Texas Tech Loses to Notre Dame 27-24: Instant Reaction
I’m writing this from the bar. Haven’t moved in an hour. The game ended and I just… stayed here. Staring at the TV showing highlights of a game I wish I could forget.
Notre Dame 27, Texas Tech 24.
We lost. We fought like hell and we lost.
What Happened
If you watched the game, you know. If you didn’t, here’s the short version:
We played our asses off. Genuinely. The defense showed up huge. Jacob Rodriguez had 10 tackles and 2 sacks. We held Notre Dame to 27 points, which is pretty damn incredible considering how good their offense is.
Morton was great. 24 of 35, 268 yards, 2 touchdowns. He made throws. He extended plays. He did everything we needed him to do.
But we couldn’t finish. Fourth quarter, down 3, we had the ball at the Notre Dame 35 with two minutes left. Three straight incompletions. Turnover on downs.
Game over.
I keep replaying those three plays in my head. The first one was a drop. Should’ve been caught — receiver just didn’t bring it in. The second one was a good defensive play, tip your cap. The third one was Morton trying to make something happen and just missing Caleb Douglas by like two inches.
Two inches. Two inches away from extending the drive. Two inches away from a potential game-tying field goal. Two inches away from overtime.
Two damn inches.
This Hurts
I ain’t gonna pretend I’m okay. I’m not. This hurts more than I expected it to.
We were RIGHT THERE. We had Notre Dame on the ropes. The crowd was getting quiet. The momentum was shifting. And then… nothing. Three plays and it was over.
The worst part is we didn’t lose because we weren’t good enough. We lost because the margins are so damn small at this level. One drop. One missed throw. One play that didn’t quite work.
That’s football. That’s sports. But knowing that don’t make it easier.
Mike’s note: I watched the whole game. Tech played well enough to win. The result was heartbreaking but the performance was something to be proud of. I mean that genuinely, not just saying it to make Jake feel better.
Finding Some Perspective
Okay. Deep breath. Lemme try to find some perspective here.
Two weeks ago, Texas Tech won the Big 12 Championship. First conference title in 31 years. We went 11-2 in a conference that beats itself up every week. We made the College Football Playoff.
That’s incredible. That’s historic. Ain’t nobody can take that away.
Joey McGuire built this. In three years he took a program that was a punchline and turned it into a contender. The culture is real. The development is real. The belief is real.
This ain’t the end. This is the beginning.
I gotta believe that. I gotta believe this loss is fuel for next year. That Morton comes back hungrier. That Rodriguez comes back meaner. That the whole team uses this to get back here and finish the job.
What Now
I’m gonna close this tab. Pay my bar tab. Go home, hug my girlfriend, and probably not sleep again tonight.
Tomorrow the loss will still hurt. It’ll hurt for a while. Maybe forever.
But I’ll also wake up as a Texas Tech fan. A Big 12 Champion. Someone who got to watch his team compete on the biggest stage in college football.
That ain’t nothing. That’s everything.
Thank you to this team. Thank you to Joey McGuire. Thank you to everyone who believed when believing was hard.
We’ll be back.
Wreck ‘Em forever.
— Jake
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