Story by
Slow-starting offense comes back to bite Texas Tech football in loss at Arizona State
- Story by
- Slow-starting offense comes back to bite Texas Tech football in loss at Arizona State
TEMPE, Ariz. — Joey McGuire said he let his players down.
And even though the Texas Tech football team's highly touted defense allowed a game-winning 10-play drive in the final two minutes Saturday, Oct. 18, in a 26-22 loss at Arizona State , it was the offense's near-daylong struggles that had the Red Raiders ' coach second-guessing himself.
Advertisement
Preface the following by noting that starting quarterback Behren Morton , sidelined by a lower-leg injury, spent the sunny afternoon at Mountain America Stadium in a cap, shorts, and a team T-shirt. McGuire and offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich couldn't push the right buttons to get young backup Will Hammond going until late in the game.
More: Texas Tech football vs Arizona State highlights: Red Raiders' comeback falls short vs Sun Devils
More: David Bailey's bringing heat, and NFL scouts are noticing Texas Tech football sack artist
Before Tech scored two touchdowns with 3:45 and 2:00 left to go in front, the Red Raiders were stopped on the series before when Cameron Dickey was thrown for a loss on fourth-and-6 at the ASU 8-yard line.
Advertisement
That's one thing that will keep McGuire awake.
"Offensively, going back and pushing the ball a little bit more downfield, talking to Mack about doing that," McGuire said. "When we were down there and they stopped us on fourth down, we checked to speed option and had a pretty decent play. We thought we had that, and that was me, not Mack."
McGuire said the original play call was a pass to tight end Johncarlos Miller.
The speed option never had a chance as a Sun Devils defender quickly penetrated into the backfield.
"We had a pass to Johncarlos and probably should have stuck with it," McGuire said. "They gave us a good look. It's frustrating sometimes, running into the boundary, you kind of run out of real estate."
Oct 18, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils defensive lineman Anthonie Cooper (96) sacks Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Will Hammond (15) in the second half at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Morton, though oft-injured, had started Tech's previous 22 regular-season games. Hammond finished 22 of 37 for 167 yards. His 30-yard strike to Coy Eakin gave Tech a 7-6 lead in the second quarter. After Eakin's 39-yard punt return, Hammond's 12-yard pass to Reggie Virgil and his two-point conversion gave Tech a short-lived 22-19 edge with 2:00 left.
Advertisement
Those were bright spots on a mostly rough day for the offense. Tech's 276 yards total offense was a 21-game low, the fewest since a loss to Texas in 2023. Dickey, coming off a 263-yard rushing performance the week before, had only 40 yards on 9 carries.
Hammond had a team-high 15 rushing attempts for 47 yards.
"We were trying to favor his strengths, trying to get him going early," McGuire said. "That's a really good tackling defense. They've done a good job stopping the run. They did a good job today limiting the run, and I thought they did a really good job of coming off blocks and limiting some plays you'd think would be 4- or 5-yard gains, and they were 2-yard gains."
Tech was below 200 yards before its two late touchdown drives. As was his pattern in games against Utah and Kansas , Hammond finished strong after a slow start.
Oct 18, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders wide receiver Coy Eakin (3) catches a touchdown pass against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the first half at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
"The kid's a dog," Eakin said. "My first year playing as a starter, I was extremely nervous every game. He's never nervous. He executes the game plan. He just needs to keep going — and I think he played great. We just left some things on the table as a whole, not just as an offense."
Advertisement
Tech is 6-1, Arizona State 5-2. Both are 3-1 in the Big 12, tucked one game behind Brigham Young (7-0, 4-0) and Cincinnati (6-1, 4-0).
Arizona State won its 10th consecutive home game and is 8-1 in its past nine games decided by seven points or fewer. It was the Sun Devils' first win over a top-10 opponent since they beat then-No. 6 Oregon on Nov. 23, 2019.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Slow-starting offense comes back to bite Texas Tech football at ASU
