The Bearcats led 24-6 at halftime, the largest halftime deficit Texas Tech has faced since Texas led 26-7 on Nov. 24, 2023. It was also the Red Raiders' first loss of any kind since a 23-0 defeat to Oregon in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 2026.
Mistakes piled up. Texas Tech committed season highs of 12 penalties and 80 penalty yards, and it lost the turnover battle 3-2. The Red Raiders went for it on fourth down twice in the opening quarter, converted one, and finished 2-of-3. Will Hammond threw for 227 yards, and his streak of eight straight games with a touchdown pass ended.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak in true road games and drops Texas Tech to 12-12 away from home under Joey McGuire. The Red Raiders are also 5-15 when trailing at halftime in the McGuire era. For Cincinnati, it was the first home win over an AP top-10 team since it beat then-No. 7 Rutgers 30-11 in 2006.
The Bearcats now have four wins over AP top-10 opponents in the last 45 seasons, and Saturday was one of them.