Morton throws 2 TDs, Taylor-Demerson has 2 INTs as Texas Tech beats TCU 35-28

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This article was published 02/11/2023 (730 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Behren Morton threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns, with the go-ahead 44-yard score to Drae McCray with 10 1/2 minutes left, and Dadrion Taylor-Demerson’s second interception was a game-clincher in the final minute as Texas Tech beat TCU 35-28 on Thursday night.

“So two things we did, we didn’t turn the ball over and we caused turnovers. You know, if you do those two things, you got a great opportunity,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said. “It puts us in great situations.”

Tahj Brooks ran for 146 yards on 31 carries, his sixth 100-yard game this season to become the first Texas Tech running back to surpass 1,000 yards in a single season since DeAndre Washington in 2015.

“Tahj Brooks, I was really proud of what he did. I thought Tahj was timely,” McGuire said. “He could have gotten frustrated (but) he didn’t. He stayed behind his pads and very few times did he ever cause a negative play.”

The Red Raiders (4-5, 3-5 Big 12) won for the first time in nearly a month. They had lost two games in a row before last weekend’s open date.

Josh Hoover, in his third start for TCU filling in for injured Chandler Morris, completed 32 of 52 passes for 353 yards and a touchdown. But his second interception with 55 seconds left ended a potential game-tying drive when Taylor-Demerson picked it off at the Tech 19.

“It’s kind of been the same story all year, honestly. We just make so many mistakes that we just can’t have any kind of level of consistency, and we made some critical mistakes in the first half. We did some things that you just can’t do,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said. “Our guys came back and played hard in the second half, took a lead, answered back. I knew we could. I knew we would.”

Emani Bailey ran for two touchdowns in third quarter for the Horned Frogs, his 2-yard TD putting TCU up 21-20. But he finished with only 57 yards rushing, after coming in averaging 106 per game.

Taylor-Demerson’s first interception, in the final minute of the third quarter, gave the Red Raiders possession at the TCU 16 and set up Brooks’ 9-yard TD run before Morton’s 2-point conversion throw to wide-open Jerand Bradley for a 28-21 lead.

“We had some guys who really, really played hard today. It was as hard as I’ve seen them play at times,” Dykes said. “We just make so many mistakes to give ourselves a chance to win. And it’s just been something that we’ve done all year. I don’t know, it’s just been frustrating.”

LOOSE POSSUM

During the break between the first and second quarters, a possum ran onto the field. The trespassing four-legged critter was eventually caught by a stadium worker with an animal control stick and escorted off the field. The snarling possum clearly wasn’t happy after being caught and removed.

THE TAKEAWAY

TCU: Since their undefeated 12-0 regular season last year, the Horned Frogs have gone 5-7 in their last 12 games since. The Frogs will have to win two of their last three games to avoid a losing season and to get bowl eligible. And two of those games are against Big 12 co-leaders No. 7 Texas and at No. 10 Oklahoma.

Texas Tech: Morton, who completed 28 of 36 passes, has been dealing with a sprained right shoulder since getting hurt Sept. 23 at West Virginia. He played through that for three games before taking advantage of an extended break. He didn’t play Oct. 21 at BYU before last week’s open date. … The Red Raiders had lost four in a row in the series, since winning in 2018 the last time the two teams played on a Thursday night.

UP NEXT

TCU: Plays the first of consecutive home games Nov. 11 against Texas.

Texas Tech: At No. 22 Kansas on Nov. 11.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll