Head Coach: Joey McGuire is entering his 4th season with the Red Raiders with a 23-16 record. He’s opened with a pretty steady start to his tenure, having a winning record each season so far. He’s built a buzz off the field that has made everyone wonder, when is the massive breakout year coming?
Program Outlook: Texas Tech is a program that’s had a history of having some good seasons but also periods of struggle as well. For a period of time Mike Leach brought a run of success but following a controversial firing of him they struggled until recently. This program has a lot of roots in the air raid but they run a little more often these days. That isn’t the only change, this era of NIL has allowed for some serious donor momentum and all of a sudden the Red Raiders have gained lots of recruiting momentum thanks to a massive warchest of NIL funds. It feels like they’re bound for a massive year at any point.
How does the 2025 Roster look?: Texas Tech ranks 5th in the country returning 71% of their production per Punt and Rally’s returning production rankings. They also have one of, if not THE best portal haul in the entire country. Key players starts with QB Behren Morton who is one of the best in the country when healthy, he played really good last year despite battling a shoulder injury, him finally having a healthy season is critical. Morton will have enhanced weapons to throw to, familiar faces Caleb Douglas and Coy Eakin are back along with 5-star RS Freshman Micah Hudson who didn’t break into the lineup much last year, briefly transferred to Texas A&M but decided the grass wasn’t any greener and came back. They also made some big portal adds with Miami RedHawks receiver Reggie Virgil and UIW star Roy Alexander, they also added a nice TE target in Terrance Carter (Louisiana). The offensive line is expected to be really strong with the Red Raiders picking up two of the best Olinemen you could ask for from the portal in Howard Sampson (UNC) and Will Jados (Miami), there’s also an NFL prospect in Center Sheridan Wilson. Defense is really where Texas Tech loaded up in the portal, the Red Raiders got an absolute gift when David Bailey left Stanford amid a late coaching change and came to Lubbock he will lead the Dline, and they have some good tackles on the inside in Lee Hunter (UCF) and Skyler Gill (NIU). The only spot that isn’t infused by the portal is LB where Ben Roberts and Jacob Rodriguez will roam. AJ McCarty and Chapman Lewis both return at safety but Texas Tech brought in a ringer in former NDSU safety Cole Wisniewski, he’s going to make an impact somewhere. The only real question marks are that corners have to come together a little bit and they look a good RB in Tahj Brooks so it will be interesting to see them switch to a committee approach.
Screenshot from FBSchedules.com
2025 Schedule Thoughts: Here’s a nice plus, unlike last year when Tech battled with a tougher than expected ACU team and then went on the road to Pullman, their schedule starts off much easier. The Red Raiders non-conference features games against UAPB who went 3-9 last year at the FCS level, Kent State who is coming off one of the worst FBS seasons of all time then had a tumultuous offseason, and Oregon State who went 5-7 last year, all at home. The Big 12 schedule is when things shift. Texas Tech opens conference play with a massive trap game at Utah, a tough environment the Red Raiders are not familiar with. There’s also another road game at Arizona State that will be tough, along with games at Kansas State and West Virginia in locations that are historically a house of horrors for the Red Raiders. The rest of the Big 12 schedule isn’t bad overall, but the road schedule is something that can trip up a very promising Red Raider squad.
Final Thoughts: This is your moment Texas Tech, this team is ALL IN on reaching the College Football Playoff in 2025. The first key will be seeing all the new pieces come together quickly, there’s a lot of talent assembled here but with new coordinators on both sides of the ball along with the portal additions, it will be critical for all of them to get on the same page quickly. Handling the road games will be critical too, Morgantown has been a tough environment on Tech in the past, the Red Raiders haven’t beaten Kansas State in Manhattan since the magical 2008 season and the Utah game is their first road game of the year in an unfamiliar environment, this game has gotten Joey McGuire’s squad each year NC State in 2022, Wyoming in 2023 and Washington State last year. Handle business in those two departments and we’re looking at a historic season in Lubbock.
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