Red Raiders land several Big 12 weekly awards

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech cleaned up the Big 12 weekly awards Monday as Will Hammond was named an Offensive Player of the Week and the conference's top freshman, while Jacob Rodriguez earned one of the two top defensive honors and the Red Raider front four was tabbed the top defensive line.

Texas Tech, coming off a 34-10 victory at previously No. 16 Utah, has been a regular recipient of the Big 12 weekly awards already this season as defensive lineman Skyler Gill-Howard and defensive back Brice Pollock were both recognized with one of the top defensive awards the past two weeks.

For Hammond, it is his first career weekly award as the redshirt freshman came off the bench in the second half to power Texas Tech to four scoring drives in its win over Utah. Hammond was accurate in the win, completing 13-of-16 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns after replacing injured starter Behren Morton on Texas Tech's first drive of the second half.

Hammond also used his legs to frustrate the Utah defense, carrying eight times for 61 yards in the second half alone. The victory over Utah marked the third significant reps for Hammond in his career after replacing Morton at halftime last season at TCU and then starting Texas Tech's appearance in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl to end the year. Hammond has already been named as the top quarterback as part of the Pro Football Focus National Team of the Week for his performance versus the Utes.

Rodriguez is no stranger to the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honor as he was previously recognized on Nov. 4 last year following a similar ranked road win for the Red Raiders at No. 10 Iowa State. Rodriguez contributed to two takeaways in a dominant defensive performance Saturday as he led the Red Raiders with 11 tackles, while also adding a forced fumble that was recovered by A.J. Holmes Jr. and an interception to seal Texas Tech's third road ranked victory in as many years.

Rodriguez is one of the top takeaway creators in all of college football with eight forced fumbles over his career, which ranks third nationally among active FBS players and leads all power conference players. His forced fumble late in the first quarter stopped Utah on the Texas Tech side of the field as the Red Raiders limited the Utes to only a field goal through the first three quarters.

Rodriguez later added the game-clinching interception with just over two minutes remaining in regulation, marking the fourth time in his career where his play has directly led to multiple takeaways. Texas Tech is now 8-1 in games Rodriguez creates a takeaway over his career as the Red Raiders enter their first open date as one of the nation's top defenses, ranking fourth in rushing defense (56.3 yards per game) and 14th for both scoring defense (11.3 points per game) and total defense (238.8 yards per game).

The Red Raiders created four forced turnovers - a season high - against a Utah offense that entered the game averaging 45.7 points, 290.0 rushing yards and 517.0 yards of total offense per game. Thanks to Rodriguez and a strong defensive front, the Utes fell fall short of those averages as Texas Tech gave up only 263 yards of total offense, including 101 rushing yards. Of those 101 rushing yards, 28 came on Utah's final possession with the Red Raiders already enjoying a 34-10 lead.

In a matchup billed as one of the nation's top offensive lines against arguably one of the top defensive fronts in college football, the Red Raiders came out on top, allowing only one explosive play to Utah – a 44-yard pass – which led to Utah's only touchdown. Texas Tech's defensive front has not allowed an explosive rushing play of more than 20 yards all season. Pro Football Focus credited the Red Raiders with creating 15 pressures against Utah to go along with 26 "stop" tackles, which result in a negative play for the offense. Utah was limited to only a field goal through the first three quarters, continuing Texas Tech's defensive dominance to start each game as the Red Raiders are outscoring opponents 164-3 over the first 45 minutes this season.

The Red Raiders, who moved up to No. 12 this week in the Associated Press poll, are off this weekend before heading back on the road Oct. 4 to face Houston. Kickoff between the two former Southwest Conference rivals is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN.

Red Raiders land several Big 12 weekly awards

Players Mentioned

Skyler Gill-Howard

Will Hammond

A.J. Holmes Jr.

Behren Morton

Brice Pollock

Jacob Rodriguez

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