Arkansas Dominates Texas Tech In Liberty Bowl

The vibes around the Texas Tech program were supposed to translate into a Liberty Bowl victory. However, the same issues from the regular season showed up defensively. Combined with a true freshman starting at quarterback, running back, and a positional coach making his play-calling debut, it was too much to overcome. Even with their own fair share of mistakes, Arkansas dominated Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl by a score of 39-26.

Late-Game Scratch

All signs pointed towards Tahj Brooks suiting up for the Red Raiders one last time. The social media accounts for the Red Raiders highlighted that he was practicing with the team in Memphis. But Brooks was found in street clothes when the team came out for pre-game warm-ups. The Texas Tech all-time leader in rushing had nothing else to prove. It also isn’t uncommon in recent years for players with an NFL future like Brooks to finish out practicing, be with the team for the bowl game, and not play. So while it was a surprise to most, the coaching staff had to know this was a possibility (at worst). So as a result, Texas Tech added another true freshman on offense making his first career start.

Too Many Growing Pains

Running back J’Koby Williams demonstrated some real explosiveness in this game. He finished the game with 15 carries for 123 yards and one 54-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Will Hammond, who prepared as the starter for all of the bowl practices while Behren Morton recovered from shoulder surgery, was not asked to do much in this game. With Zach Kittley taking the head coaching job at FAU, the Red Raider wide receiver coach Justin “Juice” Johnson was calling the offense.

With 11 minutes left in the game, Hammond had not even attempted 28 passes. The game plan was clearly to try to lean on the rushing game. Early on, the Red Raiders found success but could not finish drives. They had to settle for a field goal on their second drive after a fourth and one conversion attempt was ruined by a false start penalty. Their next drive got down to the Arkansas four-yard line before failing to punch it in for a touchdown on fourth down.

Hammond finished the game 20-for-34 passing for 280 yards. The Red Raiders offensively looked like a team that hadn’t gotten a ton of reps together. There were two to three more plays for every explosive play where the offense was out of sync. A second-quarter surge of 16 points gave hope that any “new” rust was worked out. But Sam Pittman’s staff must have found the right halftime adjustments. That’s because Arkansas dominated Texas Tech to the tune of zero points allowed in the second half. They also forced two interceptions that finished off any late-rally attempts by the Red Raiders.

Arkansas Dominated Texas Tech With Chunk Plays

While Joey McGuire watched his inexperienced offense sputter down the stretch, his defense looked as bad as it has in any game this season. Arkansas’ offense did have a stretch in the game, after three consecutive touchdown drives to start the game, that ended safety, fumble, and punt. But that was the only real negative showing by Bobby Petrino’s offense. The Razorbacks had seven plays that went for at least 40 yards. The longest of which was a 94-yard touchdown pass. Quarterback Taylen Green had a monster game passing and rushing. Green passed for 341 yards, rushed for 81, and had three total touchdowns. The former Boise State quarterback led the Razorbacks to 559 yards of total offense.

Off-Season Unlike Any Other

It was a pretty big letdown for an otherwise successful season by the Red Raiders. So while this 39-26 loss to their former Southwest Conference mates is not how anyone wanted the 2024 campaign to end, all eyes have been locked on the promise of 2025. How will the players and staff handle the noise for the next 9 months?