Texas Tech earned its first Big 12 weekly award of the football season and it was an unlikely nod for the Red Raiders, as punter Will Karoll was recognized for his underrated efforts that led to the win over Oregon State.
LUBBOCK - Texas Tech dug deep and came out with a win over Oregon State in a 35-24 slugfest in the Pacific Northwest.
And the Red Raiders kept reaping the rewards of this hard-fought victory after returning to Lubbock.
The Big 12 dished out its weekly awards on Monday, which recognize the outstanding performances of players on offense, defense and special teams around the confernce.
For the first time this season, Texas Tech found itself represented on the exclusive list.
Punter Will Karoll took home Special Teams Player of the Week honors following his efforts against the Beavers.
While Texas Tech had issues keeping Oregon State at bay, Karoll's boots were some of the biggest factors that led to the Red Raiders eventually pulling away.
On seven punts for the Red Raiders, Karoll averaged around 44 yards each time he sent the ball back to the Beavers.
Oregon State was unable to return any of these punts and were forced to begin every ensuing drive within its own 30-yard line. Four of those seven drives saw a start inside the 20, with the deepest beginning at the nine-yard line.
All of those drives that begun within the 20-yard line saw the Beavers come up fruitless, with only one not ending a punt for Oregon State.
Although he had success throughout the entire game, Karoll's final punt of the night was arguably his most important.
With Texas Tech clinging to a 28-24 lead after a go-ahead strike from Will Hammond to Coy Eakin, the Red Raiders had to punt on their next drive and gave Oregon State another chance.
Karoll completely flipped the field and booted the ball all the way down to the Beavers' 14-yard line.
Oregon State would go on to turn the ball over on downs and Texas Tech would take advantage of the great spot on the field by tossing its final touchdown to secure the win.
In a matchup that got much closer than anticipated, those wins in the field position battle played a key role in preventing Oregon State from pulling off the upset.
But it was not just the pivotal role he played in the win that stood out for Karoll.
Thanks to his heroics in the matchup in Corvallis, Karoll now sits atop the conference in average punt yards at just under 46 yards per attempt.
Texas Tech also ranks 12th in the nation in punting average, which is due to the foot of its Aussie phenom.
The Red Raiders will hope to lean on the talents of Karoll, when they are not reaching the end zone, this week in one of their biggest games of the season.
No. 22 Houston pays a visit to Lubbock on Friday and any advantage Texas Tech can boast over the Cougars could go a long way in what profiles as a must-win for both programs.
No. 11 Texas Tech welcomes Houston to Galaxy Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. CT, with the matchup airing on FOX.
