To the extent Joey McGuire has been any sort of polarizing figure during his first three years as Texas Tech football coach, it stems in part from his risking fourth-down attempts in his own end of the field. When the Red Raiders come up short, he hears about it.

Fourth downs played a pivotal role Saturday in the Red Raiders beating Arizona State 30-22 in a Big 12 opener at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Sun Devils' going 0 for 3 on fourth down might not have won Tech the game, but it sure allowed the Red Raiders to breathe easier throughout.

Tech foiled ASU on fourth-and-1 from the Tech 14-yard line in the first quarter, on fourth-and-1 from the ASU 48 in the third quarter and on fourth-and-9 from the Tech 32 in the fourth. The stops at least temporarily prevented the Sun Devils from cutting into Tech leads of 14-0, 24-10 and 30-16.

"Fourth down, getting those stops is huge for the momentum of the game, too," Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez said. "Keeping everybody in the game, feeding off each other. We've talked a lot about complementary football, so getting those stops and the offense being able to go down and make some points from it is huge."

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Both teams are 3-1.

Tech didn't try to convert a fourth down on offense.

"Are y'all shocked? ... That might be a first," McGuire said, though it was actually the fourth such instance in his 30-game tenure.

With ASU at the Tech 14 in the first quarter, cornerback Maurion Horn crashed off the edge and stopped running back Cam Skattebo inches short of the line to gain. That was redemption for a rough series for the corners with Macho Stevenson having been flagged for pass interference and Horn and Jalon Peoples for defensive holding.

After Jalin Conyers put Tech up 24-10 with a 3-yard touchdown run in the third, Arizona State confronted another fourth-and-short near midfield. Quarterback Sam Leavitt bolted right after a play-action fake, and linebacker Ben Roberts and safety Chapman Lewis got to the edge just in time to trip him up for no gain.

"All week, we had seen that formation from them, expecting run, especially with a big guy (offensive lineman) back there in the fullback spot," Roberts said. "But the second I saw pass, I knew the QB's going to try to run somehow, so I just took off, and luckily I had Chap out there with me to help me, because if I didn't have Chap I don't know if I was making that stop alone."

Stevenson broke up a fourth-down pass in the fourth quarter that kept ASU at arm's length with 4:18 left. Skattebo scored a 3-yard touchdown and ASU failed on a two-point conversion with 1:39 left.

In addition to the turnovers on downs, Tech got a first-quarter interception from safety C.J. Baskerville, setting up the TD that made it 14-0.

ASU came in averaging 229.3 yards rushing per game, 21st in the FBS, and finished with 94 yards on the ground. Skattebo carried 18 times for 60 yards and two TDs and Leavitt, an effective runner early in the season, carried nine times for 25 yards.

Both hurt the Red Raiders more via the air, Leavitt throwing for 282 yards, including a short pass to Skattebo that turned into a 66-yard gain. Skattebo slipped out to the right, broke Stevenson's tackle attempt along the visitor sideline and set sail to the Tech 3, setting up his first touchdown.

It was similar to a play the week before that North Texas receiver Wyatt Young turned into a 75-yard touchdown.

"Besides that one play, I thought we played really well on defense," McGuire said.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: 4th-down stops set tone in Texas Tech football win over Arizona State