GAME RECAP: Red Raiders Survive Houston 28-26 on Friday Night in Lubbock

Friday night football came back to Lubbock for the first time since 1941, and Galaxy Stadium got the ending the night deserved. A sellout of 60,229 watched No. 13 Texas Tech climb out of a 10-0 hole, take the lead, give it back, take it again, and hold on by inches in a 28-26 win over No. 22 Houston.

Houston outgained the Red Raiders 458-425, won time of possession, and forced two interceptions. Tech answered with three rushing touchdowns, a 100-yard night from Kenny Johnson, and one last stand at the goal line. With 49 seconds left and the Cougars lining up to tie it, Conner Weigman kept the two-point try, was stopped short, and the call stood on review.

“It was low-key kind of like a movie,” Johnson said.

The night started sideways. Thomas Castellanos drew the first start at quarterback and, on the opening snap, threw a pop-fly interception while trying to escape a sack. Houston took over in plus territory and cashed it. Jack Dimas hit a 31-yard field goal at 9:27 after a 13-play, 62-yard march, then Weigman found Amare Thomas for an 11-yard touchdown that was originally spotted short of the plane and overturned on review. Tech’s first two possessions went nowhere. A three-and-out and a 60-yard punt were the sum of the opening quarter, and Houston had already snapped Tech’s streak of not trailing at home since November 2024.

Will Hammond took over in the second quarter and immediately stretched the field. A seven-play, 75-yard drive ended with Hammond hitting Johnson in stride for a 35-yard touchdown — Johnson’s longest scoring catch of his career. The defense finally created chaos when Adam Trick strip-sacked Weigman, extending Tech’s takeaway streak to 10 straight games. Tech did not score off that turnover, but the tone changed.

Hammond kept stacking explosives — six completions of 20-plus yards after a previous career high of four — and a five-play, 80-yard burst put Castellanos back in as a closer. The transfer punched in a 3-yard touchdown, his second score as a Red Raider and the 26th rushing touchdown of his career, and the run pushed him over 2,000 career rushing yards. Houston needed one answer before the half and got a dagger: Weigman dropped a 46-yard touchdown to Koby Young with 1:11 left. The Cougars, who had won their last 12 games when leading at halftime, walked to the locker room up 17-14.

Tech received the second half and did not waste it. Five plays, 75 yards. J’Koby Williams hit the edge, broke it, and raced 29 yards for the go-ahead score — his second explosive touchdown run in as many weeks after a 38-yarder at Oregon State. Houston answered the way it had all night: long, physical, and on schedule. A 13-play, 71-yard drive ate more than seven minutes. The Red Raider front finally stiffened inside the 15 and held the Cougars to a 28-yard Dimas field goal, 21-20 Tech. Houston finished 4-for-4 in the red zone. Keeping that drive to three instead of seven left Tech in front heading into the fourth.

Tech’s best drive of the night was also the most important. An 11-play, 87-yard grind chewed 6:03 off the clock. Cameron Dickey carried the dirty yards — 16 rushes, 65 yards — and finished it from a yard out for a 28-20 lead with 7:36 left.

Houston still had time, and Weigman used all of it. Starting from its own 12 with 2:44 remaining, the Cougars covered 88 yards in 10 plays. Weigman converted third down, then stacked completions to Patrick Overmyer (8 catches, 72 yards) and Re’Shaun Sanford II. On first-and-goal from the 10, he found Overmyer in the left flat for the touchdown with 49 seconds left.

Then the night narrowed to one play. Tech called timeout. Houston went for two to tie. Weigman kept it, dove for the pylon, and was ruled short. Review upheld it. Austin Romaine, who crossed 200 career tackles on the night, was the body in the hole.

“I was kind of scared,” defensive tackle A.J. Holmes Jr. said. “But once I saw the replay, I’m like, yeah, we got it.”

Houston’s onside kick traveled 12 yards and died. Tech knelt out the clock.

It was not the 2025 version of this program. Houston ran 75 plays to Tech’s 60. Weigman went 27-of-38 for 282 yards and three touchdowns. Hughes and the Cougar backs kept stacking first downs. Tech put the ball on the ground zero times and still threw two interceptions. And it was still enough.

The win was Tech’s eighth straight over Houston and knotted the all-time series at 18-18-1. It was the 10th straight home win, a 3-0 start in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2011-13, and Joey McGuire’s fourth win in five ranked-versus-ranked games. Texas Tech is now 14-5 in one-possession games under McGuire. Houston’s 12-game streaks when leading by double digits and when leading at halftime both died in Lubbock.

“It hasn’t looked pretty, man,” McGuire said. “But you know, we’re continually finding a way.”

Friday night lights. A 10-point hole. A last-snap review. The Red Raiders are 3-0, 1-0 in the Big 12, and still looking for the version of themselves that bullied this league a year ago. For one night, finding a way was the whole show.

Texas Tech: Will Hammond 17-of-27, 257 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, plus 5 rushes for 30 yards; Kenny Johnson 4-113-1; Cameron Dickey 16-65-1; J’Koby Williams 7-62-1 and 3 catches for 14; Thomas Castellanos first start, 3-yard rushing TD, 0-for-1 with an interception; Ben Roberts and Brenden Jordan 10 tackles apiece; Austin Romaine 6 tackles and the two-point stop; Adam Trick the strip-sack; Trey White a sack that moved him to 20.5 for his career.

Houston: Conner Weigman 27-of-38, 282 yards, 3 TDs and 13-56 rushing; Patrick Overmyer 8-72-1; Amare Thomas 7-75-1; Koby Young the 46-yard score; Jack Dimas 2-for-2 on field goals.