As the Texas tech football team heads into the final five games of the regular season, it has an opportunity to finish the season on an uptick for the first time in the Kliff Kingsbury era.
Texas Tech football fans have been here before. Far too often the Red Raiders have played well enough in the first seven games of the season to give fans hope only to fade down the stretch.
In the five full seasons of Kliff Kingsbury’s time as head coach, Tech has a combined record of 22-12 in the first seven games of each season but a combined record of just 7-18 in the final five games.
This trend has been an issue in every year of Kingsbury’s tenure as he is yet to field a winning record in the last five games of any regular season. And no season was more frustrating that his first.
In 2013, Kingsbury became the first coach in Big 12 history to start his career 7-0 as he led the Red Raiders to a top 10 national ranking. But injuries and a back-loaded schedule led to an 0-5 finish to the season.
The 2014 saw Tech win only one of its final five games as starting quarterback Davis Webb was lost to injury forcing true freshman Pat Mahomes into action. In every year since, the Red Raiders have mustered just two wins down the stretch, though at times, those victories have been critical.
In 2015, Tech won the final two games of the regular season to earn bowl eligibility. And last season, Tech’s week-twelve win in Austin not only sent the Red Raiders back to the postseason, it likely saved Kingsbury’s job.
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But this year, Tech has more to play for in its final five games than simply qualifying for a low-level bowl game. Thanks to a 3-1 start to Big 12 play and parity across the league, Tech could play its way into the Big 12 title game if it can finally figure out how to close the season strong.
To do that, Tech will likely have to go 4-1 and beat Oklahoma in Lubbock. But even if Tech doesn’t make it to the conference title game, finishing the season with a 3-2 record would put the team in line for an upper-tier bowl game.
And there has not been a season in Kingsbury’s tenure better set up for Tech to have a strong finish to the year. While the Red Raiders still must face the two teams most consider to be the best in the conference, Texas and OU, both of those games will be played in Lubbock. Meanwhile, the two true road games remaining (Iowa State and Kansas State) are against teams with a combined record of 6-7 on the season.
Thus far, Tech has exceeded preseason expectations by taking two games in what initially looked to be a daunting three-game stretch to open Big 12 play. But as the season has unfolded, the wins over TCU and Oklahoma State have lost some of their luster leaving many to wonder whether this Texas Tech team is truly a contender.
A winning record over the next five games will not only prove that the Red Raiders have turned the corner under Kingsbury, it will finally be another step forward in the maturation of this football program. And if the team can get on a roll and string together four or five wins, this season could be truly special.