Texas Tech Red Raiders vs Baylor Bears Match Player Stats On Oct 07, 2023

Texas Tech made sure Baylor never came close to duplicating some magic from the week before, and that was a welcome ingredient on a solid all-around night for the Red Raiders in Waco on Saturday night.

Buoyed by Tahj Brooks' career rushing night and Behren Morton's career-best three touchdown passes, Texas Tech put together its most complete all-around game of the season to roll past the Bears 39-14.

Brooks pounded away at the Baylor defense for 170 yards -- his fourth game in a row of 100 or more -- and thwarted any notion of a comeback bid with an 18-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion run with 9:15 left in the game.

Against UCF in the previous game, the Bears (2-4, 1-2 Big 12) scored 26 unanswered points to rally for a 36-35 triumph. There was a brief hint of a similar rally when Monaray Baldwin pulled in a 71-yard touchdown pass from Blake Shapen early in the fourth quarter to close a game-long deficit into 24-11.

But Brooks and the Texas Tech offense punctured those hopes with a 65-yard drive that consumed 4:19. Morton supplied the final nail in Baylor's coffin when he darted into the end zone from 10 yards out with 3:38 left.

The Red Raiders (3-3, 2-1) plugged to a 17-3 halftime after jumping in front 14-0 in the first quarter on a pair of short Morton touchdown passes. Those came on two of Texas Tech's first three series, possessions that churned out 18 plays and 134 yards.

The two defenses controlled most of the rest of the half: Baylor allowed only 60 more yards after those two drives to stick close and cashed in on a Red Raiders' fumble with Isaiah Hankins' 33-yard field goal.

The Red Raiders never allowed Baylor to gain much offensive momentum, despite 341 total yards. The Bears converted only 4-of-15 third downs and were 1-of-6 on fourth down, four of those in the red zone as they were scrambling to come from behind.

Shapen passed for 324 yards to lead the Baylor offense. Morton ended with 180 yards on 19-of-26 passing for Texas Tech and didn't have to carry the offense, thanks to Brooks.

On the way to his career night, the Red Raider seniors carried 31 times and averaged 5.5 yards per tote.

Baylor Cupp caught two touchdown passes for Texas Tech.

--Field Level Media