No. 8/9 Football rallies to best Texas Tech, 63-56, in overtime
LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 8/9 Texas Football team rallied from a 15-point deficit with just over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to knock off Texas Tech, 63-56, in overtime on Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium. Texas' 63 points marked its highest offensive output since 2012, when the Longhorns scored 66 points in a road win over Ole Miss. Saturday's game, which saw 119 combined points, was the highest-scoring matchup in series history.
KEY MOMENTS
• Senior QB scored on a two-yard run to cap Texas' first possession of the game (13 plays, 75 yards, 5:49). It was his 26th career rushing touchdown, tying him with Marty Akins (1973-75) for the second-most by a quarterback in school history.
• Junior K booted a 43-yard field goal to put Texas up 10-7 after the Red Raiders scored a touchdown on their opening possession.
• Ehlinger connected with sophomore WR on a 31-yard strike to put Texas up 17-7 late in the first quarter. It was the 100th total touchdown of Ehlinger's career, making him the second Longhorn (Colt McCoy, 2006-09) and 13th player in Big 12 history to tally 100-plus touchdowns.
• After Texas Tech scored a touchdown on its first possession of the game (6 plays, 75 yards, 2:11), the Longhorns' defense forced back-to-back three-and-outs to help UT take a 17-7 lead into the second quarter.
• Senior DB logged his first interception of the season on Texas Tech's first offensive play from scrimmage after catching the Longhorns by surprise with an onside kick. Brown returned the interception 22 yards out to near-midfield.
• Sophomore RB powered in a one-yard touchdown run to give Texas a 24-14 advantage midway through the second quarter.
• Sophomore DB notched his first career interception and returned it 71 yards after Texas Tech blocked a UT punt and took over at the Longhorns' 17-yard line.
• Ehlinger connected with senior WR on a three-yard touchdown pass to give the Longhorns a 31-21 advantage at halftime.
• Sophomore DB blocked a punt that was scooped up at the two-yard line by freshman DB , who stepped into the endzone to give Texas a 38-28 advantage in the third quarter. It was the first blocked punt returned for a touchdown by the Longhorns since at Iowa State in 2011 (34 yards), a span of 111 games.
• Texas Tech took its first lead of the day, 42-38, with a 10-yard run by SaRodorick Thompson on the last play of the third quarter.
• Thompson broke a 75-yard touchdown run with just over three minutes to play in the game, giving Texas Tech a 56-41 advantage.
• Ehlinger led the Longhorns on two more quick scoring drives, first capping a four-play, 59-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass to junior WR , then finding Moore for a second time on Saturday with an 18-yard drive to close a six-play, 42-yard drive. Ehlinger found Eagles on the ensuing two-point conversion to square the game at 56-56.
• Ehlinger threw his fifth touchdown pass of the day, and third to Moore, with a 12-yard strike on the opening possession of overtime, giving Texas the early upper hand.
• Moore is the first Longhorn to catch three touchdowns in a game since in 2012 at Oklahoma State.
• Junior DB sealed Texas' win with an interception on fourth-down of Texas Tech's ensuing possession in overtime. It was Sterns' first interception since Oct. 13, 2017 vs. Baylor.
UP NEXT
The Longhorns return home to face TCU (0-1; 0-1 Big 12) on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Kickoff will be at either 11 a.m. (FOX) or 6:30 p.m. CT (ABC), with an official announcement expected on Sunday.
