Texas Tech 41, Tarleton State 3
Associated Press
LUBBOCK, Texas - Malik Dunlap returned the first of his two interceptions for a touchdown, Tahj Brooks set a career high with 158 yards rushing and Texas Tech got its first win of the season, beating lower-division Tarleton State 41-3.
The Red Raiders (1-2) led for good when Dunlap had a 54-yard interception return only 2 1/2 minutes into the game.
Tarleton State (2-1) trailed 41-0 until Adrian Guzman's 21-yard field goal with 5:04 left in the game. That came at the end of the same drive when Texans junior receiver Jaden Smith was taken off the field on a stretcher after being down near the goal line for several minutes while being treated by trainers from both teams.
ESPN’s game broadcast said Smith had a neck injury and was being taken to a local hospital. It wasn't immediately known the extent of the injury though he gave thumbs-up with both hands as the motorized cart was driving off the field. He had an incredible one-handed catch for a 33-yard gain earlier in the fourth quarter.
Tech quarterback Tyler Shough was 10-of-20 passing for 123 yards with a touchdown and ran for another score before coming out of the game after only one series in the second half. Behren Morton, a four-game starter as a redshirt freshman last year when Shough was hurt, completed 8 of 13 passes for 72 yards with two touchdowns and an interception after that.
Tarleton State, in the fourth and final season of its transition to the Football Championship Subdivision from NCAA Division II, entered the game averaging 518 total yards per game and leading the FCS with 52 points a game. The Texans were held to 342 total yards but avoided being held scoreless for the first time since midway through the 2015 season.
Texans quarterback Victor Gabalis completed 21 of 40 passes for 182 yards with three interceptions. Benjamin Omayebu had 12 catches for 76 yards.
Brooks had 140 yards on 15 carries at halftime, already surpassing his previous career high of 134 yards set against Houston in the 2021 opener. He had only four carries in the first two drives of the second half before coming out of the game.
THE TAKEAWAY
Tarleton State: The Texans didn’t have a first down on their first three drives and were already down 21-0 by then. They got to around Tech’s 33 on each of its next two possessions, but Dunlap had his second pick and the next drive ended on a fourth-down incompletion with Dunlap in coverage along the sideline.
Texas Tech: After a double-OT loss at Wyoming to open the season and a 38-30 loss at home last week to 13th-ranked Oregon, Shough’s former team, the Red Raiders, did what they needed to do against an overmatched opponent. They avoided their first 0-3 start since 1971. They have won their last 21 games against FCS opponents since losing to North Texas in 1988 but missed out on their first shutout in five years.
September 16, 2023
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
TarlSt | TxTch |
| TxTch |
TD |
12:33 |
Malik Dunlap 54 yard interception return for TD (Gino Garcia Extra Point) |
0 |
7 |
| TxTch |
TD |
8:19 |
Tyler Shough 2 yard TD run (Gino Garcia Extra Point) |
0 |
14 |
| TxTch |
TD |
4:36 |
Mason Tharp 28 yard TD pass from Tyler Shough (Gino Garcia Extra Point) |
0 |
21 |
| Second Quarter |
TarlSt | TxTch |
| TxTch |
FG |
3:17 |
Gino Garcia 28 yard field goal |
0 |
24 |
| Third Quarter |
TarlSt | TxTch |
| TxTch |
FG |
8:36 |
Gino Garcia 43 yard field goal |
0 |
27 |
| TxTch |
TD |
3:50 |
Myles Price 15 yard TD pass from Behren Morton (Gino Garcia Extra Point) |
0 |
34 |
| Fourth Quarter |
TarlSt | TxTch |
| TxTch |
TD |
10:23 |
Jordan Brown 5 yard TD pass from Behren Morton (Gino Garcia Extra Point) |
0 |
41 |
| TarlSt |
FG |
5:04 |
Adrian Guzman 21 yard field goal |
3 |
41 |
| Team Stats |
| |
Tarleton State |
Texas Tech |
| First downs |
19 |
25 |
| Rushing |
5 |
15 |
| Passing |
13 |
8 |
| Penalty |
1 |
2 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
6-17, 35% |
6-14, 43% |
| 4th down efficiency |
2-4, 50% |
2-2, 100% |
| Rushes-Yards |
36-144 |
39-217 |
| Passing Yards |
197 |
195 |
| Return Yards |
58 |
102 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
24-44-3 |
18-33-1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
3-16 |
3-15 |
| Punts |
5 |
4 |
| Fumbles Lost |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| Penalties - Yards |
5-60 |
2-25 |
| Tarleton State Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| V. Gabalis |
21 |
40 |
182 |
0 |
3 |
| D. Greek |
3 |
4 |
15 |
0 |
0 |
| Texas Tech Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| T. Shough |
10 |
20 |
123 |
1 |
0 |
| B. Morton |
8 |
13 |
72 |
2 |
1 |
| Tarleton State Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| C. Lewis |
11 |
67 |
6.1 |
0 |
| D. Kelley III |
10 |
45 |
4.5 |
0 |
| K. Britten |
9 |
40 |
4.4 |
0 |
| D. Greek |
2 |
-2 |
-1.0 |
0 |
| V. Gabalis |
4 |
-6 |
-1.5 |
0 |
| Texas Tech Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| T. Brooks |
19 |
160 |
8.4 |
0 |
| N. Martinez I |
6 |
38 |
6.3 |
0 |
| B. Donnell |
4 |
15 |
3.8 |
0 |
| B. Morton |
3 |
7 |
2.3 |
0 |
| X. White |
1 |
-1 |
-1.0 |
0 |
| T. Shough |
6 |
-2 |
-0.3 |
1 |
| Tarleton State Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| B. Omayebu |
12 |
76 |
6.3 |
0 |
| J. Smith |
4 |
62 |
15.5 |
0 |
| K. Britten |
2 |
26 |
13.0 |
0 |
| T. Swoboda |
2 |
18 |
9.0 |
0 |
| D. Otto |
2 |
10 |
5.0 |
0 |
| C. Lewis |
1 |
3 |
3.0 |
0 |
| D. Hearne |
1 |
2 |
2.0 |
0 |
| Texas Tech Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| J. Brown |
6 |
73 |
12.2 |
1 |
| M. Tharp |
3 |
43 |
14.3 |
1 |
| J. Bradley |
4 |
40 |
10.0 |
0 |
| M. Price |
2 |
22 |
11.0 |
1 |
| D. McCray |
1 |
9 |
9.0 |
0 |
| X. White |
1 |
7 |
7.0 |
0 |
| J. Sparkman |
1 |
1 |
1.0 |
0 |
| Tarleton State Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| L. Odimara |
1 |
0 |
| Texas Tech Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| M. Dunlap |
2 |
56 |
| D. Taylor-Demerson |
1 |
0 |
| Tarleton State Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| A. Guzman |
5 |
191 |
38.2 |
| Texas Tech Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| A. McNamara |
4 |
195 |
48.8 |
| Tarleton State Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Texas Tech Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Tarleton State Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| D. Rosemond |
3 |
58 |
19.3 |
| Texas Tech Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| D. McCray |
2 |
46 |
23.0 |
| Tarleton State Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| Texas Tech Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
