First time since 2012!
www.sportswriters.net
DALLAS (FWAA) – The Texas Tech Red Raiders drove 71 yards in the final two minutes Saturday, scoring with just 19 seconds left to stay in contention for a spot in the Big 12 Championship game with a 23-22 win at Iowa State. For gaining its first win against a Top 10 program on the road since 2011, Texas Tech earned the Cheez-It National Team of the Week award for games the weekend of Nov. 2, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the fifth time for Texas Tech (6-3) to win the weekly award and the first time since Oct. 13, 2012, when it won against then-No. 5 West Virginia, 49-14. That game also marks the last time the Red Raiders beat a top 10 team at home or away. Iowa State was ranked 10th in the coaches poll and 11th in the AP poll last week.
Texas Tech running back Tahj Brooks took the direct snap and ran in from five yards out for the winning score, negating Iowa State’s go-ahead touchdown with 2:11 to play. Brooks was the catalyst, earning his ninth 100-yard effort of the season (all nine games) with 25 carries for 122 yards and the score to go over 4,000 rushing yards for his career. Brooks is just the third Red Raider and ninth Big 12 player in history to reach 4,000 career yards. He joins Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty as the only rushers in the country to rush for at least 100 yards in every game this season (minimum of 7 games).
Tech signal-caller Behren Morton was efficient and effective, especially late. The junior quarterback, who was knocked out of last week's game against TCU with an injury to his left (non-throwing) shoulder, came back to complete 21 of 40 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. Morton’s 237 yards came against an Iowa State defense entering the game allowing 133.7 passing yards per game, the second-lowest average in the FBS. On the winning drive, Morton converted a fourth-and-seven play with an 8-yard pass to Josh Kelly to extend the drive in rainy conditions.
The win is Texas Tech’s first against a Top 10 team on the road since toppling then-No.1 Oklahoma in 2011 and marks the first time head coach Joey McGuire has defeated a top-10-ranked team. McGuire has the Red Raiders with their best start through nine games since 2013 when they were 7-2 at this point. The win also kept Iowa State (7-1) from its first 8-0 start in school history.
“I'm so proud of the team because there were so many times when you’re talking about highs and lows in a football game, with us causing turnovers and not getting anything out of it, and us being able to stand up on defense whenever we turn the ball over,” Tech head coach Joey McGuire said. “Huge win for us. We get bowl eligible, and it keeps us in the mix. And I couldn’t be more proud of this football team.”
The win gives Texas Tech back-to-back road wins at Iowa State (also 2022) and three straight in the series.
The Red Raiders host Colorado (6-2) at 4 p.m. ET Saturday in a national broadcast on FOX, which will also bring its Big Noon Kickoff set to Lubbock as well. McGuire is now 9-2 in games played in the months of November or December.
Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2024 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Cheez-It "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.
Texas Tech is Cheez-It National Team of the Week
Red Raiders topple Iowa State in Ames in final minute, earn first top-10 road win since 2011
DALLAS (FWAA) – The Texas Tech Red Raiders drove 71 yards in the final two minutes Saturday, scoring with just 19 seconds left to stay in contention for a spot in the Big 12 Championship game with a 23-22 win at Iowa State. For gaining its first win against a Top 10 program on the road since 2011, Texas Tech earned the Cheez-It National Team of the Week award for games the weekend of Nov. 2, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the fifth time for Texas Tech (6-3) to win the weekly award and the first time since Oct. 13, 2012, when it won against then-No. 5 West Virginia, 49-14. That game also marks the last time the Red Raiders beat a top 10 team at home or away. Iowa State was ranked 10th in the coaches poll and 11th in the AP poll last week.
Texas Tech running back Tahj Brooks took the direct snap and ran in from five yards out for the winning score, negating Iowa State’s go-ahead touchdown with 2:11 to play. Brooks was the catalyst, earning his ninth 100-yard effort of the season (all nine games) with 25 carries for 122 yards and the score to go over 4,000 rushing yards for his career. Brooks is just the third Red Raider and ninth Big 12 player in history to reach 4,000 career yards. He joins Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty as the only rushers in the country to rush for at least 100 yards in every game this season (minimum of 7 games).
Tech signal-caller Behren Morton was efficient and effective, especially late. The junior quarterback, who was knocked out of last week's game against TCU with an injury to his left (non-throwing) shoulder, came back to complete 21 of 40 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. Morton’s 237 yards came against an Iowa State defense entering the game allowing 133.7 passing yards per game, the second-lowest average in the FBS. On the winning drive, Morton converted a fourth-and-seven play with an 8-yard pass to Josh Kelly to extend the drive in rainy conditions.
The win is Texas Tech’s first against a Top 10 team on the road since toppling then-No.1 Oklahoma in 2011 and marks the first time head coach Joey McGuire has defeated a top-10-ranked team. McGuire has the Red Raiders with their best start through nine games since 2013 when they were 7-2 at this point. The win also kept Iowa State (7-1) from its first 8-0 start in school history.
“I'm so proud of the team because there were so many times when you’re talking about highs and lows in a football game, with us causing turnovers and not getting anything out of it, and us being able to stand up on defense whenever we turn the ball over,” Tech head coach Joey McGuire said. “Huge win for us. We get bowl eligible, and it keeps us in the mix. And I couldn’t be more proud of this football team.”
The win gives Texas Tech back-to-back road wins at Iowa State (also 2022) and three straight in the series.
The Red Raiders host Colorado (6-2) at 4 p.m. ET Saturday in a national broadcast on FOX, which will also bring its Big Noon Kickoff set to Lubbock as well. McGuire is now 9-2 in games played in the months of November or December.
Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2024 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Cheez-It "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.
