Onside kicks rarely work, but they also rarely completely backfire on the team executing them. Unfortunately for Texas Tech, it fell victim to the 1% chance of that happening. The Red Raiders were looking to capitalize on a three-point lead over No. 23 Oklahoma State during the third quarter of Saturday's game when they attempted a surprise onside kick. The result was ... not great ... at least for Tech.
Down 24-21, Oklahoma State's Jason Taylor II fielded the surprise onside cleanly and wasn't even touched on his way to a 48-yard touchdown that put the Cowboys back on top 38-24. Here's a look at how it went down:
When an onside kick goes wrong... pic.twitter.com/uaOa8EvdqV
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 28, 2020
It's hard to blame Texas Tech for attempting the onside kick when it did. This has been a back and forth game despite the Red Raiders being big underdogs on the road. Stealing a possession after an Erik Ezukanma touchdown catch is a good time to try to get the game to swing in your favor.
It didn't -- and in fact it went the completely opposite direction -- but the rationale behind it wasn't bad, especially for a 3-5 team. It stayed true to the theme of more aggressive situational play calling from coach Matt Wells.
