Thomas Castellanos Throws Five TDs as No. 13 Texas Tech Survives West Virginia 53-48

Texas Tech blew a 14-point halftime lead, fell behind by seven in the third quarter and then took the game back in the final eight minutes. Thomas Castellanos threw for 362 yards and five touchdowns, including a 5-yard scoring pass to Kenny Johnson with 2:44 left, and Trey White sacked Michael Hawkins Jr. for a safety with 1:24 left as No. 13 Texas Tech held off West Virginia 53-48 on Saturday night at Galaxy Stadium in Lubbock.

Texas Tech (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) won a game with 1,220 total yards, eight lead changes and no turnovers by either team. West Virginia (5-4, 2-4 Big 12) scored 21 straight points in the third quarter to go ahead 48-41, but the Mountaineers did not score again, and their last two possessions ended with Hawkins sacked by White.

The teams combined for 101 points, and West Virginia outrushed Texas Tech 279 yards to 276.

A first quarter of answers

Texas Tech scored on its first possession. Castellanos capped a five-play, 65-yard drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Carter Jr. at 13:02 of the first quarter.

West Virginia, which had won the toss and deferred, answered right away. Hawkins found Prince Strachan for 32 yards and DJ Epps ran for 15 on an eight-play, 75-yard drive, and freshman running back Amari Latimer scored from 3 yards out at 9:26 to tie the game at 7. Jack Cassidy then kicked a 30-yard field goal at 4:39 for a 10-7 West Virginia lead.

The lead lasted 13 seconds. On the first play of the next drive, J'Koby Williams broke a 75-yard touchdown run to put Texas Tech back in front 14-10. West Virginia went 75 yards in nine plays on its next drive, helped by a 43-yard pass from Hawkins to Ryan Ward, and Hawkins ran in from 3 yards out with 58 seconds left in the quarter for a 17-14 lead.

Castellanos takes over the second quarter

The second quarter belonged to the Texas Tech passing game. Castellanos hit Carter again for a 29-yard touchdown at 13:37, and West Virginia needed just two plays and 31 seconds to answer, with Hawkins throwing a 73-yard touchdown pass to TaRon Francis for a 24-21 lead.

Texas Tech then scored 20 of the last 23 points of the half. A 50-yard completion from Castellanos to Micah Hudson set up a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jett Carpenter at 9:28. On the next Texas Tech possession, Castellanos threw 43 yards to Williams and then 38 yards to Johnson for a touchdown, and Texas Tech led 35-24 at 7:31.

West Virginia put together an 11-play, 65-yard drive that included a 44-yard run by Hawkins, but the drive stalled inside the Texas Tech 15 after penalties, including a delay of game, and Cassidy kicked a 29-yard field goal at 2:19. Texas Tech needed only 1:06 to go 75 yards in six plays, and Quinten Joyner scored from 1 yard out with 1:13 left in the half. The two-point try failed, and Texas Tech led 41-27 at halftime.

Castellanos was 10 of 14 for 287 yards and four touchdowns in the first half, and Williams had 118 rushing yards on seven carries. Fox34's live coverage put Texas Tech's first-half total at 494 yards to West Virginia's 398.

West Virginia's 21-point third quarter

West Virginia took over the game after halftime. On the opening drive of the third quarter, Cam Cook broke a 24-yard run and fumbled at the Texas Tech 35 when John Curry forced the ball out, but Ward recovered at the 30 for a first down. Hawkins converted a third-and-5 with a 21-yard pass to Francis, and Hawkins scored on a 2-yard run at 11:15 to cut the lead to 41-34.

The West Virginia defense then forced Texas Tech backward. KJ Henson sacked Castellanos for a 15-yard loss and Jason Hall Jr. added a 3-yard sack on the next snap, and the Red Raiders had to punt.

The Mountaineers came up empty on their next drive when a fourth-and-7 pass to Cook at the Texas Tech 40 came up short at 7:34. They did not miss on the one after it. From the West Virginia 21, Hawkins hit Francis on a short pass that turned into a 75-yard gain to the Texas Tech 4, and Cook scored from 2 yards out at 3:50 to tie the game at 41.

Texas Tech went three and out again, and Matt Sieg returned Will Karoll's 53-yard punt 74 yards to the Texas Tech 6. Three plays later, Hawkins ran in from 3 yards out with 1:12 left in the quarter, and West Virginia led 48-41. Fox34's live coverage had West Virginia outgaining Texas Tech 190-16 in the third quarter.

Texas Tech answers with a 15-play drive

Bryan Hansen's 64-yard punt early in the fourth quarter pinned Texas Tech at its own 3. The Red Raiders responded with their longest drive of the game, 15 plays and 69 yards over 5:45. Castellanos converted a third-and-6 from the 7 with a 12-yard pass to Johnson, and two West Virginia pass interference penalties moved the ball 30 yards. The drive stalled at the West Virginia 28, and Stone Harrington made a 46-yard field goal with 7:55 left to make it 48-44.

West Virginia went three and out and punted on fourth-and-1 from its own 34 with 6:25 left. Texas Tech took over at its own 31 and faced fourth-and-3 at its 48 with 4:29 to play. Castellanos threw deep down the middle to Hudson for 26 yards and a first down at the West Virginia 26. A 16-yard Castellanos run moved the ball to the 7, and two plays later Castellanos found Johnson for a 5-yard touchdown with 2:44 left. Texas Tech led 51-48.

The final stand and the safety

West Virginia got the ball at its 25 needing a field goal to tie. Hawkins ran for 3 yards and threw incomplete, and Mateen Ibirogba sacked Hawkins for a 3-yard loss on third down. On fourth-and-10, White sacked Hawkins for an 11-yard loss, and Texas Tech took over at the West Virginia 14 with 1:53 left.

The Red Raiders moved to the 6 and went for it on fourth-and-2, and Castellanos was stopped after a 1-yard run at 1:30. West Virginia took over at its own 5 with one more chance, but on the first snap White sacked Hawkins in the end zone for a safety at 1:24. West Virginia's onside free kick went 11 yards, and Texas Tech ran out the clock with two kneel downs.

Castellanos, Williams and Francis by the numbers

Castellanos completed 18 of 28 passes for 362 yards and five touchdowns without an interception, and the quarterback also ran 23 times for 102 yards. Williams ran for 160 yards on 19 carries and caught three passes for 42 yards. Johnson caught five passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns, Carter had four catches for 81 yards and two scores, and Hudson made two catches for 76 yards, including the fourth-down conversion.

Hawkins completed 11 of 16 passes for 303 yards and a touchdown and ran 19 times for 88 yards and three touchdowns. Cook ran for 149 yards on 23 carries, and Francis caught three passes for 169 yards, two of them for 73 and 75 yards.

Austin Romaine led Texas Tech with 15 tackles. White finished with two sacks, both in the final two minutes. Texas Tech outgained West Virginia 638 yards to 582, had 26 first downs to 18 and converted 8 of 16 third downs, while West Virginia went 7 of 15 on third down and 0 for 2 on fourth down. West Virginia was penalized nine times for 75 yards and Texas Tech eight times for 49.

What it means

Texas Tech has now won two straight since its 37-24 loss at Cincinnati on Oct. 24. Castellanos made a first start for Texas Tech in last week's 34-26 win over Arizona, and on Saturday the passing game carried the offense. The defending Big 12 champions are 5-1 in conference play. Texas Tech plays at Oklahoma State on Nov. 14 and at Baylor on Nov. 21.

West Virginia came to Lubbock off a bye after back-to-back wins over Cincinnati and TCU, the second a 24-20 win at TCU on Oct. 24. The Mountaineers scored 48 points without a turnover and still lost, falling to 2-4 in conference play. West Virginia returns home to face Kansas on Nov. 14, then hosts Houston on Nov. 21 before closing the regular season at Utah.

Sources: ESPN box score (opens in a new tab) and play-by-play. More college football coverage on Undrafted.