Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma State: Score and Twitter Reaction

The legend of Daxx Garman is alive and well.

Oklahoma State's gunslinging junior quarterback broke out in his third collegiate start, overcoming an offensive explosion from Texas Tech and inconsistent passing to lead his 24th-ranked Cowboys to a 45-35 win Thursday night over the Red Raiders in both teams' Big 12 openers.

Garman stole the show, going 17-of-31 with 370 yards and five total touchdowns. His two interceptions helped Texas Tech stick around, but he more than made up for his lapses with a number of huge completions down the field.

Texas Tech quarterback Davis Webb had an impressive day of his own with 374 yards and four touchdowns, but he threw two untimely momentum-swinging interceptions and did not return after suffering a late injury. 

Texas Tech-Oklahoma State hasn't been a game circled by defensive traditionalists over the last decade, and it stuck to that narrative again Thursday night. Both teams surpassed 500 yards, and there was a grand total of 11 touchdowns. 

But it was almost always the Cowboys in front. Texas Tech was able to mount an early 14-7 lead, but that was quickly followed by a 21-0 Oklahoma State run, and late efforts to pull back into the game proved unsuccessful.

Take a look at the final box score:

Team	1Q	2Q	3Q	4Q	Final
Texas Tech	7	7	14	7	35
Oklahoma State	7	14	14	10	45

Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy conceded after the game that there's still plenty to work on for both his team and quarterback, per The Oklahoman's Kyle Fredrickson and Fox 23's Martina Del Bonta:

Kliff Kingsbury, understandably, took a bit more exception to his team's performance, per KAMC-TV's Brian Holland:

The fireworks started early on Thursday night, with Webb leading the Red Raiders on a touchdown drive to start the game. Things slowed down until late in the first quarter, when Garman connected with James Washington on a 33-yard touchdown to tie things at 7-7.

Webb kept firing against the Cowboys' secondary heading into the second and rattled off an eight-play drive capped off by an 18-yard strike to Bradley Marquez that gave Texas Tech a 14-7 lead.

Early struggles from the Cowboys defense helped lead the way to Texas Tech's surprise lead; KFOR's Bob Barry Jr. noted what needed to change for Oklahoma State to get back in it:

But the advantage went as easily as it came. The Red Raiders turned the ball over on downs threatening to add to their lead, and after Desmond Roland drew the teams level on a one-yard touchdown run, Kevin Peterson picked off Webb to set up Oklahoma State in Texas Tech territory.

One play later, Garman hit Washington for a 39-yard score to make it 21-14, and the sudden offensive explosion prompted reactions like this one from Andrew Gilman of Fox Sports Southwest:

The Cowboys took that lead into halftime—a lead they were lucky to have after giving up a heap of passing yards to Texas Tech in the opening half. 

Early in the third, Oklahoma State extended its lead even further. And again, it was a splash play in the passing game as Garman hit Blake Jarwin for a 47-yard touchdown to put the Cowboys up 28-14.

The Red Raiders would never really go away, though. Despite the Cowboys making every effort to pull away, their defense just couldn't contain Kingsbury's air-raid attack. 

The Oklahoma State lead was 14, then seven, then 10, then 17. But even after Garman scampered for an eight-yard score that made it 45-28 with 7:39 left and Texas Tech's Webb left with an injury, backup Patrick Mahomes stepped right in to cut it to 45-35 with 5:52 remaining.

No matter what kind of fight Texas Tech put up, it didn't much matter when Oklahoma State would return fire so easily, as Zac Ellis of Sports Illustrated noted:

The Red Raiders defense eventually gathered itself together enough to force some late stops and gave Mahomes the ball down 10 with four minutes left. But the Cowboys dialed up some pressure on the inexperienced quarterback and seemingly wrapped up the game by forcing a turnover on downs.

The struggles were there for Garman at times, constantly pushing the ball down the field in an effort that resulted in two picks. But when he connected, it was for long gains, as Big 12 noted:

As RJ Young of SoonerScoop.com put best, Garman had an all-or-nothing performance:

The loss marks the second straight defeat for Kingsbury's Red Raiders, as they're coming off a 49-28 drubbing at the hands of Arkansas. Despite that, there were obvious improvements from last week, and they should be feeling confident of their chances against other top Big 12 opponents.

The Red Raiders need that confidence immediately, as they travel to face No. 25 Kansas State next weekend before playing West Virginia. 

As for Oklahoma State, it's the third straight morale-boosting win for Gundy's squad coming off a 37-31 loss to No. 1 Florida State in Week 1. After getting their conference slate off to a promising start, the Cowboys will turn around to face Iowa State at home Oct. 4.

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