoon. The Red Raiders were ready. They piled up the penalties, though.
Braylon Rigsby #94 and John Curry #6 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders hit Sam Leavitt #10 of the Arizona State Sun Devils during the first half of the game at Jones AT&T Stadium on September 21, 2024 in Lubbock, Texas.
Overall: B
Taking advantage of an extremely favorable home schedule is one of the keys to the Red Raiders' season. Under Joey McGuire, they're 13-3 at Jones AT&T Stadium.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football report card: Grading win over ASU in Big 12 opener
