Non-offensive touchdowns. Texas Tech scored two touchdowns that didn’t come from their offense – one kick return and one fumble return. If the offense is going to continue to disappear in the second half of games (only scored 10 offensive points in the second half), then these scores will be absolutely necessary to win games.
Penalties. This officiating crew was all over the place. They called phantom penalties on both teams, some of which were back-breaking and momentum-wrecking. This is just the Achilles heal on an otherwise decent game.
Goal line stand. That goal line stand near the end of the first half was a thing of beauty. After several personal foul penalties that put Baylor inside the 5, Tech was able to withstand several run attempts and turned Baylor over on 4th and 1 from the 1. This was the middle of the final three possessions for Baylor where they went: fumble, turnover on downs, and interception.
Onside kick recovery. Once Baylor scored their second TD, you could feel some momentum starting to shift. Being the pessimist I am, I was worrying this was the start to a collapse that would see Tech fold. Baylor attempted an onside kick and Jax Welch, redshirt freshman DB, smartly calls for a fair catch. The kick never hit the ground and even though Baylor recovered the ball after it went 10 yards, because Welch had called for a fair catch, Baylor was hit with a kick catch interference penalty and the ball went to Tech. The Red Raiders scored a touchdown two plays later and essentially doused any fire to the building Baylor momentum.
Second-half offense. Tech was fairly ho-hum today in pretty much every statistical category. In fact, if you were to compare stats without knowing the teams, you would think the team that scored 38 points would have had 523 yards instead of 337. The Tech offense was noticeably absent again late in a game. Their only touchdown came after the onside attempt from Baylor where they only had to drive 30-something yards. The +3 turnover margin for Tech today held Baylor far enough away from threatening in this game, but more performances like this one and this team has won its final game in 2017.
