Austin Romaine Scores Two Defensive Touchdowns In Seven Seconds For Texas Tech

The Seven Second Blitz

Texas Tech linebacker Austin Romaine pulled off a rare defensive feat on Saturday. In the opening minute of the second quarter against Sam Houston, the senior transfer scored two touchdowns on consecutive passes.

The No. 11 Red Raiders held a slim 7-0 lead before the chaos started. Linebacker Brock Golwas leaped to deflect a pass thrown by Sam Houston quarterback Brett Holloway. Romaine, who had also jumped, caught the deflected ball and ran 15 yards for a touchdown with 14:54 remaining in the first half.

The drama did not stop there. On the very next play after the kickoff, Sam Houston starting quarterback Landyn Locke returned to the game. On first down, Locke threw a pass that Romaine intercepted. Romaine returned this one 31 yards for another touchdown, pushing the score to 21-0. The two defensive touchdowns happened just seven seconds apart.

Writing Big 12 History

Romaine's quick scoring burst put him and his team in the college football history books. Texas Tech became the first Big 12 team to record interception returns for touchdowns on consecutive defensive drives in over a decade. The last team to do it in the conference was Nebraska against Idaho in September 2010.

It had also been a long time since the Red Raiders accomplished a similar feat. The program had not recorded two interception returns for touchdowns in a single game since the 2000 season.

Additionally, Romaine is now just the fifth player in Big 12 history to return multiple interceptions for touchdowns in one game. He is the first player to achieve this since Bobby Walker did it for Kansas State in 2002.

From Kansas State to Lubbock

Romaine joined Texas Tech as a senior transfer from Kansas State, where he put up productive numbers over the last three seasons. During his time with the Wildcats, he recorded 184 tackles, including 110 solo tackles.

Interestingly, Romaine had only one interception during his entire career at Kansas State. That lone interception came last season in a game against the very team he now plays for, Texas Tech. Now wearing the red and black, he has doubled his career interception total in a span of just seven seconds.