Before Saturday, the last time a Texas Tech football team started 3-0 in the Big 12 was 11 years ago. Those 2013 Red Raiders actually got to 7-0 for the season, 4-0 in the conference and No. 10 in the national rankings before losing five in a row.

The current Red Raiders will happily take their chances with the remaining schedule, especially since they solved one of their biggest bugaboos Saturday night, beating a good opponent on the road. Texas Tech outlasted Arizona 28-22 in Tucson, mounting a fourth-quarter comeback after blowing a 15-point halftime lead.

"Sixteen (points) unanswered," Tech coach Joey McGuire said. "We came back and answered at the right time."

Gino Garcia kicked a go-ahead field goal with 2:21 left and, after the Red Raiders recovered a fumble, Tahj Brooks went 32 yards for the last of his three touchdowns with 1:53 to go. Garcia's kick put Tech ahead 21-19, and the Brooks score made it 28-19. In between, Arizona kicker Tyler Loop made the last of his five field goals.

"I am really proud of this football team," McGuire said. "We had a lot of fight tonight, and we finished."

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Tech has won seven consecutive games decided by eight points or fewer, a streak dating to last season when the Red Raiders won close games against TCU, Kansas and Central Florida on consecutive weeks in November. They'd outlasted Abilene Christian, Arizona State and Cincinnati this season in games that went down to the wire.

"We're OK playing these one-score games," McGuire said, "and we're going to play for four quarters. I don't know we're thinking about that more than just thinking about trying to keep getting better."

Tech (5-1) will go into an open week as the only team with a 3-0 record in the Big 12. Brigham Young, Iowa State, Colorado and West Virginia are all 2-0, and from that group the Red Raiders face all but BYU in the second half of the season.

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It was an unusual night for two of the game's biggest stars. Arizona sophomore quarterback Noah Fifita was intercepted twice for the first time in his career, which led to 11 Tech points, and Brooks fumbled twice, which Arizona (3-2, 1-1) turned into two field goals.

Brooks carried 21 times for 128 yards, both his fumbles coming in the third quarter. Loop's field goals after those narrowed the gap to 18-9 and then put the Wildcats ahead 19-18 with 10:07 left in the fourth.

"I don't say anything to Tahj," McGuire said. "He already knows what's next. There's nobody out there that wants to win more and puts more work and heart into this game, into this team. I was glad he had the opportunity to kind of seal the victory."

Tech led 18-3 at halftime on two Brooks touchdowns, a two-point conversion run by Johncarlos Miller and the first of Garcia's two field goals. The Red Raiders, however, managed only 36 yards in their first five possessions of the second half as the Wildcats kept chipping away and gaining momentum.

As the clock wound inside of four minutes, though, Behren Morton connected with Caleb Douglas on a deep ball for 32 yards, setting up Garcia's go-ahead field goal. Douglas finished with five catches for 116 yards. On the play before the field goal, a Morton throw to the end zone glanced off Douglas's fingertips.

Fifita finished 28 for 49 for 301 yards, and top receiver Tetairoa McMillan caught eight for 161. But the Red Raiders pressured Fifita consistently and didn't give up a touchdown pass, despite being at considerably less than full strength.

Devynn Cromwell, more of a cornerback, started at free safety after Chapman Lewis, Jordan Sanford and Joseph Plunk — the top three on the depth chart — all suffered injuries the week before against Cincinnati. Lewis and Plunk were out on Saturday, though top corner Bralyn Lux returned after missing the previous two games.

Cromwell made nine tackles.

"I thought Devynn Cromwell stepped up big-time," McGuire said.

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Tech also continued to dig deeper into its depth chart at the edge-rush positions. Usual starters Isaac Smith and Amier Washington missed the game, Smith with a head injury and Washington with what Tech listed as a non-football-related absence.

Jacob Rodriguez and Terrell Tilmon sacked Fifita, and the Red Raiders were credited with three quarterback hurries. Rodriguez finished with 13 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup.

Arizona reached the Tech 30 on nine possessions and came away with a touchdown and five field goals. Those deep thrusts also yielded a turnover on downs, an interception and a missed field goal.

"It's hard to beat team whenever you're just kicking field goals," McGuire said. "We did a great job with that."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Tahj Brooks, Gino Garcia fuel Texas Tech football past Arizona