Red Raiders Dominate: Texas Tech Smothers Kent State

Texas Tech made quick work of another lesser opponent. A 2-0 start against this schedule is not going to turn the heads of anyone in the college football landscape. But it has been a welcome change in Lubbock to look this commanding for the first eight quarters of the 2025 season. Possibly the best news from this week is that all of the starters left the game healthy. The Red Raiders dominate the overmatched Golden Flashes by the score of 62-14.

Defense Dominates With Power

In week one, Shiel Wood’s defense looked to be two to three steps faster than Arkansas Pine Bluff. However, this week, the physicality displayed by the defense seemed to have a more notable impact when they made tackles or shed blocks. One sack by David Bailey looked like something found on a Reggie White highlight reel. He threw down the left tackle with one arm and hunted down quarterback Dru DeShields. That physical prowess was highlighted with a pick-six by Skyler Gill Howard in the second quarter. For consecutive weeks, the starting defense limited its opponent to under 100 yards of total offense in the first half. After the first quarter, Kent State had negative eight yards of offense. They would creep up to a total of 52 yards by halftime. The only concern for the defensive starters right now is game conditioning. Since they haven’t had to play a full game yet, how will their physicality stand up for four full quarters when they play a quality opponent?

Career Milestone

Coming into the game, Behern Morton showed up on the injury report as questionable. But by Friday, Morton was announced to be the starter. He picked right back up where he left off in week one. The veteran starter finished the game 18-for-26 passing for 258 yards and three touchdowns in just one half of work. One of those completions resulted in a milestone for tight end Terrance Carter Jr. In what would be his only reception of the game, the transfer from Louisiana secured the pass from Morton before rumbling for a total of 50 yards on the play. The reception pushed Carter over 1,000 career receiving yards for his college career.

With the score being 48-0 at halftime, Morton and many of the starters did not play after halftime. Quarterback Will Hammond came and kept the offense humming. Hammond would finish the game 7-for-10 passing for 94 yards and one touchdown. He also added three rushes for 27 yards and one touchdown. Offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich must have been pleased to see the ball spread out to plenty of receivers. A total of 11 different players had a reception in the game.

Still Room For Improvement

For anyone expecting a possible letdown, they must be disappointed as the Red Raiders dominate from the opening kickoff. While the performance was hardly a surprise, Joey McGuire and the coaches have plenty to clean up. Morton had some impressive numbers, but missed more than a handful of wide-open receivers. The defense did eventually yield 14 points, in part due to some tackling breakdowns. Kent State was able to create too many big plays despite how good the defense played most of the game. The offensive line found itself getting stuffed on two separate short-yardage situations. While the first one did eventually result in a touchdown on the goal line, the opening drive in the second half resulted in a situation in which they failed to convert a fourth down. This team has conference championship aspirations. So while a 62-14 looks great, Texas Tech needs to clean up the details if they want to make a run to the top of the Big 12 standings.