Arizona State upsets No. 7 Texas Tech in thrilling finish

Jeff Hauser

Arizona State upsets No. 7 Texas Tech in thrilling finish  image

Raleek Brown bulled in for a 1-yard touchdown with under a minute left, giving Arizona State the 26-22 win over No. 7 Texas Tech on Saturday. The Sun Devils (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) rallied late for a thrilling finish. 

The Red Raiders (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) appeared to be staging a comeback behind Will Hammond. The backup quarterback scored on a 1-yard run and later connected with Reggie Virgil for a 12-yard touchdown before running in the two-point conversion to put Texas Tech ahead 22-19 with 1:59 left.

But Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt, who returned from a foot injury, guided the Sun Devils on a 10-play, 70-yard drive capped by Brown’s go-ahead score. Leavitt completed 5-of-7 passes for 61 yards on the final drive. 

Texas Tech reached Arizona State’s 28-yard line on its final possession, but Hammond’s desperation heave into the end zone was batted down.

Leavitt threw for 319 yards and a 2-yard touchdown to Jordyn Tyson in the third quarter. Though Arizona State struggled in the red zone, settling for four field goals by Jesus Gomez, the Sun Devils outgained Texas Tech 394-276.

The Red Raiders dealt with a few key injuries. Hammond finished 22-of-39 for 167 yards in his first career start. 

Texas Tech joined No. 2 Miami, No. 5 Ole Miss and No. 10 LSU as the fourth top-10 team to fall this weekend.

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Jeff Hauser

Jeff Hauser is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He has over twenty years of experience and is a two-time Emmy Award winner, Heisman Trophy and Biletnikoff Award voter. Among the events he has covered are the Super Bowl, College Football Playoff, World Series, World Cup, and WBC Boxing. Hauser is a regular guest on FOX Sports and ESPN Radio. He previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, SB Nation and Athlon Sports.