Texas Tech football needs no one making excuses for 2-3 start | Williams
A social media post Sunday showed the Texas Tech football team's three losses so far came against squads with a current combined record of 13-2. You now have Oregon at 5-0, Wyoming and West Virginia both 4-1.
To which we say, so what? Here's the more important point: The oddsmakers favored Texas Tech by two touchdowns in the season opener at Wyoming and by a touchdown at West Virginia. The Red Raiders were expected to be, and should be, at least 4-1 at this point, two games better than their record. They easily could be 5-0, having blown 27-18 and 30-28 leads against Oregon.
Tech moved to 2-3 with a 49-28 victory Saturday against Houston.
The aforementioned post gained traction and got a good many eyeballs.
To his credit, Joey McGuire didn't bite when someone broached the subject on Monday. He was asked how, given the Red Raiders' setbacks were to teams now a composite 13-2, he helps his players keep a perspective.
"They're probably handling it a lot better than I do," McGuire said. "I'm extremely frustrated, I'm tellin' ya. I enjoyed the win, but it was almost like being able to take a deep breath because I expect a lot from this group. And so I was excited and happy for them. I think I said it Saturday, but I said it again yesterday (to the team): For us to be the team that we expected to be and expect to be, it's time to do that."
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Timing matters right now even more than in some other seasons. With the pending departures of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC, new kingpin status in the Big 12 is there for whoever wants to step up and take it. That's been understood all along, but it's become more apparent by the week.
Look at the two major polls that came out Sunday. The Big 12's only Top 25 teams are UT and OU, the two schools headed out the door. Among those newly arrived or about to join the conference, Utah is the only team ranked. Newcomers Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston all are 0-2 in the conference.
Want to be the big dog in the new, watered-down Big 12? Step right up. No reason for Texas Tech not to be that.
The Red Raiders need to make it happen immediately, though. Come the end of the season, a lot of Tech's top players will depart. The roster's going to look markedly different in 2024, a lot younger.
The first month was a disappointment. The offense was OK, not great. The defense hasn't risen up at key times. In the Red Raiders' three losses, Wyoming, Oregon and West Virginia mounted a combined five drives of 64 yards or longer in the late stages of close games that resulted in three touchdowns and two field goals. Four of those drives were 10 or more plays. Three took more than six minutes off the clock.
In this market, nearly all the outside scrutiny falls on offensive production, quarterbacks, run-pass balance, play selection and so on. Defense gets a pass. But the defense has broken late in all three losses.
Circling back to the larger point, however: It matters not that Wyoming and West Virginia might be better than expected. The jury's still out on those teams, by the way. Let's see how they finish.
What matters is all five games were winnable for the Red Raiders, and they've fallen well short of expectations.
It was good to hear Joey McGuire make no excuses about it.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football needs no excuses for 2-3 start | Williams
