Will Hammond threw for 298 yards and Texas Tech’s defense held visiting Abilene Christian to 194 total yards Saturday night in a season-opening 33-10 win in Lubbock, Texas.
Hammond completed 26 of 33 passes with a touchdown and an interception, enabling the 12th-ranked Red Raiders to gain 471 total yards. But it wasn’t a perfect performance for the offense, which settled for three field goals after getting inside the Wildcats’ 20-yard line three different times.
John David Black hit 18 of 32 passes for Abilene Christian for just 119 yards with an interception. Black absorbed three sacks, which helped limit the Wildcats (0-2) to only 75 rushing yards.
Texas Tech’s offense looked primed for a big game in the first quarter. It started the season with a crisp 75-yard drive that Quinten Joyner capped with a 14-yard touchdown run with 12:14 left in the quarter.
On their next possession, the Red Raiders churned out a 15-play, 87-yard march that chewed up more than seven minutes. J’Koby Williams finished it with a 5-yard scoring jaunt with 2:24 left and the lead was 14-0.
But Abilene Christian, an FCS opponent that lost its season opener at Lamar 21-14, stiffened up defensively for the game’s remainder. Texas Tech didn’t score again until Stone Harrington’s 23-yard field goal with 1:38 left in the half.
The Wildcats managed to get on the board with seven seconds remaining via a 41-yard field goal from Brandon Perez. That got them within 17-3 at halftime.
But Abilene Christian simply couldn’t sustain drives against a more athletic, deeper foe. The Red Raiders used Harrington’s leg to play add-on during the second half. He converted a 28-yarder at the 13:03 mark of the third quarter, four plays after Black tossed an interception.
Harrington kicked a 33-yarder with 7:36 left in the period to cap a 10-play drive and added a 45-yarder with 1:52 on the clock to make it 26-3.
Hammond connected with Malcolm Simmons on a 64-yard touchdown pass with 2:45 remaining in the game. Alex Broome returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for the Wildcats’ only touchdown.
