Bowl-eligible, that is now what Texas Tech is. The Red Raiders held on to beat K-State 59-44 after the Wildcats mounted a pretty fierce comeback late in the 4th quarter. DeAndre Washington had a stellar Senior Day rushing for 248 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Overall Grade: A
Texas Tech came out strong against the Wildcats scoring 28 points in the first quarter. The 18-point 4th quarter lead was cut to 8 late in the game but the Red Raiders were able to score with a few minutes remaining and put the game away.
Quarterback Grade: A
Patrick Mahomes completed 78.5% (33/42) of his passes for 384 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also ran for 14 yards and a touchdown. Mahomes limited the ill-advised throws and made better decisions against K-State. This was the Mahomes the Texas Tech fan base has grown to love. He was in full force on Saturday and hit the crowd with his now famous flex after scoring his rushing TD. When your quarterback plays well it gives you your best chance of winning, that's just a fact.
Running Back Grade: A+
DeAndre Washington played like a man on fire against the Wildcats. He averaged an amazing 9.2 yards a carry on 27 carries and amassed 248 yards. His 80-yard touchdown run was a thing of beauty. It's pretty funny that one of the best, if not the best, players in Texas Tech's "Air Raid" offense has been the running back this year. Justin Stockton also had 2 carries for 12 yards and a touchdown. Stockton had 2 touchdowns in the receiving game as well. Washington now has 1,282 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the year. That's good enough to lead the Big 12 in rushing, even though Tech hasn't had their bye as of yet.
Wide Receiver Grade: B+
Devin Lauderdale led the way in the receiving core bringing in 10 catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. While he's not a receiver, running back Justin Stockton had 5 catches for 67 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jakeem Grant was second on the team in yards with 78, 53 of those yards came on a pretty nifty play that Grant is known for. While there were a lot of bright spots, there were still a few drops.
Offensive Line Grade: B+
The offensive line played a lot better than they did over the 3-game losing streak. Better doesn't mean perfect but there was a lot of improvement up front. They did allow 2 sacks and had some penalties, but other than that they played well. I know that DeAndre Washington is grateful, they might've earned themselves a meal on him.