ARLINGTON, Texas — Just over 300 miles away from the West Texas town of Lubbock, BYU and Texas Tech played a sequel that looked nearly identical to the original.
Behren Morton threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns to Coy Eakin, and Texas Tech locked down the 11th-ranked Cougars to emphatically punch its ticket to the College Football Playoff with a 34-7 win Saturday afternoon in the Big 12 football championship game at AT&T Stadium.
Morton’s second touchdown, a 28-yard catch-and-run from Eakin with 7:03 left in the fourth quarter, sent two-thirds of the fourth-ranked Red Raiders’ crowd into a frenzy more than 30 years in the making.
Texas Tech (12-1) constricted BYU’s offense to just 200 yards and forced four turnovers in winning its first conference championship since winning the Southwest Conference title in 1994.
Stone Harrington kicked four field goals, missed another, and the Red Raiders punted just twice while out-gaining BYU with 159 yards to 63 on the ground.
Bear Bachmeier completed just 16-of-27 passes for 115 yards and two interceptions for BYU, which is his first multi-interception game since he had two in a 33-27 win Oct. 11 against Arizona.
Both came from Texas Tech linebacker Ben Roberts, whose two interceptions set a Big 12 football championship game record.
Playing hosts on the Dallas Cowboys’ sideline, Texas Tech held Chase Roberts, the Cougars’ leading receiver to three catches for 32 yards in his first game since missing the regular-season finale against UCF.
“We’re all battling something,” Roberts said. “Bear was playing on one leg, you know?
“Everyone just has to do their part and their thing,” he added. “I felt good enough to play, so I was going to go play and do my best. Everyone on both sides has something. It’s part of the game, it’s part of football, it’s part of the season.”
BYU cornerback Therrian Alexander III (1) tries to down Texas Tech running back Cameron Dickey (8) during the Big 12 championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Photo: Isaac Hale, Deseret News)
Add in a pair of turnovers — Roberts’ interception off Bachmeier that Cameron Dickey cashed in for an 11-yard touchdown, and Romello Height’s fourth-quarter fumble that Texas Tech converted into Harrington’s third field goal — and the day proved to be as long as BYU’s flight home to Provo.
No, Texas Tech made BYU look — well, a lot like the Cougars looked in a 29-7 loss to the Red Raiders on Nov. 8.
LJ Martin ran for 76 yards and caught a team-high seven passes for 31 yards for the Cougars (11-2), who were playing in their first conference championship game since 1998.
But that was 13 more yards than BYU’s team total, a product of Texas Tech’s two sacks and eight tackles for loss.
Jacob Rodriguez, the Butkus Award-winning linebacker and Heisman Trophy hopeful, had 13 tackles and a tackle for loss to lead the Red Raiders; and John Curry added 10 tackles, a tackle for loss, a pass breakup and a forced fumble in the neutral-site romp that felt more like a #WreckEm home game from the capacity crowd.
It didn’t start out that way, though.
The Cougars’ opening drive couldn’t have been much better, with offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick scattering seven run plays with two passes to Martin before the Big 12 offensive player of the year found the end zone on a 10-yard run.
That capped a 14-play, 90-yard drive that bled nearly five minutes off the clock and gave BYU a 7-0 lead — just the fourth time the Red Raiders had trailed all year.
It didn’t last long.
BYU’s offense ground to a halt after the first drive, amassing just 24 yards. Bachmeier appeared to turn an ankle, limiting his ability to scramble to just 11 yards before the break, and Texas Tech ended the half on a 13-0 run to take a 13-7 halftime lead.
“He was banged up. When you have a lower leg injury, that causes issues for you to throw the ball,” Sitake said. “But that’s not the excuse. I mean, Ben had that one-handed snag — c’mon, man. They made some amazing plays, with great defense and offense was efficient.
“I thought overall, they just had a great game plan,” he added. “They executed, they never panicked. I’m just really impressed with their poise and the composure they had. When they’re at full strength and their quarterback is at full strength, they’re a dangerous team.”
Morton completed 12-of-20 passes for 142 yards in the first half, including a 33-yard touchdown to Eakin that was initially ruled out inside the 1-yard line before video review overturned the non-scoring play.
Texas Tech doubled up BYU with 228 yards of offense, including 86-37 on the ground.
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