LINCOLN, Neb. — Texas Tech took a break from its win-with-offense style.
The Red Raiders’ 31-10 upset of No. 15 Nebraska clearly belonged to the defense.
Steven Sheffield passed for a touchdown and ran for two in his first road start, but the offense went dormant for long stretches of the second half, and the defense never let Nebraska back in the game.
“We were losing yards as fast as we were gaining them there for a while,” Tech coach Mike Leach said. “We tested them in about every way that we could. Bad field position. The offense goes three-and-out and then three-and-out. It was like, ‘What are you going to do about this, defense?’ They just kept stepping up.”
Texas Tech won for the first time in four road games since last October. The Raiders came to Lincoln with the nation’s second-ranked offense, but they managed just 259 yards — 263 under their average — and mustered only 47 in the second half.
Still, the effort was good enough, largely because of a defense that held Nebraska to 285 yards and the Huskers’ lowest point total since a 41-6 loss to Missouri in 2007.
The loss further exposed Nebraska’s offensive shortcomings against quality defenses. For the second straight week Zac Lee and the Huskers did next to nothing for three quarters.
Last week, they were able to rally for four touchdowns in the fourth and beat Missouri 27-12.
There would be no late comeback against Tech.
“We didn’t execute from the beginning to the end,” Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. “We got outplayed and outcoached.”
No. 16 Oklahoma State 33, Missouri 17
STILLWATER, Okla. — Hubert Anyiam filled in for ineligible All-American Dez Bryant with 10 catches, a career-high 119 yards and the go-ahead touchdown as the Cowboys snapped a four-game losing streak on their home field against the Tigers.
Zac Robinson threw for 227 yards, and Lucien Antoine added an interception return for a touchdown.
Missouri’s pass-heavy offense fell flat after a prolific first half, and even a 60-yard punt return on a reverse couldn’t spark a comeback as the Tigers were shut out in the second half.
Oklahoma State started Big 12 play with back-to-back wins despite being without Bryant and top running back Kendall Hunter, who missed his fourth straight game with a sprained ankle.
Iowa State 24, Baylor 10
AMES, Iowa — Austen Arnaud threw for 166 yards and scored two touchdowns as Iowa State snapped an 11-game losing streak in Big 12 play.
Iowa State, which picked up its first conference victory since downing Colorado two years ago, is two wins shy of bowl eligibility with five games left to play.
Blake Szymanski threw for 223 yards but tossed three interceptions for the Bears (3-3, 0-2), who lost a 21st straight game in which they trailed at halftime.
Kansas St. 62, Texas A&M 14
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Daniel Thomas ran for four touchdowns in the first half and Brandon Banks returned the second-half kickoff 97 yards for another score to help the Wildcats to their most lopsided conference win since beating Iowa State 58-7 in 2002.
