Texas Tech's offense had its worst game of the season at the most inopportune time.
The No. 4 Red Raiders averaged fewer than four yards a play and turned the ball over four times ina 23-0 loss to No. 5 Oregon in the Orange Bowlon Thursday. The loss means that teams that have received a first-round bye in the brief history of the 12-teamCollege Football Playoffare now 0-6 as Oregon will play the winner of the Rose Bowl in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9.
Oregon freshman defensive back Brandon Finney Jr. was on the opposite end of three of those turnovers. And his second interception of the day severely damaged any chance of a Texas Tech comeback.
With the Red Raiders trailing 13-0, Finney intercepted Tech QB Behren Morton in the corner of the end zone on third down as the Red Raiders were threatening to cut Oregon's lead to six points. Morton seemingly never saw Finney as he dropped back off the line of scrimmage.
BRANDON FINNEY JR. WITH HIS THIRD TAKEAWAY OF THE DAY 😮💨pic.twitter.com/mdwfukoR1L
— ESPN (@espn)January 1, 2026
The pick was Morton's third turnover of the day. Even when Tech's offense would finally string together productive plays, something would happen for the Red Raiders to stall out.
After Finney's second pick, Atticus Sappington hit a 43-yard field goal to put Oregon up by 16.
The lead could have been so much larger had Oregon's offense not squandered so many opportunities in Texas Tech territory itself. The stellar Red Raiders defense did all it could to keep Tech in the game and stopped Oregon on four of its eight fourth-down attempts.
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Oregon led just 6-0 at halftime as Texas Tech had a fantastic chance to take the lead at the start of the third quarter after receiving the second-half kickoff. Instead, the Red Raiders gained a grand total of two yards on three plays and punted the ball away to Oregon.
The Ducks extended the lead to 13 points a short time later after Matayo Uiagalelei stripped Morton and caught the ball. Uiagalelei ran 16 yards to the Texas Tech 6-yard line and Jordon Davison scored the first touchdown of the game one play later.
Matayo Uiagalelei deserves more love in the pre-draft process.#GoDuckspic.twitter.com/3FLgK7rO2E
— The Draft Network (@TheDraftNetwork)January 1, 2026
Tech got to the Oregon 34-yard line on its next drive, but, in a play that summed up how the whole game unfolded, running back J'Koby Williams lost a yard after taking a direct snap on fourth down when he needed just one yard for a first down.
Tech still had a glimmer of hope after Finney's second interception as its defense quickly forced a three-and-out. But as Oregon punted — and Tech didn't make a concerted effort to block the punt — AJ McCarty lined up offsides. The penalty gave Oregon an automatic first down and helped set up Sappington's field goal.
The Red Raiders didn't have over 200 total yards until there were fewer than five minutes remaining in the game.
Can Texas Tech build another contender?
The Red Raiders were one of the best teams in college football in 2025 thanks to mega-booster Cody Campbell and the astute use of the transfer portal by coach Joey McGuire and his staff.
A defense that was absolutely abysmal in 2024 turned into one of the nation's best with players like David Bailey, Romello Height, Lee Hunter and Cole Wisniewski joining fifth-place Heisman finisher Jacob Rodriguez and others. But many of Tech's key contributors on that side of the ball are either out of eligibility or off to the NFL. Can McGuire's staff quickly identify talent to restock that side of the ball as the portal opens on Friday?
And will Tech go after a transfer portal quarterback? Cincinnati's Brendan Sorsby has been linked to the Red Raiders after he announced he was transferring away from the Bearcats. Sorsby was one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12 in 2025 as Cincinnati was a midseason contender in the conference before a disastrous November.
Oregon is a win away from its first national title game in 11 years
Oregon hasn't been this close to a national title since making the national championship game in the first year of the four-team College Football Playoff at the end of the 2014 season.
A year ago, the Ducks entered the playoff as the No. 1 seed following an undefeated season and a Big Ten title. Like Texas Tech, that all unraveled in the quarterfinals, as Ohio State steamrolled the Ducks in the Rose Bowl on the way to a national title.
This year, Oregon looks like it can be a a serious threat for the national title. And it may have to avenge its only loss of the season. If Indiana beats Alabama in the Rose Bowl, the Ducks will get another crack at the Hoosiers. Indiana beat Oregon 30-20 in Eugene in October.
Neither offense is averaging more than four yards a play
![Not pretty]()
Not pretty
