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September 3, 2016; Lubbock, TX, United States; Texas Tech Red Raider flags fly before the game against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks at Jones AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA Today Sports
The progression line in the game of football is rare. That’s why there’s no guarantee the Texas Tech football program will improve on last season’s 7-6 season.
Of course, the last two times Tech finished a season with a winning record, the following season was a disappointment.
In the year In 2013, Leif Kingsbury’s first season as head coach, the Red Raiders went 8-5 thanks in part to a stunning victory over No. 14 Arizona State in the Holiday Bowl. This led to optimism for an undiminished season from the fan base as Tech set a program record for season ticket sales prior to the 2014 season.
However, in Kingsbury’s second season, the team produced a dreadful 4-8 season. Completed by a terrible defense and the reversal of sophomore QB Davis Webb, Tech goes just 2-7 in Big 12 play.
However, in 2015, behind Pat Mahomes and running back Deandre Washington, Tech would emerge with a 7-6 season and an appearance in the Texas Bowl. However, that season the Red Raiders would beat one FBS team (Arkansas) to finish the regular season with a winning record, and perhaps that was a sign that all was not well in Raiderland.
The following season would see the Red Raiders stumble to another 5-7 record despite getting a historic year from Mahomes. Carried by the worst defense in the NCAA, Tech has dropped five games in which its offense has scored at least 37 points, including two games in which the Red Raiders have scored more than 50 points.
In other words, this program has struggled to build on success in recent years. In fact, the last time Tech had a better record following a winning season was 2008, when Tech went 11-2, a year after going 9-4 in 2007.
Of course, it’s hard to get past a coaching change. But Texas Tech has a history of finding success in the first year of a coach’s tenure.
Since the program joined the Southwest Conference in 1960, five first-year head coaches (JT King, Jim Carlen, Rex Dockery, David McWilliams and Mike Leach) have improved the program’s win total from the previous season.
Now, the question is whether Joey McGuire can do the same. Of course, given Tech’s brutal schedule, it won’t be easy.
Of this year’s twelve opponents, six were ranked in the preseason coaches’ poll and five were ranked in the AP poll. That sets up a daunting slate for McGuire in the first round of a college program.
Some even believe that Tech could have a worse record in 2022 than 2021 and be a better team. That means this year’s team will drop a game or two in conference play, but will be more competitive against the top teams in the conference, rather than being swept by Texas, TCU, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma a season ago. .
But Red Raider fans don’t want to accept that possibility as a reality. Instead, expectations are high for the Red Raiders to be a contender team in the Big 12.
So let’s take a look at why the 2022 team will be better than the 2021 team. And we will start by looking at the most obvious optimism.
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