WVU Falls 53-48 at No. 13 Texas Tech in Late-Night Shootout

LUBBOCK, Texas — It was the kind of game West Virginia fans stay up for, and it ended the hard way.

No. 13 Texas Tech held on for a 53-48 victory over the Mountaineers in a late-night Big 12 shootout at Galaxy Stadium that spilled into early Sunday morning. West Virginia (5-4, 2-4 Big 12) erased a 14-point halftime deficit and led 48-41 after three quarters, but the Red Raiders (8-1, 5-1) scored the final 12 points and escaped with their conference title hopes intact.

The two teams piled up 1,220 yards of offense, including 894 before halftime. Texas Tech quarterback Thomas Castellanos threw for a career-high five touchdowns, completing 18 of 27 passes for 362 yards without an interception and adding 102 yards on the ground.

West Virginia quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. answered in kind. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 303 yards and a touchdown and ran for three scores. Those three rushing touchdowns pushed his season total to 19, an FBS-leading mark that ties a West Virginia record set by Ira Errett Rodgers in 1919. Cam Cook ran for 149 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, and redshirt freshman Taron Francis finished with three catches for 169 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown and a 75-yard reception that set up another score.

The first half was a track meet. Castellanos hit Terrance Carter Jr. for a 30-yard score to open the night, Amari Latimer answered with a 3-yard run, and Jack Cassidy put West Virginia ahead 10-7 with a 30-yard field goal. J'Koby Williams immediately went 75 yards for a touchdown, and the lead kept changing hands. Hawkins found Francis for that 73-yard strike to make it 24-21, but Texas Tech answered with three more scores before the break — a 1-yard catch by Jett Carpenter, a 38-yard strike to Kenny Johnson, and a 1-yard run by Joyner — for a 41-27 halftime lead. Cassidy added a 29-yard field goal in between those Texas Tech scores. Williams finished with 160 rushing yards.

Then the Mountaineer defense flipped the script. After Texas Tech piled up 494 yards in the first half, West Virginia forced punts on the Red Raiders' first four drives after the break, starting with a 15-yard sack by K.J. Henson. Hawkins scored from 2 yards out, Cook punched in a 2-yard tying touchdown after Francis' 75-yard catch, and Matt Sieg's 74-yard punt return set West Virginia up at the Texas Tech 6. Hawkins scrambled in from 3 yards out with 1:12 left in the third quarter for a 48-41 lead.

Texas Tech finally answered with a long drive that ended in Stone Harrington's 46-yard field goal, cutting the lead to 48-44 with 7:55 remaining. After West Virginia was stuffed on third-and-1 and punted, Castellanos kept a 69-yard drive alive with a 26-yard completion to Micah Hudson on fourth-and-3, then hit Johnson for a 5-yard go-ahead touchdown with 2:44 left. Johnson and Carter each finished with two scoring catches.

West Virginia's next series ended when Hawkins was sacked on fourth down. The Mountaineer defense then held Texas Tech on fourth-and-2 at the 6, giving the offense the ball at its own 4. On the first play, Texas Tech's Trey White sacked Hawkins in the end zone for a safety that made it 53-48 with 1:24 remaining. West Virginia's onside kick was recovered by the Red Raiders, who knelt out the clock.

West Virginia finished with 582 total yards, including 279 on the ground against the Big 12's top rushing defense, and did not turn the ball over. Texas Tech had 638 yards and also did not turn it over. The quarter-by-quarter score read 17-14, 10-27, 21-0, and 0-12.

The Mountaineers host Kansas on Saturday.