Texas Tech Beat Arizona 34-26 as Castellanos Wins in First Start

No. 14 Texas Tech beat No. 21 Arizona 34-26 at Galaxy Stadium in Lubbock on Saturday, behind a new quarterback and a 64-yard touchdown run that settled a game the Red Raiders once trailed by ten. Thomas Castellanos started at quarterback for Texas Tech for the first time and produced a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. J'Koby Williams broke the late run that pushed the lead to eleven points with 2:05 left.

Texas Tech improves to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12. Arizona, which arrived on a five-game winning streak, falls to 6-2 and 3-2 in the conference. Both teams came in at 6-1, and the winner leaves with the inside track in the Big 12 race.

Arizona's big plays built a lead

Texas Tech scored first, but Arizona owned the second quarter. Noah Fifita escaped pressure near his own goal line on third-and-12 and threw to Isaiah Mizell down the sideline for a 94-yard touchdown that put Arizona ahead 10-7. Fifita had already hit Giovanni Richardson for 55 yards on the opening drive of the game.

Kedrick Reescano finished a 14-play drive that took more than seven minutes with a five-yard touchdown run, and Arizona led 17-7. Stone Harrington kicked a 29-yard field goal 24 seconds before halftime, and Texas Tech went in trailing 17-10.

Castellanos turned the second half

Castellanos scrambled eight yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to tie the game 17-17. Arizona answered with a long drive that Reescano finished from the 1-yard line, but Texas Tech blocked the extra point, so the lead was 23-17 instead of seven points. That block mattered. On fourth-and-short late in the third quarter, Castellanos hit Kenny Johnson for a 27-yard touchdown, and Texas Tech led 24-23.

The game stopped for a long stretch in the second half when Arizona receiver R.J. Mosley was carted off with a knee injury after an eight-yard catch. The ESPN broadcast chose not to show replays of the injury. Early in the fourth quarter, sideline reporter Taylor McGregor reported that Mosley was having X-rays on his lower body.

Harrington's 42-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter made it 27-23. Arizona drove to the Texas Tech 19 and came away with nothing. Then Williams found a seam and ran 64 yards for the touchdown that made it 34-23 with 2:05 left. Arizona kicked a short field goal with 22 seconds left to close it to 34-26 and lined up an onside kick, but the game was decided.

Why it matters

Texas Tech changed quarterbacks after last week's 37-24 loss at Cincinnati, and the change worked. Castellanos gave the Red Raiders a running threat they leaned on all day, with 75 rushing yards by halftime. Arizona's run defense could not hold late, and its own running game was shut down for long stretches, with only 21 rushing yards near the midpoint of the third quarter.

For Arizona, the loss ends a five-game winning streak and drops the Wildcats behind Texas Tech in the Big 12 standings. Fifita's 94-yard touchdown will live on the highlight reels. The blocked extra point and the scoreless fourth-quarter trip to the 19 will live in the film review.

Key numbers

• Final score: Texas Tech 34, Arizona 26
• Thomas Castellanos, in his first Texas Tech start: one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown, 75 rushing yards by halftime
• Noah Fifita to Isaiah Mizell: a 94-yard touchdown in the second quarter
• J'Koby Williams: a 64-yard touchdown run with 2:05 left
• Records: Texas Tech 7-1 (4-1 Big 12), Arizona 6-2 (3-2 Big 12)

What happens next

Texas Tech stays in control of its Big 12 path at 4-1 in the conference. Arizona goes home at 3-2, still in the race but now needing help, and waiting on word about Mosley's knee.