Following its 65-19 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday afternoon, Texas Tech Football has finally broken into the AP Top 25.
Texas Tech Football hasn’t been in the AP Top 25 since November 3, 2013, where the Red Raiders ranked No. 15 in the nation. Following a convincing and dominating performance over the Jayhawks, it appears the improvements Tech has made thus far, are finally paying off.
For the Week 7 AP Poll, Texas Tech checked in at No 24, proving the #TTVE (Texas Tech Versus Everyone) mantra is fueling the desire to approach every play with a winning mentality–a fundamental part of the offseason conditioning program.
Hello there, @AP_Top25. #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/xGHNoTlDkz
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) October 8, 2017
While this news is something that fans can appreciate, it’s also Texas Tech Football’s biggest test yet. We’ve seen teams get wrapped up in rankings, which often times, creates a complacent “we’ve already made it” mindset. When teams let off the gas or disrespect their opponents, they face a high probability of overwhelming tests, or even worse, unexpected losses. For Texas Tech to continue its upward trend of improvement, they need to view this with short-term memory and pretend the placement doesn’t exist.
As an unranked team, it’s easy to feel disrespected when weekly stats demonstrate fluid improvement. Now that people are noticing, every second of every game determines their championship urgency, and legacy.
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Texas Tech is off to its best start since 2013, when they won seven straight games. Through five games this season, Texas Tech has defeated Eastern Washington (56-10), Arizona State (52-45), Houston (27-24), and Kansas (65-19).
Texas Tech Football is 4-1 overall, and 1-1 in the Big 12, and will head back on the road this weekend to face (3-2; 1-1) West Virginia in Morgantown.
Just because West Virginia isn’t ranked following its narrow loss to TCU this weekend, doesn’t mean they should be overlooked in any capacity. Texas Tech is 2-0 this season in 11 a.m. kicks, so that might work to its advantage, but the more Texas Tech exploits opponents, the better they look, so it’s safe to assume the staff will likely make it a point to force Texas Tech into uncomfortable situations in practices this season.
Here’s where the other Big 12 teams rank in the AP Top 25:
No. 6: TCU (Up from No. 8)
No. 12: Oklahoma (Down from No. 3)
No. 14: Oklahoma State (Up from No. 15)
No. 24: Texas Tech (Unranked previously)
West Virginia received 26 votes, and Iowa State received five votes for its win over Oklahoma in Norman.
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When Texas Tech is ranked in the polls, it’s 1-0 all-time when facing West Virginia, so let’s hope fortune favors the bold, and the Red Raiders continue this upward trend.