AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Once again the Texas Tech Red Raiders were piling up points only to watch their defense wilt as an opponent matched them touchdown for touchdown.
This time, the Red Raiders finally got the fourth-quarter plays they needed — on both sides of the ball — to put away a wild 48-45 win over Texas on Thursday night, their first road win in the rivalry since 1997.
DeAndre Washington ran for 173 yards and two touchdowns and Texas Tech overcame a breakout performance from Longhorns freshman tailback Chris Warren III. Washington has 1,455 yards this season in an offense that also has a 4,000-yard passer in quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“He’s been phenomenal. On our offense, which is predominantly pass first, we’ve found ways to get him the ball. He’s just a man on a mission,” Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said.
Washington had to do everything he could to match Warren, who set a Texas freshman record with 276 yards rushing and scored four touchdowns as Texas rallied from 10 points down in the third quarter to take the lead. Texas Tech then got fourth-quarter touchdown runs by Justin Stockton and Jakeem Grant.
Texas Tech (7-5, 4-5 Big 12) rolled up 665 total yards. The teams combined for nine touchdowns in the second half.
Mahomes passed for 372 yards and a touchdown for Texas Tech, which hadn’t beaten Texas since 2008. Mahomes set up Stockton’s go-ahead touchdown with a 40-yard pass to Grant to the Texas 1.
Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes, who came on for injured started Jerrod Heard in the second quarter, ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
The loss sent Texas (4-7, 3-5) to its second consecutive losing season under second-year coach Charlie Strong.
“You’re looking at a young group. I think they will bounce back and learn and will only make them stronger,” Strong said. “I was proud of how hard our players kept fighting, that’s what you want to see.”
Even with Mahomes and Washington moving the ball, Texas Tech’s defense couldn’t do anything to stop Warren, who scored on runs of 91, 23, 21 and 8 yards. The 91-yarder in the second quarter was the fourth longest in Texas school history.
Warren kept pounding and slicing through one of the worst rush defenses in the country to keep Texas in the game. His last touchdown gave Texas a final chance, but Texas Tech recovered an onside kick with two minutes left and picked up a key first down on a run by Mahomes before running out the clock.
Warren had only 18 carries on the season coming in and got the start because of injuries to D’Onta Foreman and Johnathan Gray.
“I told Chris Warren ‘I guarantee you will have a breakout game,” Strong said. “We knew what we had with him. Just a big strong physical runner.”
The Longhorns got another blow when Heard left the game because of concerns about a possible concussion. He took several hard hits early and finally left after a sack when he was tackled around the legs and his head appeared to bounce off the ground.
Strong said after the game Heard was still being evaluated. Texas plays at Baylor next week to end the regular season.
With Warren and Swoopes pounding away at the Red Raider’s defense, Mahomes’ big pass to Grant to set up Stockton’s touchdown that gave the Red Raiders the room they needed late.
Then the defense finally made the kind of key stop that had been missing so many times this season.
Leading 41-38, the Red Raiders forced an incomplete pass on fourth down. With the ball at the Texas 40, Grant crouched low to Mahomes just behind the offensive line and was barely visible to Texas defenders when he took the handoff.
A quick move bounced Grant to the outside on his open scamper to the end zone. Grant said the play was called “Hook’em” and was just put in this week. Grant finished with 147 total yards.
“I just knew if I put it in Jakeem’s hands … if he got some space he was gonna score,” Mahomes said.