Behren Morton threw all three of his touchdown passes in the first half as No. 5 Texas Tech used a fast start to earn a spot in the Big 12 Conference championship game with a 49-0 victory over West Virginia on Saturday in Morgantown, W.Va.
Terrance Carter Jr. had 10 receptions for 98 yards while Caleb Douglas had two first-half touchdown receptions and Cameron Dickey recorded one in the first quarter as the Red Raiders (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) won their fifth consecutive game.
Morton completed 25 of 32 passes for 310 yards and Dickey had 79 yards rushing with another TD as Texas Tech moves on to the conference championship game against BYU at Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 6.
The 11 wins ties the Red Raiders’ program record, also accomplished in the 2008 season.
In addition to the first Big 12 championship game berth in program history, Saturday’s victory likely earned Texas Tech a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Scotty Fox Jr. completed 13 of 23 passes for 98 yards and one interception as the Mountaineers (4-8, 2-7) dropped their final two games to complete their season. It was the first time since the 2013 season West Virginia finished with less than five wins.
Texas Tech had a lopsided advantages in total yards (572-180) and first downs (32-9) as West Virginia was shut out for the first time since 2001.
The Raiders jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, getting their first score of the game when linebacker Jacob Rodriguez scored on a 1-yard run. It was Rodriguez’s second rushing TD in two weeks.
Dickey hauled in a 4-yard TD catch from Morton and Douglas added a 19-yard scoring reception in a productive first quarter. Douglas also had a 4-yard TD catch in the second quarter for a 28-0 halftime lead.
J’Koby Williams added a 9-yard TD run in the third quarter for a 35-0 lead before Morton left the game following a leg injury on a third-quarter sack. Morton has been playing through a lower leg injury.
Texas Tech backup QB Lloyd Jones III threw a 15-yard TD pass to Micah Hudson as the Red Raiders took a 42-0 lead into the fourth quarter.
Jones and Hudson hooked up again on a 30-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter.
West Virginia’s Jeff Weimer recorded six receptions for 77 yards to lead the Mountaineers.
–Field Level Media
