TEXAS TECH POSTGAME NOTES
Date: Oct. 24, 2026
Kickoff: 12:03 p.m. Eastern
Location: Nippert Stadium; Cincinnati, Ohio
Weather: 58 degrees, sunny
Attendance: 38,088
Final Score: Cincinnati 37, No. 8/5 Texas Tech 24
TEAM NOTES
- Texas Tech suffered its first loss of the 2026 season Saturday and its first loss overall since the Capital One Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 2026, when it fell to Oregon, 23-0.
- Cincinnati earned its first home win against an AP top-10 opponent since defeating then-No. 7 Rutgers, 30-11, in 2006. The Bearcats have now recorded four total wins against AP top-10 opponents over the last 45 seasons.
- Saturday marked Texas Tech’s first trip to Cincinnati. The all-time series is now tied at 1-1-1, as the two teams played to a tie in their first meeting in 1968 before meeting again as Big 12 foes in 2024, when Texas Tech won 44-41 in Lubbock.
- Texas Tech trailed 24-6 at halftime, its largest halftime deficit since trailing Texas, 26-7, on Nov. 24, 2023. The Red Raiders dropped to 5-15 when trailing at halftime in the Joey McGuire era.
- The Red Raiders dropped to 12-12 in the McGuire era in true road games. Saturday’s loss snapped a four-game winning streak in true road games.
- Texas Tech committed season highs of 12 penalties and 80 penalty yards.
- Texas Tech lost the turnover battle, 3-2. It was the 14th time in the McGuire era the Red Raiders have turned the ball over three or more times in a game.
THE OFFENSE
- Texas Tech opened the game by attempting two fourth-down conversions. The last time the Red Raiders attempted two fourth downs in the opening quarter was against UCF on Nov. 18, 2023. Texas Tech converted one of the two attempts and finished the game 2-of-3 on fourth downs.
- Will Hammond entered Saturday with at least one touchdown pass in eight straight games, but that streak ended Saturday. He finished with 227 passing yards on 24-of-37 passing.
- J’Koby Williams broke off a 42-yard run in the fourth quarter, the Red Raiders’ longest play from scrimmage in the game. It was Williams’ ninth explosive play of the season.
- Kenny Johnson matched his season high in receptions (7), which he set just last week, and has recorded 14 catches over the last two games. Johnson has caught a pass in 34 of his last 35 games.
- Johnson had one explosive play, a 28-yard reception, giving him nine explosive plays this season and tying Williams for the team lead.
THE DEFENSE
- Cincinnati’s 37 points were the most allowed by a Red Raider defense under defensive coordinator Shiel Wood. The previous high was 26 points allowed to Arizona State in one of Texas Tech’s two losses in 2025.
- Saturday marked the fourth game this season in which Texas Tech’s opponent recorded at least 400 yards of total offense. The Red Raiders had allowed no more than 394 yards in a game in 2025, in their loss to Arizona State.
- Texas Tech entered the game with the fifth-best rushing defense in the FBS, allowing just 82.0 yards per game, but surrendered 252 rushing yards Saturday. It was the most rushing yards allowed by a Texas Tech defense since Baylor recorded 255 on Oct. 19, 2024.
- Texas Tech entered the game as the only team in the country yet to allow a rushing touchdown, but Cincinnati’s Cole Tabb ended that streak with a rushing touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
- Texas Tech has recorded a pick-six in four consecutive games and now has five defensive touchdowns in 2026.
- The last FBS team with a pick-six in four or more consecutive games was Ohio State in 2021, when it recorded one in four straight games from Sept. 18-Oct. 9.
- The last Big 12 team to accomplish the feat was Missouri, which recorded a pick-six in four straight games spanning the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Texas Tech is the first team in Big 12 history to record a pick-six in four consecutive games in a single season.
- Peyton Morgan was responsible for Saturday’s interception returned for a touchdown, returning it 53 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.
- Texas Tech recorded takeaways on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter when Amier Boyd intercepted his second pass of the season. Cincinnati’s JC French entered the game with no interceptions thrown this season. The Bearcats were one of six FBS teams to enter Week 8 without an interception thrown along with Indiana, Northwestern, Boise State, Liberty and USF.
- Texas Tech recorded two takeaways against a Cincinnati team that had committed only two turnovers all season entering the game, tied for the fewest in the FBS with Notre Dame, Northwestern and Army.
SPECIAL TEAMS
- Stone Harrington made field goals of 32 yards (first quarter), 48 yards (second quarter), 42 yards (third quarter) and 33 yards (fourth quarter), finishing 4-of-5 on the day. Texas Tech’s four made field goals tied its season high.
- Harrington’s two field goals of 40 or more yards increased his career total to 15, tying Chris Birkholz (1996-2000) for the most made field goals of that distance by a Red Raider in the Big 12 era.
Release provided by Matt Dowdy Texas Tech Athletics