Texas Tech survives Houston 28-26 after late Big 12 fight

Texas Tech beat Houston 28-26 on Friday night, preserving a narrow home win in the first ranked Big 12 matchup of the weekend. The Red Raiders built a 21-10 halftime lead, but Houston kept answering and pulled within two points before Texas Tech closed the game.

The scoring sequence shows how the game tightened. Texas Tech got touchdown passes from Will Hammond to Kenny Johnson and a late field goal from Jonathan Dimas, while Houston answered with Conner Weigman's touchdown throws to Amare Thomas and Koby Young. Houston also added touchdown runs from Thomas Castellanos and J'Koby Williams.

Texas Tech's defense eventually held the line after Houston's fourth-quarter push. The final margin was two points, and the Cougars finished with enough explosive plays to keep the home side from turning its early lead into a comfortable finish.

The result moves Texas Tech to 3-0 and drops Houston to 2-1. Both records matter in a conference race that now has an early head-to-head result between teams with upper-tier ambitions.