No. 10 Texas Tech scored on its first four possessions and never let Arizona State climb back into it, beating the Sun Devils 53-25 on Saturday at Galaxy Stadium in Lubbock. J’Koby Williams rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries to power the Red Raiders to 6-0.
The game broke open in the first quarter when Texas Tech scored 21 unanswered points, the last of them a 62-yard touchdown run by Williams. Arizona State answered with a 74-yard touchdown pass from Cutter Boley to Raiden Vines-Bright, but the Sun Devils trailed 21-7 after one quarter and never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way. Quarterback Mikey Keene finished 25-of-34 for 256 yards and two touchdowns for Arizona State, which fell to 3-3.
Key Moments: How Texas Tech Pulled Away
Texas Tech’s defense set the tone before the offense even took the field. Linebacker Ben Roberts intercepted a Boley pass and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown just 2:12 into the game, putting the Red Raiders up 7-0. Quarterback Will Hammond added a 9-yard rushing touchdown and Williams broke off his 62-yard score, and Texas Tech led 21-0 before Arizona State managed a first down that mattered.
The second quarter was the backbreaker. The Red Raiders scored on every possession of the period: The Red Raiders scored on every possession of the period: a 31-yard Stone Harrington field goal, a 42-yard Harrington field goal, a 38-yard Williams touchdown run, an 11-yard touchdown pass from Hammond to Coy Eakin, and a 37-yard Harrington field goal as time expired. That 22-point second quarter pushed the lead to 43-10 at halftime.
Arizona State’s lone third-quarter score, a 2-yard Keene touchdown pass to Reed Harris, cut the deficit to 43-17, but Texas Tech answered in the fourth quarter with a Harrington field goal and a 1-yard touchdown run from Terrance Carter Jr. to make it 53-17 before the Sun Devils added a late touchdown and two-point conversion.
Top Performers
Williams carried just 11 times but averaged 15.0 yards per carry with his two touchdowns, headlining a Texas Tech rushing attack that totaled 260 yards on 37 attempts, a 7.0 average per carry. Hammond completed 18 of 26 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown through the air, and added a rushing score as well.
Kenny Johnson led all receivers with seven catches for 120 yards. On defense, Roberts added his pick-six to a game that also saw John Curry intercept Boley for 16 yards, and Austin Romaine led Texas Tech with eight tackles.
For Arizona State, Keene’s 256 yards and two touchdowns through the air were not enough to offset a rushing attack that managed just 35 yards on 28 carries, a 1.3-yard average. Derek Eusebio caught seven passes for 89 yards, and Vines-Bright’s lone catch went for a 74-yard score. Jessiah McGrew paced the Sun Devils defense with 14 tackles.
What It Means
Texas Tech moved to 6-0 and continues to build a case as one of the top unbeaten teams in the country, outgaining Arizona State 502-415 in total yards despite holding the ball for nearly five fewer minutes. The Red Raiders’ ability to win possession battles with explosive plays, including touchdowns of 62 and 38 yards on the ground, has been a hallmark of their undefeated start.
Arizona State dropped to 3-3 as its running game struggled to find any traction against a Texas Tech front that limited the Sun Devils to 1.3 yards per carry. The two interceptions thrown, one of them returned for a touchdown, proved costly in a game Arizona State’s passing numbers otherwise kept close on paper.
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