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Texas Tech football: Red Raiders must learn to handle Big 12 success

By Matthew Conner

FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 11: The Texas Tech Red Raiders before a game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 11, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 11: The Texas Tech Red Raiders before a game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 11, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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The Texas Tech football team must figure out to handle success and finally put together a conference winning streak if it hopes to be a true contender in the Big 12.

This weekend, the Texas Tech football team has an opportunity to accomplish something that it has not done since the final two games of the 2015 regular season; win consecutive Big 12 contests. The Red Raiders have gone almost three calendar years since last putting together back-to-back league wins when it knocked off Kansas State at home and Texas in Austin to earn bowl eligibility in Kliff Kingsbury’s third season as head coach.

Indeed, the Red Raiders have struggled to maintain momentum coming off of wins under the current coaching staff.  In fact after the seven-game winning streak to open the 2013 season, Tech’s longest in-season winning streak in the past six seasons has been three games (accomplished on three different occasions; 2015, 2017 and earlier this season).

One reason for the lack of sustained success is the simple fact that the Red Raiders have not been very good during that span.  But there have been some frustrating missed opportunities to build momentum and string wins together.

Last season, Tech lost a very winnable 7-point game at home to No. 15 Oklahoma State to open Big 12 play.  After opening the season 3-0, knocking off the Cowboys would have put the team in the national polls prior to a road contest at Kansas (which Tech won).  Had Tech taken care of business at home, it would have had a five-game winning streak to open 2017.

Another near-miss at home that could have been a landmark win for the program came in a 55-52 loss to No. 3 TCU in 2015.  That loss also stopped a three-game season-opening win streak.

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After beating Arkansas on the road, Tech could have made some noise nationally by taking down a top-5 opponent inside Jones Stadium.  But when the Frogs came down with a tipped pass in the end zone on 4th-and-goal, Tech again missed out on a chance to build some significant momentum as a program.

And of course, earlier this year, an awful first half against West Virginia kept Tech from running off five consecutive wins.  Sandwiched in between huge wins over Oklahoma State and TCU, the West Virginia loss is proving to be the only game keeping Texas Tech from being a national story.

Granted, this weekend’s game against Kansas will not bring the program the same type of momentum or recognition that beating West Virginia would have.  However, it is perhaps the perfect opponent to play coming off an emotional upset over a hated rival.

This is not to suggest that Kansas can’t pull off the stunner but the Jayhawks are the closest there is to a layup in the Big 12.  There should be more of a margin for error this weekend against a team that has won only three Big 12 games in the past six seasons.  Provided that Tech handles KU at home, a tough trip to Iowa State precedes back-to-back marquee home games against Oklahoma and Texas.

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Though thinking about a winning streak during this stretch might seem premature given the recent program history, should Tech get hot and finally string together a true Big 12 winning streak over the next month, the program will not only have taken a huge step forward in regards to its status as a contender, it will have shown that the Red Raiders have finally learned how to handle success like a champion.

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