Texas Tech Football Preview 2025: The Red Raiders Might Be the Big 12's Best Team
(Sorry, Texas Tech fans who read my stuff. I know I've hammered on this next point for, like, 20 years in a row, but now it really does matter, and in a good way.)Texas Tech has won next to nothing since before almost everyone reading this was born.The last outright conference championship was in 1955, and even then, it was in a four-game Border Conference season.
Outside of a few bowl games, the late Mike Leach never won anything. Neither did Kliff Kingsbury. Spike Dykes won half of a Southwest Conference title going 4-3 in 1994, and that's pretty much it.And this is where the NIL side of things comes in. The Ohio States, Alabamas, and Michigans can afford anyone and anything, but lost in all of the unfettered free agency and professionalization of the sport is that this new era allows other programs, who aren't used to knowing a whole lot of success, to get very good, very fast.
Cranking it up with a ton of good transfers doesn't guarantee anything but a little bit of improvement, as the all-frosting-no-cake Colorado Buffalo program has shown. However, if you're someone like Texas Tech, and being a factor in conference title chases is just a rumor, the portal might be enough to help get you over the hump.Joey McGuire put together three strong seasons since taking over in 2022, going 23-16 with two bowl wins and a third appearance. But the defense, especially last year, was powerfully awful.So what did Texas Tech do? It thunder-dunked the transfer portal, putting together what might be one of the best defensive lines in the Big 12.
Offense hasn't been an issue, but it replaced a superstar college back like Tahj Brooks with Quinten Joyner out of USC.The O line was okay, but KABOOM … the Red Raiders got two outstanding tackles in Howard Sampson (North Carolina) and Will Jados (Miami University), who could start for anyone in America, to go along with the versatile Hunter Zambrano (Illinois State) with NFL potential at guard or as a swing tackle.
The Red Raiders instantly upgraded the overall talent level and depth to go with a base that would've been good enough to finish 7-6ish back in the pre-NIL era. And now?If the new guys on defense can take that side of the ball from being the second-worst in the nation to merely meh, this could be the best team in the Big 12. Going to the College Football Playoff isn't just a realistic goal - if Arizona State, SMU, and Indiana could do it … - it's on the table.This is the year Texas Tech is good enough to win something.Texas Tech Offense Breakdown Texas Tech Defense Breakdown Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season
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