By james art 
Joey McGuire recaps Texas Tech football’s close Big 12 loss to TCU
Texas Tech football led TCU by 17 points in the second half and finished with a 35-34 loss. The Red Raiders gave up two TDs in the final nine minutes.
FORT WORTH — The Texas Tech football team has made it through seven games this year with quarterback Beren Morton’s health relegated to old news. On Saturday, however, Morton did not play the second half of a 35-34 loss at TCU because of an injury to his non-throwing shoulder.
Tech trainer Joey McGuire said X-rays on the shoulder were inconclusive, but members of the medical staff believe it’s the collarbone, not the AC joint that Morton injured last year.
“He was really sick,” McGuire said, “so we felt we couldn’t bring him back. It’s not something that’s important, but it’s something.
“It’s not his air conditioner. We feel it’s his collarbone. We can’t see exactly. It is to the point of being really sore to the touch. That’s why we chose Will Hammond.”
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Morton completed 13 of 22 passes for 137 yards. Will Hammond, a true freshman who had played in just one North Texas game in September, finished 10 for 15 for 121 yards and a touchdown. Late in the fourth quarter, Hammond fumbled to position the Red Raiders at midfield for a game-winning field goal attempt.
Morton suffered a sprained AC joint in the fourth game of the 2023 season and played through the injury, dealing with it week by week. Because of his injury history, which included a significant ankle sprain in 2022, the Tech coaches limited Morton’s freedom to run.
Late in the first half Saturday, on a three-play drive, Morton scrambled for 1 yard and, after an incomplete throw, was sacked on third down.
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In an unrelated development, Tech announced before the game that linebacker Bryce Ramirez underwent surgery Friday related to a lower leg injury he suffered in a September 2022 game at North Carolina State.
Tech officials said Ramirez suffered a “complication” that “was discovered as part of a routine medical evaluation by the Texas Tech medical staff.”
Starting left tackle Dalton Merriman and inside receiver/returner Drae McCray missed the game with head injuries. Ty Buchanan took Merriman’s place in the starting lineup. Buchanan has started games two through four this season at right tackle. Jordan Brown took McCray’s place as the primary kick returner.
This story has been updated to correct a headline.