Texas Tech Beats Arizona 34-26 Behind Castellanos and a 328-Yard Rushing Day
Thomas Castellanos started over Will Hammond and delivered: two touchdown passes, 117 rushing yards and a rushing score, while J'Koby Williams ran for 175 as No. 13 Texas Tech held off No. 22 Arizona in Lubbock.
Texas Tech made the boldest quarterback call of its season on Saturday, and it paid for itself by the fourth quarter. Thomas Castellanos, starting in place of Will Hammond, threw two touchdown passes and ran for 117 yards and a score as the No. 13 Red Raiders beat No. 22 Arizona 34-26 in Lubbock in a game pivotal to both teams' Big 12 title and College Football Playoff hopes.
The ground game was the story. Texas Tech rushed for 328 yards as a team, and Castellanos and running back J'Koby Williams became the first quarterback-running back duo in school history to each top 100 rushing yards in the same game. Williams finished with 175 yards on 14 carries, 154 of them after halftime, and broke the game open with a 64-yard touchdown run.
Arizona led 17-7 in the first half behind Noah Fifita, who finished 33 of 45 for 417 yards, including a 94-yard touchdown to Isaiah Mizell, who had 182 receiving yards. Castellanos answered with a 24-yard scoring pass to Terrance Carter Jr., an 8-yard touchdown run, and then the play of the game: a 27-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Johnson on fourth-and-2 late in the third quarter that put Tech ahead 24-23 for good.
The win lifts Texas Tech to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12, a week after its first loss, at Cincinnati, prompted the quarterback change. It was also the Red Raiders' 13th consecutive home victory, tying a school record set from 1939 to 1942. Arizona falls to 6-2 and 3-2, its five-game winning streak snapped. Texas Tech hosts West Virginia next Saturday; Arizona is home against TCU on Friday night.
