Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammond exited the Red Raiders' 42-0 win over Oklahoma State on Saturday because of a right knee injury.
The redshirt freshman backup, making his second consecutive start in place of injured starter Behren Morton, suffered the noncontact injury during a 9-yard run midway through the second quarter.
Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire told reporters Hammond will undergo an MRI on his knee Sunday morning to determine the severity of the injury. "We'll know a lot tomorrow," McGuire said.
Third-string quarterback Mitch Griffis replaced Hammond to finish the game for the No. 14 Red Raiders. The senior transfer threw for 172 yards on 9-of-13 passing and scored two total touchdowns in the program's first shutout win over a Big 12 opponent since 2005.
Morton continues to recover from a right leg injury and was considered available for the game in case of emergency. He was in uniform at halftime in the event he needed to play against the Cowboys.
"He would've been able to start tonight," McGuire said. "We felt good about Will and Mitch. We wanted to get him as healthy as we can. If he would've had to go in, if something crazy would've happened with Mitch and he had to go in and it was a competitive game, then he would've been able to go in."
Griffis provides starting experience as a former 10-game starter at Wake Forest and has appeared in three games as a reserve this season. He led two touchdown drives in the third quarter to close out the rout of the 1-7 Cowboys.
"He's got a lot of confidence," McGuire said. "Mitch is a very confident person and, whenever people are around him, he brings that confidence to the group, so we felt good with him going in there. I was proud of him."
Morton's status has been day-to-day for the past two weeks, and McGuire preferred to hold him out and let him recover in preparation for a critical stretch ahead in the Big 12 championship race.
The Red Raiders go on the road to face Kansas State next Saturday before hosting No. 11 BYU on Nov. 8. The Cougars improved to 8-0 with a 41-27 comeback win at Iowa State on Saturday.