In his press conference the day before preseason camp started, Texas Tech football coach Joey McGuire said the most dramatic part of his third Red Raiders team would be the skill-position players on offense.

Not that it hadn't been the case over the first third of the season, but it was plain to see Saturday night in Texas Tech's 44-41 victory against Cincinnati in a Big 12 game at Jones AT&T Stadium.

Tahj Brooks rushed 32 times for 172 yards, narrowly missing career highs in both categories. Behren Morton was efficient in passing for 251 yards and two touchdowns.

"He just keeps getting better," McGuire said of Morton. "He's making some really good decisions."

Texas Tech football's playmakers shined Saturday night

Both of Morton's scoring passes went to Coy Eakin, but most of Morton's passes went to Josh Kelly, who caught eight for 111 yards. It was the fourth time in five games the transfer from Washington State has had at least eight catches and more than 85 yards, and he was questionable at the start of the week after tweaking an ankle the previous Saturday in a win over Arizona State.

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"I've said since spring football: Our skill is totally different than what it was the first two years," McGuire said, "as far as playmaking ability. And then you have Tahj Brooks. He's the best running back in college football, without a doubt."

Tech (4-1, 2-0 in the Big 12) needed the contributions across the board. Cincinnati (3-2, 1-1) amassed 555 yards total offense with Brendan Sorsby throwing for 426 yards and four touchdowns against a depleted secondary.

How Texas Tech protected quarterback Behren Morton

Morton went into Saturday fourth in the FBS in passing touchdowns and 14th in passing yards per game. He gave himself passing grades for the Red Raiders' 9-for-14 showing on third-down conversions and checking the offense into some effective running plays for Brooks.

The pass protection didn't allow a sack, notable given the reputation of a Cincinnati defensive front led by tackle Dontay Corleone.

"That was for sure the best defensive line we've seen this year," Morton said. "So really proud with the way the offense played facing some really good talent."

Morton's TD passes to Eakin covered 7 and 49 yards and rallied Tech from a 14-3 deficit into a 17-17 tie.

How Texas Tech pulled off a 'Mike Leach staple'

The shorter of the two came when Morton held a long mesh with Brooks, so that when he pulled the ball Eakin was wide open toward the back of the end zone.

The second TD pass came when Kelly and Eakin meshed shallow crossing routes, springing Eakin. He needed only to shed one tackle attempt at the Cincinnati 40-yard line and had clear sailing to the end zone.

"That's one of Mike Leach's old staples," McGuire said, "anytime you've got mesh and some of the stuff like that. They have such a good feel for those plays, especially with Caleb (Douglas) and Coy because they are big targets, so they're easy to see."

Eakin was kicking himself because he dropped what would have been another touchdown pass in the third quarter.

In addition to his 19-for-29 passing, Morton hurt the Bearcats with runs of 26 yards after a fake to Brooks and 21 yards on an option keeper. There had been little quarterback run from Morton this season after he played through a shoulder injury for much of last season.

"He had a couple of big runs," McGuire said. "He feels really comfortable. I think he feels really good, and so he's doing some things.

"But I think the one thing right now, he's operating at a really high level as far as seeing the field, seeing what we want him to do with the ball."

Brooks topped 100 yards rushing for the 12th time in his past 15 games, and has not been held to less than 95 in that stretch.

"I'm really just taking what's given from the defense," he said, "and trying to be an explosive back."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football's stars shine in shootout win over Cincinnati