Although I watched some Texas Tech games on television, I never went to a Texas Tech football game in person until my freshman year.
It was the second game of 2020, the “COVID season,” and it was against that team in burnt orange. I still remember how weird it was to have limited capacity and how a lot of the rules weren’t exactly followed.
I also remember the offenses rolling and Texas Tech having a 56-41 lead with about three minutes to go. I then remember wondering after the game, “How did Tech snatch defeat from the hands of victory?”.
So much has changed since then. Matt Wells is gone, Joey McGuire is in, and we remember how hyped we were to see this hire, how energetic he is, and how the team seems to believe the culture is different this time. Oh, and the recruiting is so much better now. The question was could he build a staff and could he win games?
Long story short, he’s a first-time college head coach and not every decision can or will be correct, but he can win games. The Red Raiders took out the Texas Longhorns on Saturday in a 34-31 overtime comeback victory to start the season 3-1 overall and 1-0 in Big 12 play.
This is the start, or maybe the continuation if you throw in some other Texas Tech sports, of a new era.
It’s funny because McGuire was criticized and asked about why he went for it on fourth down in certain situations after the loss to North Carolina State last week. I guess when you’re 6-for-8 like you were against Texas instead of 1-for-4 like the NC State game, your opinion changes of whether he knows what he’s doing or not.
McGuire said that this time, offensive coordinator Zach Kittley got the team in manageable fourth downs, like fourth and short. He said the aggressiveness to go for it helped the team morale as well. The team trusts each other so much, and it resulted in a team that…let the game get tied even though the offense drove for a go-ahead field goal with 21 seconds left.
What did the defense do when they came back for overtime? They made up for the gaffe by forcing Bijan Robinson, one of the best running backs in college football, to fumble on the first play, and the offense did its thing to win it.
For two straight home games, McGuire has won games that many, including myself, think would’ve been losses in previous seasons.
The Houston game was a rollercoaster, with quarterback Donovan Smith not playing well, but playing well, throwing away the game, then winning it for the Red Raiders. This game, Smith was much more efficient, and the offensive line allowed the Tech runners to perform. The Tech defense continued to come up big when necessary.
A 14-point comeback overtime win over the Longhorns in front of a sellout crowd happened on Saturday. I don’t think that happens under Matt Wells. McGuire has changed something in this program for the better.
One other thing that has changed since I watched the UT game in 2020: Texas and Oklahoma are scheduled to move to the SEC for the 2025 season. If they leave before that, they would each have to pay the Big 12 up to $80 million to get their television rights back. Thing is, new Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is open to negotiating a deal that would be beneficial for Texas, Oklahoma, and a Big 12 that is adding four members next year.
After the August 2021 announcement of Texas and Oklahoma going to the SEC, Lubbock business owners and leaders worried that revenue would be lost once the Texas and Oklahoma games are gone. Of course, it’s debatable considering how much Tech football against any opponent means to many fans, but it’s also undeniable that there is a common thread in the most recent sellouts of Jones AT&T Stadium:
- 2022 v. Texas
- 2018 v. Texas
- 2018 v. Oklahoma
- 2017 v. Oklahoma State
- 2016 v. Texas
- 2016 v. Oklahoma
- 2015 v. TCU
If you take out the COVID 2020, the Texas Tech media guide shows that the last Oklahoma game to not be a sellout was in 2014, and the last Texas game to not be a sellout was too far back to even try to look. It’s not like Texas tickets are ever cheap either. As a student, I was gifted with the opportunity to buy student guest tickets…for $75.
There is so much to break down about how college football is losing what made it such a beloved moneymaker and how the football realignments can be problematic for non-revenue sports, but that’s really for another day.
It seemed like Texas agreed to play Texas Tech every year in the future, but that was probably a lie.
I tweeted that they can leave now that we got the win Saturday, but McGuire is right. This rivalry should continue, but we know why it won’t. Even with a 52-16 series record, it’s still so hard on them losing to Texas Tech, and it’s even harder when they lose to Kansas. They’d rather lose to Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M, and even Vanderbilt because at least they can go back to more money after it.
Texas Tech will be fine making their own brand. It is only on the rise, and football is far from the only sport on campus that is making headway. Maybe TCU will become a rival. We already call Oklahoma State “Xerox U.” Every sport seems to be finding a way right now to at least show promise, and that’s special, no matter where you are.
The negative side? Four head coaches have been lost in just the last two years with Marlene Stollings in women’s basketball, Adrian Gregory and Sami Ward in softball, and Todd Petty in women’s tennis.
USA Today investigations have had varying effects on the three programs, and the pattern is awfully disturbing. There’s also a report that came out last year on all of Texas Tech athletics after Stollings was fired and Gregory was forced to resign, and it’s not terrible, but some problematic rules and culture issues were found.
We must be aware of these things, but I think we can still find a way to support Texas Tech athletics. We can support how right now, it’s a great time to be a Red Raider. We can ride this high for a long time, even just from the football win over Texas alone. The three programs investigated by USA Today have new coaches that seem, at least on the outside, to be building it the right way.
Football is king, and football just got the win over Texas for what could be the last time for a long time. So much has changed in Texas Tech athletics recently, and so much of the good has continued to be good.
Wreck ‘em, baby.
Loading ...