Texas Tech tight end Terrance Carter Jr. (7) is defended by West Virginia safety Fred Perry (5)during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Kathleen Batten)

Texas Tech came into Morgantown and dominated West Virginia, showing why it’s the best team in the Big 12.

The Red Raiders quarterback Behren Morton threw three touchdowns in their 49-0 over the Mountaineers, making a statement to the College Football Playoff Committee in their last game of the regular season.

Texas Tech finished the season 11-1, and plays BYU in next week’s Big 12 Championship game. The Mountaineers’ season came to an end, falling to 4-8. The Red Raiders now have an 8-7 lead in the series, and it was the most lopsided victory in the series.

“I’ve done this for a long time, I know when you’re challenged, but also thought we would respond better,” Rich Rodriguez said. “Obviously, didn’t play well in any phase. They’re coached well. They got a really good team.”

It was all Red Raiders from the jump.

Texas Tech’s first three drives all resulted in touchdowns. It helped that WVU went for it on fourth down in its own territory. The Red Raiders scored three plays later. Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez punched it in for the first score of the game, then Behren Morton had two passing touchdowns on the other two.

Morton threw one more in the game. He ended his stateline throwing for three touchdowns for 310 yards, completing 25 of 32 passes. Morton’s favorite target in the red zone was wide receiver Caleb Douglas, who caught two of Morton’s touchdowns and had 127 yards on five grabs.

WVU’s offense couldn’t get anything to click. The Mountaineers had 16 yards of total offense in the first quarter, while the Red Raiders had 21 points. WVU’s biggest excitement came with 6:30 left in the second quarter when the Mountaineers picked up their first first down.

After picking up their first first down, WVU showed some life. The Mountaineers were driving and then turned the ball over on downs. Later, quarterback Scotty Fox threw a backwards pass to Cam Vaughn, who threw it again to Grayson Barnes for 29 yards. WVU had the ball on the Texas Tech 13. The next play, Fox threw a pick.

It was just one of those days for the Mountaineers.

Fox looked more like a true freshman against a top 5 defense in the country. He completed 13-of-23 passes for 98 yards and threw an interception. It didn’t help that WVU only rushed for 37 yards on the ground and had zero rushing yards at halftime.

“It’s disappointing that we didn’t get a few more things going in the run game,” Rodriguez said. “They’re really good up front.”

Fox was subbed out midway through the third quarter for Charlotte transfer Max Brown. Brown threw a pick on his drive, and then Khalil Wilkins came on the following drive.

“They competed,” Rodriguez said.

The defense wasn’t any better. Zac Alley’s unit created stops and turned the ball over, but at one point, it looked like the Red Raiders were playing on air. Some of Morton’s throws were pitch and catch, and there were numerous missed tackles. At one point, two WVU defenders ran into each other, allowing for a big gain for the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech had 572 yards of total offense and allowed 49 points, which was the most this season.

WVU’s offense was shut out for the first time this season and will have a lot of work in the offseason trying to close the gap between the two schools.

“I know our problems,” Rodriguez said. “I know how to fix our problems, and it’s painful to do it, but we’ll do it. Our problems just didn’t arise this week. It’s been there all season.”