Will Hammond answered every question about replacing Brendan Sorsby with 257 yards and a touchdown of his own, though an interception went with it. Cameron Dickey and J'Koby Williams did the heavier lifting, combining for both of Texas Tech's rushing touchdowns in the second half after Houston's defense shut the run game down early.
The trenches battle the preview flagged delivered on that billing, just not the way either side probably expected. Houston's run defense, which had allowed just 20 combined rushing yards through its first 2 games, held Texas Tech to only 65 yards on the ground, a fraction of the 200-plus the Red Raiders piled up on Houston a year ago. But Houston's own ground game, built to be one of the best in the country, never got going either, finishing with just 71 yards of its own.
Houston built a 17-14 edge at halftime behind that opening surge, and Texas Tech's second-half rushing scores flipped it, 21-20 and then 28-20, before Weigman's final drive made it interesting again. The 2-point stop was the difference — Texas Tech's defense made the one play it needed after conceding 282 passing yards all night.
Texas Tech went into Friday without depth corner Amier Boyd and needed a game-time call on linebacker Trey White, and it showed against a Houston passing game that put up its biggest number of the night. Weigman spread it around for 27 completions on 38 attempts, the kind of clean pocket a healthier secondary probably tightens up.
Texas Tech moves to 3-0 to open its Big 12 title defense, but a defense leaning on a thinned secondary just allowed 282 passing yards and needed a missed 2-point conversion to survive. Houston falls to 2-1 with last year's rout still unavenged, but also with real evidence its quarterback and defensive front can play with anybody in this league.