On a Saturday afternoon at Nippert Stadium, a crowd that had been expected to root for its own team instead turned to jeering the visitors, as the unbeaten and nationally ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders fell 37-24 to Cincinnati. It is the kind of turn that college football produces every autumn, when an undefeated season is quietly unmade in a single half of play. For Texas Tech, the loss narrows the road to a repeat Big 12 title and to the College Football Playoff, roads now shaped as much by other teams' results as by its own efforts. For Cincinnati, it was a rare afternoon of lasting conseque
Texas Tech Loses Unbeaten Status, Big 12 Title Defense and CFP Path Clouded After 37-24 Cincinnati Upset
"Overrated! Overrated!" rolled through the stands
Mark
Why does this loss matter more than just one blemish on the record?
Mimi
Because of what's left on the schedule. Texas Tech doesn't play BYU or Utah, and both now sit ahead of it in the Big 12 standings. There's no direct way to leapfrog them.
Mark
And the résumé?
Mimi
Thin. Abilene Christian, Oregon State and Sam Houston State in nonconference play, and no signature win through the first half.
Luke
Worth saying that last point is a judgment in the reporting, though the schedule itself is a fact. How the playoff committee weighs it isn't something this story tells us.
Mark
How did the game get away from them?
Mimi
Cincinnati scored 21 straight over the final eight minutes of the first half. JC French IV threw the first of his four touchdown passes to Cole Tabb to make it 10-6.
Mark
And Tabb ran well too.
Mimi
He ran for more than 170 yards against a defense ranked fifth nationally against the run, including a 58-yard score. It was the first rushing touchdown Tech had allowed all season.
Luke
One caution: the piece says Tabb led the team and went over 170 yards, but it doesn't give his exact total or carries, so I wouldn't read more precision into it.
Mark
So what does Tech need now?
Mimi
Help. The story says so plainly, but it doesn't lay out specific scenarios.
Luke
Right, and the outlook is the writer's framing. Nothing here says Tech is eliminated from anything.
O Pulso
- A game that seemed tight at 6-3 suddenly tilted when Cincinnati erupted for 21 unanswered points in the final eight minutes before halftime.
- Quarterback JC French IV threw four touchdown passes, and Cole Tabb ran for more than 170 yards, overwhelming a defense that had ranked fifth against the run.
- The crowd's chants of "Overrated!" turned an ordinary home game into a public reckoning for the visitors.
- Texas Tech's path back depends on a thin résumé with no signature win and on BYU and Utah, both ahead of it in the Big 12, losing games it cannot control.
- With the second half of the season ahead, Texas Tech must rebuild its case and wait on outside results to keep its playoff hopes alive.
On a Saturday afternoon at Nippert Stadium, a crowd that had been expected to root for its own team instead turned to jeering the visitors, as the unbeaten and nationally ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders fell 37-24 to Cincinnati. It is the kind of turn that college football produces every autumn, when an undefeated season is quietly unmade in a single half of play. For Texas Tech, the loss narrows the road to a repeat Big 12 title and to the College Football Playoff, roads now shaped as much by other teams' results as by its own efforts. For Cincinnati, it was a rare afternoon of lasting consequence.
At Nippert Stadium, the Cincinnati crowd stopped cheering for its own team and began chanting at the visitors. "Overrated! Overrated!" echoed through the stands as Texas Tech, unbeaten and ranked No. 5, lost 37-24 to the Bearcats. The defeat removes the Red Raiders from the shrinking list of undefeated programs and makes their defense of the Big 12 title and their playoff hopes harder, both now tied partly to results beyond their control.
The game looked close for most of the first half, with Texas Tech leading 6-3 at one point. Then Cincinnati scored 21 unanswered points in the final eight minutes before halftime. Quarterback JC French IV threw four touchdown passes, and junior tailback Cole Tabb ran for more than 170 yards, including a 58-yard score, the first rushing touchdown the Red Raiders had allowed all season. Texas Tech never led again.
For Cincinnati, coached by Scott Satterfield, the win was a defining afternoon, its first home victory over a top-10 opponent since 2006.
The larger problem for Texas Tech is its résumé. It does not face No. 2 BYU or No. 9 Utah in the regular season, and both now sit ahead of it in the Big 12 standings. Its nonconference slate of Abilene Christian, Oregon State and Sam Houston State offers no signature win. With the second half of the schedule still to play, the Red Raiders will be watching other results nearly as closely as their own.
By the end at Nippert Stadium, the Cincinnati crowd had stopped cheering for its own team and started chanting at the visitors. "Overrated! Overrated!" rolled through the stands as Texas Tech, the unbeaten team ranked No. 5 in the US LBM Coaches Poll, lost 37-24 to the Bearcats on Saturday.
The loss removes Texas Tech from the shrinking list of undefeated teams in college football. It also puts the Red Raiders in a harder position on two fronts: defending their Big 12 championship and getting back into the College Football Playoff. Both now depend partly on results Texas Tech does not control.
For Cincinnati, coached by Scott Satterfield, it was a program-defining kind of afternoon. The win was the Bearcats' first at home against a top-10 opponent since 2006.
The damage to Texas Tech reaches past a single defeat. The Red Raiders do not play No. 2 BYU or No. 9 Utah in the regular season, and both of those teams now sit ahead of Tech in the Big 12 standings. That leaves Texas Tech little room to make up ground head to head. Its résumé is also thin at the midpoint of the season, with nothing resembling a signature victory. The nonconference schedule consisted of FCS program Abilene Christian, Oregon State and Sam Houston State.
The game turned quickly. Texas Tech led 6-3 at one point in the first half, and the contest looked tight. Then Cincinnati scored 21 unanswered points over the final eight minutes before halftime.
Quarterback JC French IV started the run with the first of his four touchdown passes, a throw to Cole Tabb that flipped the 6-3 deficit into a 10-6 Bearcats lead. Texas Tech never led again. French added two more touchdown passes before the break, and his fourth came late in the third quarter, stretching Cincinnati's advantage to 31-15.
Tabb, a junior tailback, did damage on the ground as well. He led the Bearcats' rushing attack and ran for more than 170 yards against a Texas Tech defense that came in ranked No. 5 nationally against the run. His 58-yard touchdown run was the first rushing touchdown the Red Raiders had allowed all season.
Texas Tech now has the second half of the schedule to rebuild a case without a marquee opponent against BYU or Utah. With both of those teams ahead in the standings, the Red Raiders will be watching other results as closely as their own.
Citações Notáveis
Fans chanted "Overrated! Overrated!" late in the game at Nippert Stadium.— Cincinnati crowd, as reported by USA Today
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