LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Tahj Brooks ran for 172 yards while scoring the tying and go-ahead touchdowns, Behren Morton threw two TDs to Coy Eakin and Texas Tech held on to beat Cincinnati 44-41 on Saturday night when the Bearcats missed a 51-yard field goal attempt on the game’s final play.
Nathan Hawks’ game-ending kick was wide right after Cincinnati (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) had gone 58 yards from their own 10 after the Red Raiders’ only punt came right after the two-minute timeout. Brendan Sorsby, who finished with 426 yards and four TDs passing, had completions of 28 and 19 yards on that final drive when the Bearcats lost 20 seconds because of two clock runoffs — one after an injury, and another after a potential targeting penalty that was reviewed but not enforced after their quarterback took a shot sliding at the end of a short run.
Brooks tied the game at 24 on a 1-yard TD run that came with 1:39 left in the first half. Tech went ahead to stay after linebacker Jacob Rodriguez recovered a fumble in Cincinnati territory only 2 1/2 minutes after halftime to set up a 2-yard score by Brooks.
A.J. McCarthy returned an interception 51 yards for a Tech touchdown early in the fourth quarter for a 41-27 lead after Sorsby’s first pick this season came on his 149th attempt.
Morton completed 19 of 29 passes for 251 yards as the Red Raiders (4-1) moved to 2-0 in the Big 12 for the first time since 2013. They wrapped up a three-game homestand by extending its home winning streak to six games and improving to 14-3 at home under under third-year coach Joey McGuire.
Cincinnati lost running backs Corey Kiner and Evan Pryor with unspecified injuries. Kiner only had three carries on Cincinnati’s opening drive. Pryor, who had a 1-yard TD before halftime, never returned after a 36-yard carry in the third quarter.
Freshman running back Manny Covey, the third-teamer, turned a screen pass in to a 71-yard score two plays after Sorsby’s interception. Gino Garcia kicked a 27-yard field goal for the Red Raiders before Covey added a 3-yard TD catch with 3:32 left.
Hawks made field goals of 37 and 26 yards, but missed a 42-yard attempt on the final play of the first half.
The takeaway
Cincinnati: The Bearcats finished with 555 total yards, but with Kiner and Pryor both hurt and them falling behind after halftime, their offense became pretty one-dimensional. Cincinnati had trailed for only 17 seconds through their first four games, after Pittsburgh’s field goal in the final minute for a 28-27 win after scoring the game’s last 15 points on Sept. 7.
Texas Tech: Brooks had his 16th career 100-yard rushing game, his fourth in a row and 12th in his last 15 games — he had at least 95 yards in each of those three games in that span without breaking the century mark. … The Red Raiders are 9-1 in one-possession games at home under McGuire.
Up next
Cincinnati: Has an open date before playing at UCF on Oct. 12.
Texas Tech: Plays at Big 12 newcomer Arizona next Saturday night.
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