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Texas Tech football takeaways: Red Raiders hold on for the win over ACU
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- Texas Tech football takeaways: Red Raiders hold on for the win over ACU
It was hardly the picture-perfect beginning to open the revamped Jones AT&T Stadium, but the Texas Tech football team held on for a 52-51 win over FCS foe Abilene Christian in overtime on Saturday.
The Wildcats refused to go away and found great success through the air against the Red Raiders (1-0). Luckily, Behren Morton (30-of-42, 378 yards) set a new career-high with five touchdown passes and established his new favorite target in Josh Kelly (10 catches, 156 yards, TD) and Tahj Brooks moved a bit closer to Tech's all-tie rushing record with 153 yards and a score on 27 carries.
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The Wildcats (0-1) had little trouble through the air with Maverick McIvor totaling 506 yards and three touchdowns.
Jalin Conyers and Behren Morton of Texas Tech celebrate after a touchdown during the first half of the game against Abilene Christian at Jones AT&T Stadium on August 31, 2024 in Lubbock, Texas.
Leave those concerns over Texas Tech football quarterback's shoulder in the past
While the first drive of the game was mainly to establish the running game with Tahj Brooks, Behren Morton had plenty of opportunity to show that his shoulder is, in fact, ready for action .
Morton threw for a trio of touchdowns — the third time in his career to achieve that feat — in the first half. He connected with Coy Eakin for two of those scores, one on a run-pass option that the Wildcats bit on. Morton flung the ball past the ACU defender creeping toward the line and hit Eakin, who took it the rest of the way for an 18-yard score.
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Morton's best throw of the day came in a desperate situation. Facing fourth-and-13 from the ACU 36, Morton lofted a ball into the end zone for tight end Jalin Conyers, who was well covered. The ball was placed perfectly and Conyers did the rest, bringing in the pass, getting his foot down and securing his first touchdown as a Red Raider. The Gruver native also had a two-point conversion after Tech's second score of the game.
The Eastland native completed 13 of his 17 pass attempts in the first half for 167 yards and the three scores.
Texas Tech football defense can't wrangle the Wildcats
After a pair of successful stops to open the game, including a fumble recovery by De'Braylon Carroll, Abilene Christian started to pick the Texas Tech defense apart with short and intermediate throws, adding some running plays and moving the ball with relative ease.
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Former Texas Tech quarterback Maverick McIvor hooked up with Jed Castles, another former Red Raiders, for a 31-yard score and hit Blayne Taylor in stride for a 71-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to cut into the deficit.
At the half, the Wildcats outgained the Red Raiders 279-256, ran five more plays and had the ball for 16:57 of game time in the first two quarters.
The defense is going to need some major adjustments if a mid-level FCS team is going to have this kind of success against the Red Raiders.
Drae McCray was Texas Tech football's MVP in the win
One of the nation's top kickoff returners a year ago, Drae McCray resumed his role as a spark plug for the Red Raiders on Saturday.
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McCray averaged 55 yards in his first three returns, cutting through the ACU special teams with returns of 74 and 65 yards to help put the Red Raiders in good position. Tech paid off the 65-yarder with a 35-yard flea flicker from Morton to Josh Kelly, giving Morton the first four-touchdown game of his career through the air.
ACU started to kick away from McCray for the rest of the game.
Abilene Christian was not scared
After shaking off the cobwebs in the first quarter, the Wildcats and their cache of exiled Red Raiders took it to the home team. McIvor found Nehemiah Martinez on a 30-yard touchdown early in the fourth to make it a 39-35 game, McIvor's third throwing score of the contest.
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The Wildcats continued to dice up the Texas Tech secondary throughout the night while the front seven was unable to get the pressure on the quarterback.
Heralded reserves don't get much time for Texas Tech football
Given the close nature of the game, the Red Raiders weren't able to get as deep into their bench and they would have hoped.
Backup quarterback Cameran Brown got in on a handful of plays, handling the ball once on a QB draw that gained minimal yardage. Five-star freshman Micah Hudson also saw the field, though sparingly. One of the few passes thrown with Hudson on the field was bubble screen to the opposite side of the field.
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Freshman running back Cameron Dickey got one carry for five yards.
UP NEXT
The Red Raiders travel to Pullman to take on Washington State at 9 p.m. Saturday (FOX). Washington State handled Portland State 70-30 in its season opener.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football takeaways: Red Raiders hold on for the win over ACU
