BYU crumbles against Texas Tech, whose unprecedented investment has paid off
ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Tech went all-in for the 2025 football season with an unprecedented roster investment. The goal: Winning the Big 12 for the first time and reaching the College Football Playoff.The investment that shook up the college football world has paid off exactly as planned.The No. 4 Red Raiders punched their ticket to a first-round bye in the CFP with a 34-7 win against BYU on Saturday, giving Texas Tech its first real conference championship since 1976 and its first outright crown since 1955. (There was a five-way tie for second in the Southwest Conference in 1994 because Texas A&M was not eligible.)The 12-1 Red Raiders have outscored their opponents by at least 21 points in all 12 wins this season. The lone loss came at Arizona State without starting quarterback Behren Morton.BYU, which entered Saturday ranked No. 11 in the CFP rankings, is unlikely to make the field.The Red Raiders’ defense, one of the best in the nation, swallowed up the Cougars for the second time this season and forced four turnovers. Texas Tech beat BYU 29-7 in Lubbock in early November, and Saturday’s result looked similar: A Red Raiders team that physically pushed around BYU on defense, and an offense that struggled to finish drives at times, but did just enough to pull away.Texas Tech will wait to find out its opponent and game location on Sunday’s CFP selection show. BYU, which was ranked between No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 12 Miami, could slip below the Hurricanes, setting up a direct comparison between the Fighting Irish and Miami, the most polarizing CFP debate of the season.BYU opened with a 14-play, 90-yard drive that finished with an LJ Martin touchdown run for a 7-0 lead. But the Cougars gained just 99 more yards through the third quarter, which included a missed field goal.Texas Tech’s offensive struggles to finish drives in the end zone covered this game once again. In the first matchup, the Red Raiders scored just two touchdowns in seven red zone trips. On Saturday, the Red Raiders saw their first three drives inside BYU’s 30-yard line end short of the end zone, with two field goals and a missed field goal. But they moved the ball enough, going up 13-7 at halftime.The Cougars hung around until late in the third quarter, when an interception by Tech linebacker Ben Roberts deep in BYU territory set up a Cameron Dickey touchdown run and gave the Red Raiders a 21-7 lead. Texas Tech’s defense forced another fumble early in the fourth quarter on the next drive to put the game away, and Roberts grabbed another interception.
