On Friday night, Miami fell from the unbeaten ranks. Texas Tech posted messages on their social media pages about “seeing the message” about the Red Raiders being primed for an upset. All signs pointed to them being prepared. However, every great team has 1-2 games in which nothing goes right. Today was that day for Joey McGuire’s team. An offense that looked lost all day ultimately doomed the number seven-ranked team in the country. Despite the late charge by the Red Raiders, Arizona State made just enough plays to complete the Texas Tech upset by a score of 26-22.
Disjointed And Clunky Offense
On Friday, all signs pointed to Will Hammond being forced into his first start of the season. Quarterback Behern Morton was still dealing with a leg injury that prevented him from practicing all week. The prevailing thought was that the same Hammond that showed up against Utah would be prepared for a road test in Tempe. But last week in the win against Kansas, Hammond struggled mightily to throw the ball. The offense was powered by a career day out of running back Cameron Dickey. However, offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich and the coaches had to know they needed to have a game plan ready for Hammond to start. In the first quarter, it appeared Arizona State knew exactly the game plan. Hammond is very capable of running the ball. The Sun Devils sold out on the quarterback run game and shut down the Texas Tech offense.
For the rest of the game, the passing game never got off the ground. Hammond finished the game 22-for-37 for 167 yards and two passing touchdowns. What was even more surprising was the lack of involvement the running backs had in this game. Arizona State came into the game as one of the better rush defenses in the Big 12. However, giving the running backs only 12 carries (while Hammond had 15) in the game put undue pressure on Hammond. The final two touchdown drives were set up in large part thanks to the special teams, giving the offense a short field. Credit for the offense never lying down and fighting to the end, but it wasn’t enough.
Defense Held Up As Long As They Could
Knowing Morton was going to be out, there was plenty of pressure put on this defensive line coming into this game. For the most part, this defense looked like they have for this 2025 season. The Red Raider defense finished the game with four sacks and 10 TFLs. Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt felt the pressure from this defensive front all game. However, Leavitt’s composure against this unrelenting pass rush was a major reason they were able to spring the Texas Tech upset. On three different occasions in the game, Leavitt bought enough time to find a wide receiver running behind the Red Raider secondary. Additionally, Texas Tech did not have any answers for Jordyn Tyson. The future NFL-er finished the game with 10 receptions for 105 yards and one touchdown.
Perhaps the most surprising thing from this Red Raider defense was the final drive of the game. Despite the offensive struggles all day, the Texas Tech defense took the field up 22-19 with two minutes remaining. The most talented unit on the field surely would close this out. They even got Arizona State to a fourth-and-two situation with 55 seconds left. But that last of those three big plays by Leavitt occurred when he broke contain, and Tyson got behind the Red Raider secondary for a 33-yard gain. Arizona State was able to march down the field in 10 plays and score the eventual winning touchdown. The game ended with the Red Raiders’ Hail Mary attempt getting batted up in the air before falling harmlessly to the grass.
Now with Texas Tech Upset, What’s Next
These are all the miscues that occurred in the game for the Red Raiders:
- Allowing a blocked punt
- Two forced fumbles that Arizona State recovered
- Two dropped interceptions
- A roughing the passer call in the fourth quarter inside their own 10-yard line. Instead of fourth down, the Sun Devils got a fresh set of downs and scored a touchdown.
- Hammond underthrew a wide receiver badly, and the deflection resulted in an interception.
- Outgained 394-276
- Lost time of possession battled 37:12-22:48
That doesn’t even include some very questionable play calling all game, including a speed option on 4th and six to the short side of the field. Yet, there the Red Raiders were with a chance to escape Tempe with a win. There were just 120 seconds left to avoid busting their perfect season dream. Instead, this team now needs to return back to Lubbock and regroup. The race to the Big 12 title game has completely changed with this loss. However, the good news for Texas Tech is that they are welcoming Oklahoma State to Lubbock next week. It should set up to be a nice “get right” game before traveling to Kansas State.
Main Image: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
