Here are the top five storylines leading up to Thanksgiving Day as Texas Tech (6-5) travels to Austin to take on the Longhorns (4-6) at 6:30 p.m.
1. Nowhere to go but up
Last week, Texas Tech’s 59-44 win over Kansas State made the Red Raiders bowl eligible for the 23rd time in 25 seasons. They’ve gotten six wins, they’re going to a bowl and really there’s nowhere to go but up for this season.
Does Red Raider nation want a win over rival Texas? Absolutely, but the outcome of this game really won’t have much of an impact on the bowl picture.
What it can impact is regional and even national perception. Again, just one win can go a long, long ways, and this one can go perhaps as far as any. For one, 7-5 looks much better than 6-6, even if that odd-game out is decided by one point. At 6-6, you run the risk of finishing 6-7 which is technically a losing season, even though the team was rewarded with a bowl. At 7-5, you cement in a winning season. A win this week and the Red Raiders cannot finish worse than 7-6 which will be recognized as a substantial improvement from one year ago.
A win this week would also put Texas Tech in a position to finish 8-5, matching its win total under Kliff Kingsbury's first year as head coach, which many considered a success. A win this week and the Texas Tech program will again be labeled as “on the rise.” A loss puts the Red Raiders back against the wall to fight to end up on the better side of .500 and at risk of being labeled as “average.”
Whatever happens, the state of Texas Tech football is already better than it was in 2014 and this game can’t really hurt it, but winning in Austin for the first time since 1997 could go a long ways.
That being said…
2. Can the Red Raiders snap the streak?
The Red Raiders have only beaten the Longhorns twice this century, and both wins came in Lubbock (2002, 2008) – which adds up to a 2-13 record since 2000. Two-and-thirteen doesn’t exactly sell very well, but in today’s instant gratification landscape in America, next year being able to say ‘we beat them last year’ can go a long ways – and, hypothetically speaking, possibly even for the final months of the 2016 recruiting cycle.
3. Will Texas be focused?
Records can normally be thrown out the window when rivals meet, but this year could be a bit of a different scenario. Texas head coach Charlie Strong's name has been linked to its share of head coaching vacancies around the country. Whether he goes anywhere or not, the speculation of a coach leaving can often throw off a team's focus. Not to say that this year’s Longhorns are the prime example of a tight-knit team hungry for success by any means, but will the uncertainty of Strong’s future in Austin throw Texas out of any sync it has gotten in?
4. Two roller coasters collide
When all Big 12 games for the 2015 season are in the books, it is extremely probable that Texas Tech's five current losses came from the top five teams in the conference and all of them could even be in the Top 25 at that moment.
Sure this year has been a bit of a roller coaster ride for the team, the fans and the media -- myself included -- who thought this team would win nine or 10 games after upsetting Arkansas on the road in Week 3, but at least they didn't drop one to any bottom dwellers. Yes, one can argue that Tech should have beaten TCU, Oklahoma State and West Virginia, because the Red Raiders were in great position to do so, but right now they're almost in the exact position many before the season thought they would be -- a hair above a .500 team.
If you thought Tech's season has been a roller coaster ride, look at the Longhorns: blown out by a Notre Dame team that’s likely headed for the College Football Playoff then an unimpressive win against a now 4-7 Rice team the following week. Games three and four, the Longhorns special teams unit cost them wins versus Cal (by one), then Oklahoma State (by three), in Austin. Game five, the TCU team that miraculously survived the Red Raiders in Lubbock absolutely destroys the Longhorns 50-7.
At that point Texas was 1-4 and looked like one of the worst teams in the Big 12 and out of nowhere they play a complete game against Oklahoma and upset the Sooners, which is still OU’s only loss as they’re now eyeing a CFP spot.
The next week Texas takes care of Kansas State, improves to 3-4 and appears to be getting things figured out. Then the Longhorns traveled to Ames, Iowa, and well, this Twitter user says it best:
The Longhorns get blanked 24-0 by an Iowa State team who had only beaten Kansas and Northern Iowa up until that point and hasn’t won another since (although they came awfully close two weeks in a row).
Then, to open up November, Texas passed "Go,” collected $200 and a win over the Jayhawks, before rolling into Morgantown, WV, to get handled pretty easily by the Mountaineers.
So here the Longhorns are at 4-6 with the Red Raiders coming into town on Thanksgiving and with Texas you still don’t know what you’re going to get. It’s like spinning the wheel at Mr. Gattis – is it going to land on one ticket and score you a colored Tootsie Roll or is it going to land on 1,000 and get you a top-shelf prize?
If you think this season has been stressful being a Tech fan, well, imagine being a Texas fan.
5. Can the defense do enough?
So we finish the regular season right where we started: Can the defense do enough?
Not all of the time, but the vast majority of the time, you can count on Texas Tech’s offense putting up video game stats and anywhere from five to nine touchdowns, but can the defense do enough for that to translate into a win?
The Red Raiders defense still ranks in the bottom 10 in most defensive categories, but they have forced turnovers at some key times this year and have done enough for Texas Tech to be bowl eligible. While that’s nothing to write home about, it’s a big step in the right direction and looks to get better.
It doesn’t matter if Texas is 11-0, 0-11, or 4-6, a win over the Longhorns helps with morale, recruiting, coaching consistency, boosters, fans, ticket sales, fraternity cookouts, Facebook statuses and everything in between.
On Thursday, the Red Raiders have a major opportunity to take another big step in the right direction as a program – can they do it?
1. Nowhere to go but up
Last week, Texas Tech’s 59-44 win over Kansas State made the Red Raiders bowl eligible for the 23rd time in 25 seasons. They’ve gotten six wins, they’re going to a bowl and really there’s nowhere to go but up for this season.
Does Red Raider nation want a win over rival Texas? Absolutely, but the outcome of this game really won’t have much of an impact on the bowl picture.
What it can impact is regional and even national perception. Again, just one win can go a long, long ways, and this one can go perhaps as far as any. For one, 7-5 looks much better than 6-6, even if that odd-game out is decided by one point. At 6-6, you run the risk of finishing 6-7 which is technically a losing season, even though the team was rewarded with a bowl. At 7-5, you cement in a winning season. A win this week and the Red Raiders cannot finish worse than 7-6 which will be recognized as a substantial improvement from one year ago.
A win this week would also put Texas Tech in a position to finish 8-5, matching its win total under Kliff Kingsbury's first year as head coach, which many considered a success. A win this week and the Texas Tech program will again be labeled as “on the rise.” A loss puts the Red Raiders back against the wall to fight to end up on the better side of .500 and at risk of being labeled as “average.”
Whatever happens, the state of Texas Tech football is already better than it was in 2014 and this game can’t really hurt it, but winning in Austin for the first time since 1997 could go a long ways.
That being said…
2. Can the Red Raiders snap the streak?
The Red Raiders have only beaten the Longhorns twice this century, and both wins came in Lubbock (2002, 2008) – which adds up to a 2-13 record since 2000. Two-and-thirteen doesn’t exactly sell very well, but in today’s instant gratification landscape in America, next year being able to say ‘we beat them last year’ can go a long ways – and, hypothetically speaking, possibly even for the final months of the 2016 recruiting cycle.
3. Will Texas be focused?
Records can normally be thrown out the window when rivals meet, but this year could be a bit of a different scenario. Texas head coach Charlie Strong's name has been linked to its share of head coaching vacancies around the country. Whether he goes anywhere or not, the speculation of a coach leaving can often throw off a team's focus. Not to say that this year’s Longhorns are the prime example of a tight-knit team hungry for success by any means, but will the uncertainty of Strong’s future in Austin throw Texas out of any sync it has gotten in?
4. Two roller coasters collide
When all Big 12 games for the 2015 season are in the books, it is extremely probable that Texas Tech's five current losses came from the top five teams in the conference and all of them could even be in the Top 25 at that moment.
Sure this year has been a bit of a roller coaster ride for the team, the fans and the media -- myself included -- who thought this team would win nine or 10 games after upsetting Arkansas on the road in Week 3, but at least they didn't drop one to any bottom dwellers. Yes, one can argue that Tech should have beaten TCU, Oklahoma State and West Virginia, because the Red Raiders were in great position to do so, but right now they're almost in the exact position many before the season thought they would be -- a hair above a .500 team.
If you thought Tech's season has been a roller coaster ride, look at the Longhorns: blown out by a Notre Dame team that’s likely headed for the College Football Playoff then an unimpressive win against a now 4-7 Rice team the following week. Games three and four, the Longhorns special teams unit cost them wins versus Cal (by one), then Oklahoma State (by three), in Austin. Game five, the TCU team that miraculously survived the Red Raiders in Lubbock absolutely destroys the Longhorns 50-7.
At that point Texas was 1-4 and looked like one of the worst teams in the Big 12 and out of nowhere they play a complete game against Oklahoma and upset the Sooners, which is still OU’s only loss as they’re now eyeing a CFP spot.
The next week Texas takes care of Kansas State, improves to 3-4 and appears to be getting things figured out. Then the Longhorns traveled to Ames, Iowa, and well, this Twitter user says it best:
The Longhorns get blanked 24-0 by an Iowa State team who had only beaten Kansas and Northern Iowa up until that point and hasn’t won another since (although they came awfully close two weeks in a row).
Then, to open up November, Texas passed "Go,” collected $200 and a win over the Jayhawks, before rolling into Morgantown, WV, to get handled pretty easily by the Mountaineers.
So here the Longhorns are at 4-6 with the Red Raiders coming into town on Thanksgiving and with Texas you still don’t know what you’re going to get. It’s like spinning the wheel at Mr. Gattis – is it going to land on one ticket and score you a colored Tootsie Roll or is it going to land on 1,000 and get you a top-shelf prize?
If you think this season has been stressful being a Tech fan, well, imagine being a Texas fan.
5. Can the defense do enough?
So we finish the regular season right where we started: Can the defense do enough?
Not all of the time, but the vast majority of the time, you can count on Texas Tech’s offense putting up video game stats and anywhere from five to nine touchdowns, but can the defense do enough for that to translate into a win?
The Red Raiders defense still ranks in the bottom 10 in most defensive categories, but they have forced turnovers at some key times this year and have done enough for Texas Tech to be bowl eligible. While that’s nothing to write home about, it’s a big step in the right direction and looks to get better.
It doesn’t matter if Texas is 11-0, 0-11, or 4-6, a win over the Longhorns helps with morale, recruiting, coaching consistency, boosters, fans, ticket sales, fraternity cookouts, Facebook statuses and everything in between.
On Thursday, the Red Raiders have a major opportunity to take another big step in the right direction as a program – can they do it?
