Texas Tech's Offense Falls Flat in Loss to Oregon

MIAMI GARDENS, FL — Missed opportunities and turnovers saw the No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders' historic season come to an end in the Orange Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 1. Despite a stellar performance from Tech's defense, the usually explosive offense fell flat on its face in the 23-0 loss to No. 5 Oregon.

The back-and-forth defensive battle came down to stupid penalties and turnovers on the Red Raiders' part in the loss. Oregon took a 3-0 lead early in the ball game before Tech proceeded to punt on back-to-back possessions to end the 1st quarter.

In the 2nd, Tech's defense continued to shine, shutting down Oregon at every turn. Unfortunately for the Red Raiders, the offensive struggles continued. Two turnovers, an interception, a fumble, and Stone Harrington missed a 54-yard field goal were all Texas Tech could manage before Oregon took a 6-0 lead into the half.

Offensive woes continued for the Red Raiders in the 3rd quarter. Tech opened with a punt before the defense forced a turnover on downs. The Red Raiders failed to capitalize, and another turnover set Oregon up for the game's only meaningful touchdown. Down 13-0, Tech pushed hard to move the ball deep into Oregon territory before failing on a 4th down attempt inside field goal range.

The defense came up with another stop when Ben Roberts intercepted Dante Moore on a 4th down attempt, giving Texas Tech its best scoring opportunity of the day. However, Behren Morton threw his second interception, this time in the end zone, and Tech's scoring drought continued.

Oregon would add another field goal to increase the lead to 16 as Texas Tech entered desperation mode on offense. Two straight possessions that ended in failed 4th-down attempts would end the game. Morton would be sacked on each of these 4th down plays, and Oregon claimed victory. The Ducks added a garbage-time touchdown after Tech turned the ball over deep in Red Raider territory to claim the win, 23-0.

Texas Tech's No. 1 rush defense proved its mettle on one of the biggest stages in college football, giving up just 64 yards on 47 carries against the Ducks. The 1.4 yards per carry average was the lowest the Ducks generated all season. Moore found more success in the passing game, finishing 27/34 for 245 yards and an interception. Despite an overall stellar performance from Texas Tech's defense, the offense put the Red Raiders in such a bad position on too many occasions for the defense to do all the heavy lifting.

Take nothing away from how Oregon played on defense. The Ducks came in with a solid game plan and made Morton look uncomfortable all afternoon. Morton finishes his career as a Red Raider with a stat line of 18/32 passing for 137 yards and two interceptions. J'Koby Williams led the Red Raiders in rushing with 81 yards on 13 carries.

While this is an incredibly disappointing end to Texas Tech's historic 12-2 season, the Red Raiders definitely have something to build upon in the offseason. Tech's strategy of targeting the transfer portal proved to the nation that it is a viable approach and vaulted the Red Raiders among the elite in College Football. Texas Tech will have several issues to address in the coming months, including developing more weapons for an offense that is usually explosive but should be back in 2026.