Texas Tech rallies for wild 51-48 OT victory over Oklahoma
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 26: Nehemiah Martinez I #20 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders catches a pass during the third quarter against the Oklahoma Sooners at Jones AT&T Stadium on November 26, 2022 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Getty
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - Trey Wolff made a 35-yard field goal in overtime after a tying kick in the final seconds of regulation, and Texas Tech erased an 18-point deficit in a 51-48 win over Oklahoma on Saturday night.
Dillon Gabriel threw for 449 yards and six touchdowns, but the OU quarterback was sidelined briefly in OT after a hard hit from safety Reggie Pearson Jr. on a catch on a throwback play.
The Sooners appeared out of sync on offense and had to settle for a 34-yard field goal try from Zach Schmit after Gabriel was sacked. The kick was wide right.
After Wolff's winner, Texas Tech fans stormed the field just as they did after an OT victory over Texas in September.
The Red Raiders ended a 10-game losing streak against OU and beat the Sooners and Longhorns in the same season for the first time in coach Joey McGuire's first season.
Texas Tech (7-5, 5-4 Big 12) secured a winning conference record for the first time since 2009.
MORE: Texas Tech Red Raiders Coverage on FOX 4
The Sooners (6-6, 3-6) couldn't hold a 24-6 second-quarter lead, giving up 24 consecutive points from late in the second quarter to early in the third on the way to six lead changes in the second half and overtime.
Oklahoma finished the regular season without a winning record for the first time since 1998 in a disappointing debut for coach Brent Venables.
"I thought they did a great job of executing, finding the plays within a couple of those drives where they executed at the most critical moments," Venables said. "And we didn't."
Texas Tech’s Tyler Shough threw for a career-high 436 yards with two scores, but he was intercepted by C.J. Coldon to set up Schmit’s tiebreaking 43-yard field goal with four minutes remaining.
Shough put the Red Raiders in position for the tie in the final seconds. Wolff’s first kick was blocked by Josh Ellison, but Venables had called a timeout. Wolff made the 43-yarder on the second try.
"One day, people might not need to ice him, because when you ice him, he's perfect," McGuire said. "What a huge kick. He's done it all year for us."
Oklahoma's Marvin Mims Jr. had a career-high 162 yards receiving and two touchdowns, and Brayden Willis also had two TD grabs. Eric Gray rushed for 161 yards.
MORE: Oklahoma Sooners Coverage on FOX 4
Jerand Bradley also finished with a career best in receiving yards with 173 for Texas Tech, and he had a 44-yard tiebreaking TD catch in the fourth quarter.
Texas Tech's SaRodorick Thompson had two rushing TDs.
FIT TO BE TIED
There were three tying scores in the fourth quarter, starting with Gabriel's 5-yard pass to Willis for 38-38. After Bradley's 44-yarder, Jalil Farooq had a 1-yard catch for 45-45. Then there was the exchange of field goals.
The Red Raiders had to convert a fourth-and-7 to keep their drive to the tying field goal alive. Shough completed a 14-yard pass to Loic Fouonji.
Gabriel was 28 of 40 and Shough 31 of 50, with each throwing an interception.
"We knew it was going to be a dogfight," Shough said. "We started slow, not how we wanted to start, but I’m proud of how we fought."
THE TAKEAWAY
Oklahoma: Gabriel opened the scoring with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Mims on fourth-and-2 in the first quarter, but two failed fourth-down tries in the third quarter led to a pair of Texas Tech touchdowns.
Texas Tech: First-year play-caller Zach Kittley dug deep into the bag of tricks with backup quarterback Donovan Smith scoring on a run and a pass and 310-pound defensive tackle Jaylon Hutchings rumbling in from the 1.
UP NEXT
Both teams await their bowl assignments.