Texas Tech Opens 1-0 with Four Field Goals and a 23-point Cushion
Four field goals from Stone Harrington, and a quarterback who threw for 298 yards without needing to be a hero. That was Texas Tech's 33-10 win over Abilene Christian, and the Red Raiders led from the first score to the last.
They scored first, Quinten Joyner running in from 14 yards, and J'Koby Williams made it 14-0 from five yards out before the first quarter ended. Then Harrington took over. He kicked from 23, 28, 33 and 45 yards, three of them in the third quarter alone, which turned a 17-3 game into 26-3 by the time that quarter ended. Nobody puts a kicker on a poster, but that is 12 points of pure patience, and it is why a game that never felt close never became close either.
Texas Tech finished with 471 yards, 298 through the air and 173 on the ground over 39 carries, and sacked the other side three times. Will Hammond was 26 of 33 with one interception and put the game away with a 64-yard touchdown to Malcolm Simmons with 2:45 left. Abilene Christian answered 16 seconds later with Alex Broome's 98-yard kickoff return, its only touchdown. Take that one away and the final reads 33-3, which is closer to what the rest of the game looked like.
Texas Tech is 1-0 and Abilene Christian is 0-1. For fantasy purposes the Red Raider backfield is one to watch: Williams caught eight passes, Cameron Dickey carried 14 times and Joyner scored too, so the work is shared. Be careful paying for anyone's first-week number.