Texas Tech Falls to Oklahoma State 45-35 in Big 12 Opener

The Texas Tech Red Raiders kicked off Big 12 play last night as they made the trip up to Stillwater, Oklahoma on ESPN's Thursday night game. It would turn into the shootout this matchup normally is, but the Red Raiders were unable to mount a comeback, falling to the Cowboys by a final score of 45-35.

Daxx Garman threw for 370 yards and four touchdowns as he completed 17 of 31 passes and ran for a score in his second start since stepping in for the injured J.W. Walsh.

The secondary had their hands full for Texas Tech as Oklahoma State's offense racked up 370 yards through the air. Marcell Ateman had career highs of six catches and 130 yards, James Washington had three catches for 87 yards and two touchdowns, while Desmond Roland ran for 86 yards and a score for Oklahoma State who improves to 3-1 on the year and 1-0 in Big 12 play.

For Texas Tech, Davis Webb (pictured above on the left) passed for 374 yards and four touchdowns for Texas Tech (2-2, 0-1) before leaving the game in the fourth quarter because of a left shoulder injury.

Rumors are that Webb separated his non-throwing shoulder on a scramble that left him vulnerable as he dove towards the ground resulting in the injury. He would not return.

Brad Marquez had eight catches for 106 yards, Jakeem Grant had a career-high 12 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown, and Reginald Davis caught two touchdown passes.

Freshman quarterback Patrick Mahomes (pictured below on the right) saw his first playing time of the year, filling in for the injured Davis Webb. He finished the game completing two of five pass attempts including a late touchdown pass to Jakeem Grant to bring Tech back to with in ten points. He would also throw his first interception of his career as he was trying to avoid a sack.

Coach Kliff Kingsbury was not impressed by his team's performance.

"I've never seen a team shoot itself in the foot as many times as we did tonight," said Kingsbury. "It was embarrassing football, honestly. That's the only way to put it."

Tech once again struggled in the penalty department. They were flagged 16 times for 158 yards, including a block in the back that negated Jakeem Grant's scoring kickoff return.

Defensively, Mike Smith, who took over as Texas Tech's interim defensive coordinator after Matt Wallerstedt resigned from their shared position as co-defensive coordinators, helped the Red Raiders show signs of improvement.

However, the team still surrendered 528 total yards resulting in 45 Oklahoma State points.

"I just thought that we were trying to take away the run, so we left the corners out there one-on-one, and they took advantage of it," Kingsbury said.  "They took a bunch of shots, kept making plays."

Texas Tech will resume Big 12 play on Saturday when the team makes the trip up to Manhattan, Kansas as they take on the Wildcats of Kansas State. Kickoff for that game is set for next Saturday at 6 p.m. from Bill Snyder Family Stadium, and you can hear the countdown to kickoff show right here on Sports Radio 1340 the FAN starting at 3 p.m.