NCAAF

West Virginia Mountaineers at Texas Tech Red Raiders

· NCAA - Football
Final
15 - 52

Tahj Brooks shines in final home game as Texas Tech routs West Virginia 52-15

Texas Tech blows out West Virginia in regular-season finale

Texas Tech (8-4, 6-3 Big 12) briefly kept alive faint hopes for a bid in the Big 12 championship game before getting eliminated a few hours later by Arizona State's victory over Arizona.

The Red Raiders, who have eight regular-season wins for the first time since 2009 under the late Mike Leach, scored at 50 points for the second week in a row in a resounding response to consecutive home losses.

“It was a big deal for us to play well at home,” coach Joey McGuire said. “Our last two home games, we’ve had incredible crowds that had great energy, that had our backs and we played really, really bad. We were embarrassed.”

Garrett Greene threw an interception and lost a fumble on Terrell Tilmon's strip sack in the final three minutes of the first half as the Mountaineers (6-6, 5-4) raised more questions about the future of coach Neal Brown by falling behind 35-3 before the break.

“I don’t think that the first half of football necessarily defines who our players are, who we are as individuals, or who we are as a team,” Brown said. “But we’re not pleased with that.”

Behren Morton threw for 359 yards and two touchdowns, including a Caleb Douglas to put Texas Tech in front 42-3 early in the second half. Josh Kelly had 150 yards receiving.

McGuire, who will have his third winning record in three seasons, called timeout with 5:57 remaining and his team leading 45-15 to take Brooks out of the game. Brooks was mobbed by teammates as the crowd gave him a standing ovation.

Brooks ran for at least 100 yards in all 11 regular-season games he played, breaking the single-season school record of 10 he shared with Byron Hanspard and Bam Morris.

Brooks pushed his career total to 4,557 yards in his first home game since breaking Hanspard's 1996 school record of 4,219 yards two weeks ago at Jones AT&T Stadium.

“I feel like my legacy is probably being best running back Texas Tech has ever had, in my opinion,” Brooks said. “The only thing I probably haven’t done here is win the Doak Walker (Award). I feel like a lot of people can say I got misjudged on that award, and I feel like I did things that other running backs in the country didn’t do.”

Two of Brooks' TDs came on 2-yard runs from direct snaps, and the other was a 37-yarder when he stumbled on a cut but stayed on his feet and bounced off defensive back Ty French. Brooks has 17 TDs rushing this season and 45 for his career. Brooks set up one of his short TDs with a 30-yard catch.

Jahiem White ran for 124 yards with a spinning 21-yard touchdown for West Virginia, and Greene had a 15-yard scoring toss to Rodney Gallagher III. Greene threw two picks.

The takeaway West Virginia: A perfect season on the road in the Big 12 ended with a thud. The Mountaineers were 3-0 away from home in conference before allowing 29 second-quarter points followed by another TD just 2:12 into the third.

Texas Tech: Tight end Jalin Conyers, one of Brooks' fellow seniors playing his final home game, made up a for a dropped pass in the end zone with a juggling, diving catch for 18 yards to set up Morton's 1-yard scoring toss to Mason Tharp. Conyers, an Arizona State transfer, also had a 2-point conversion run on a swinging gate play from the PAT unit.

Up next Both teams are eligible for bowl games.

How To Watch

How can I watch West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders?
  • TV Channel: Mountaineers at Red Raiders 2021 College Football, week 14, is broadcasted on FS1.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Red Raiders: 58.5%
Mountaineers: 41.5%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

TTU FG 1st Period 8:27 Gino Garcia 32 Yd Field Goal
WVU FG 1st Period 3:47 Michael Hayes II 52 Yd Field Goal
TTU FG 1st Period 1:28 Gino Garcia 23 Yd Field Goal
TTU TD 2nd Period 10:32 Tahj Brooks 2 Yd Run (Gino Garcia Kick)
TTU TD 2nd Period 4:19 Mason Tharp 1 Yd pass from Behren Morton (Gino Garcia Kick)
TTU TD 2nd Period 1:35 Tahj Brooks 37 Yd Run (Jalin Conyers Run for Two-Point Conversion)
TTU TD 2nd Period 0:09 Tahj Brooks 2 Yd Run (Gino Garcia Kick)
TTU TD 3rd Period 12:48 Caleb Douglas 31 Yd pass from Behren Morton (Gino Garcia Kick)
WVU TD 3rd Period 2:04 Rodney Gallagher III 15 Yd pass from Garrett Greene (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)
TTU FG 4th Period 12:17 Gino Garcia 22 Yd Field Goal
WVU TD 4th Period 8:38 Jahiem White 21 Yd Run (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)
TTU TD 4th Period 3:36 Will Hammond 4 Yd Run (Stone Harrington Kick)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/277.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originWVU https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2641.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTTU
26 1st Downs 31
8-15 3rd down efficiency 9-12
0-2 4th down efficiency 0-0
423 Total Yards 568
265 Passing 359
29/40 Comp/Att 28/42
6.6 Yards per pass 8.5
158 Rushing 209
35 Rushing Attempts 32
4.5 Yards per rush 6.5
7-59 Penalties 3-20
3 Turnovers 1
1 Fumbles lost 0
2 Interceptions thrown 1
34:42 Possession 25:18

Game Information

Jones AT&T Stadium

Location: Lubbock, TX
Attendance: 52,785 · Capacity:
Full Standings

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