Seth Doege and the Texas Tech offense found holes in WVU's defense in the first quarter, scoring on their first two possessions and ending up with a 14-7 lead.
Doege and the Red Raiders scored quickly on their first possession of the game, culminating with a 39-yard touchdown reception by Jace Amaro less than two minutes into the game. Then West Virginia uncharacteristically failed to sscore on their own first possession, with Geno Smith throwing an incomplete pass on 4th-and-4 to turn the ball over on downs. The Red Raiders got the ball back with about nine minutes left in the quarter and embarked on a 12-play drive that ended with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Eric Ward, putting Texas Tech up 14-0.
Geno Smith and company finally got on the board in their next possession. A 38-yard pass to a streaking Tavon Austin set up a seven-yard touchdown from Smith to Stedman Bailey. The Mountaineers then finally managed to come up with a stop, as Alex Torres bobbled a pass from Doege and Karl Joseph came up with it. WVU still had the ball as the quarter came to an end.