Josh Hoover passed for 344 yards and connected on his third touchdown with an 84-yarder to Eric McAlister with 5:10 left, helping TCU come back from a 17-point deficit to defeat Texas Tech 35-34 on Saturday.
“Heck of a football game. We were fortunate to come out on the good end of it,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said. “It was not pretty.”
Texas Tech was moving the ball to set up a chance for a game-winning field goal when freshman quarterback Will Hammond fumbled at the TCU 27 with 1:38 remaining. Hammond had replaced injured starter Behren Morton and was trying to gain a few extra yards when he was hit hard by 320-pound nose tackle Hakeem Ajijolaiya.
Initially, Hammond was ruled down, but that call was changed after a replay review.
“On that play, you see the fumble. … You’ve got to see definitive recovery,” Tech coach Joey McGuire said. “From our point of view, our tablets, everything like that, you couldn’t see a definitive recovery … we felt like Will had the ball, and we’re going to the next play.”
Hoover completed 21 of 32 passes and dealt with three turnovers of his own, including a fumble while being sacked and two interceptions. The Horned Frogs (5-3, 3-2 Big 12) won back-to-back conference games for the first time since their undefeated regular season in 2022.
He also threw an 8-yard touchdown to tight end DJ Rodgers in the fourth quarter, which was set up by a 52-yard pass to Jack Bech.
“We’re so darn streaky at times offensively,” Dykes said. “We just have to continue to get better.”
The Red Raiders (5-3, 3-2) led 31-14 after Hammond threw a touchdown and ran for another on their first two drives of the second half. Morton did not return after injuring his left shoulder while being sacked on a third-down play with 36 seconds left in the first half.
X-rays were inconclusive, and McGuire suggested it could be a collarbone injury. Morton was seen in a sling and will be re-evaluated when the team gets back home.
TCU had a 14-3 lead in the first quarter after receiver Savion Williams took a direct snap for a 35-yard touchdown run and had a 75-yard catch-and-run for another score. The senior, who was a former high school quarterback, spun around a defender after crossing the line of scrimmage on the touchdown run. He caught Hoover’s pass near midfield and outran defenders to the end zone.
Williams had 11 carries for 72 yards and caught three passes for 81 yards.
Big 12 rushing leader Tahj Brooks ran 30 times for 121 yards. Place-kicker Reese Burkhardt and Hammond both had 4-yard touchdown runs for the Red Raiders.
Burkhardt’s run came on a fake field goal, where punter holder Jack Burgess tossed the ball over his shoulder, set up by Harvey Dyson’s sack and fumble recovery.
