COLUMN | BIG 12 FOOTBALL
No. 13 Texas Tech 34, No. 22 Arizona 26 | Oct. 31, 2026 | Lubbock, Texas
LUBBOCK: Texas Tech's quarterback switch didn't improve the passing game Saturday. It made the running game unstoppable.
Thomas Castellanos got the start over Will Hammond and finished 11 of 24 for 144 yards. But he also ran for 117 yards on 19 carries, a 6.2-yard average, and that is what decided the 34-26 win over No. 22 Arizona.
Tech's 328 rushing yards were its best output of the season, while Arizona managed just 12 on the ground. The Wildcats struggled to set the edge against Castellanos' mobility, and the Red Raiders kept getting around it.
With Castellanos there were quicker decisions in the pocket to make more throws downfield and using his legs on the run to attack the Wildcats’ defense. This kept the Wildcats from being effective in their blitz heavy defense and eventually wore down the so-called Bear Down Defense.
Castellanos and J'Koby Williams became the first quarterback-running back duo in program history to each top 100 rushing yards. Williams, with 175 yards on 14 carries, 154 of them after halftime, delivered the knockout blow, a 64-yard touchdown on third-and-1 with 2:05 left. Together, the two averaged about 8.8 yards on 33 carries.
The offense wasn’t perfect. Castellanos completed under half his passes, and the defense surrendered 417 passing yards to Noah Fifita. But Tech (7-1, 4-1) now has a quarterback who forces defenses to defend all 11 men.
Pressure on Fifita to Be Perfect with No Running Threat
Texas Tech's defense didn't shut down Arizona's passing game, but it won the pressure battle when it counted. The Red Raiders sacked Noah Fifita five times, killing drives that otherwise looked headed somewhere.
The cost was big plays. Fifita finished 33 of 45 for 417 yards, including a 94-yard touchdown to Isaiah Mizell on third and long that gave Arizona a 17-10 halftime lead. Mizell had seven catches for 182 yards. An aggressive defense got burned deep.
The Wildcats were neutralized in the rushing attack and that put everything on the passing game again for Fifita. The Wildcats mustered a meager 12 yards on 30 carries; that total included sack yardage. Much like their early September loss at BYU, the Wildcats were worn down and couldn’t keep the halftime lead.
Linebackers Austin Romaine (a career-high 14 tackles) and Ben Roberts (11) anchored the middle. Together with the ground game, the defense gave Tech the late edge. Tech's next test is West Virginia on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in Lubbock.
