Destiny is in Texas Tech football's hands now. What will they do with it?

It wouldn't be Texas Tech football without some emotional angst involved, right? As the calendar moves further toward Thanksgiving, only a few teams in the country can say they control their own destiny when it comes to the postseason. About four hours from kickoff against West Virginia , the Red Raiders were one of those few teams. Then they engaged in one of those classic, Kliff Kingsbury-era offensive shootouts. Over 1,200 yards of total offense and 100 points were put on the board before Texas Tech fans could unclench their cheeks and go to bed happy with a 53-48 win. Plenty will be said about the lack of defense in this one. In fact, there was none in the first half. And it escalated in the third quarter when Texas Tech's offense abandoned its seemingly helpless other half. West Virginia scored 21 points in the third quarter. Texas Tech had one (yes, one) total yard in the frame. Something had to give. Texas Tech's defense hasn't been the juggernaut, but it wasn't this bad, right? When it mattered most, Shiel Wood's unit put the clamps on the Mountaineers, holding them to negative-11 yards in the final period. That allowed Thomas Castellanos to orchestrate the go-ahead touchdown drive, hitting Kenny Johnson for their second touchdown connection of the night. Then Trey White emerged, sacking Michael Hawkins Jr. on fourth down to let the Red Raiders run some more clock. After a turnover on downs at the WVU 4, White got to Hawkins again, this time in the end zone for a safety. Will this game be at the top of Wood's CV the next time he looks for a job (probably as a head coach)? Hardly. In fact, it was more of the same the unit has put together for much of the year, only magnified by infinity. However, the offense came ready to pick up their comrades. Castellanos had five touchdown passes on the night, and now has seven in his two games as a starter. Will Hammond, who started the first seven games of the season, has six touchdown passes on the season. Flush it, praise it, do what you must with the victory if you're Texas Tech. As Joey McGuire said after beating Arizona, you don't apologize for winning games, especially ones that keep you in the driver's seat for a return trip to the Big 12 Conference championship. Destiny remains in the hands of the Red Raiders. They have firmly grasped it, and held on for dear life.