The Texas Tech football team is one win shy of qualifying for a bowl appearance so let’s take a look at the most recent bowl projections which include a potential meeting with Mike Leach.
Sitting at 5-2 on the season following a dominating win over Kansas, the Texas Tech football team appears headed back to the postseason. Barring a disastrous end to the season, the Red Raiders will be playing a 13th game this season despite being picked by most preseason publications to finish this season with a losing record.
Now the question turns to what bowl game Tech could eventually find itself in and who the opponent could be. Though it is far too early to know for certain, it is fun to think about the possibilities, especially one in particular.
More than one publication is predicting Texas Tech to face Washington State in what would be one of the most compelling storylines of the bowl season. Of course, the Cougars are coached by former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach who is Texas Tech’s all-time winningest head coach.
And almost a decade after their nasty split, bad blood remains between Leach and Texas Tech. A dispute over Leach’s salary from the 2009 season has led to lawsuits, accusations and even billboards in Lubbock in a saga that has resembled a political mudslinging campaign. If, as ESPN.com and Sports Illustrated predict, Mike Leach finally gets his shot at Texas Tech, the lead up to that game cold be as entertaining as the game itself.
The Leach press conferences alone would be as entertaining as a Connor McGregor presser. And finally, Texas Tech leadership would have to come face to face with their accuser and would no longer be able to simply ignore the siutuation.
Tech could see Washington State in Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio where a pro-Red Raider crowd would make the atmosphere eclectic. Ironically, it was the Alamo Bowl that Texas Tech appeared in just days after Leach was fired in 2009.
Of course, this scenario is just too good to come true. There would be some heavy resistance on the part of the Texas Tech administration which will ultimately be what prevents this game from happening. So let’s look at other possibilities.
USA Today and ESPN.com see a possible Camping World Bowl matchup with ACC member N.C. State in Orland Florida. The Wolfpack is currently 5-1 on the season and ranked 22nd overall.
Another publication that has Texas Tech landing in Orlando is the hometown Orlando Sentinel. They foresee a battle of “Techs” as the Red Raiders take on 4-2 Virginia Tech out of the ACC.
Obviously, Red Raider fans want to see Texas Tech stay close to home. There are three potential possibilities for bowl games in Texas with the Cotton, Alamo and Texas bowls.
Tech would likely have to reach the Big 12 title game to even be considered for the Cotton Bowl in Arlington so that seems unlikely at this time. But the Alamo and Texas Bowls would be nice consolations prizes.
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The Sporting News and Bleacher Report see Oregon as a potential foe in the Alamo Bowl. This would be a fun matchup as the No. 19 Ducks feature likely 2019 NFL first round draft pick Justin Herbert at QB. Most scouting services have Herbert listed as the top QB in next year’s draft and the potential no. 1 overall draft pick.
Speaking of fascinating quarterback matchups and juicy storylines. CBS Sports sees a Texas Bowl matchup vs. Auburn in Houston. That game could be intriguing because current Auburn QB Jarrett Stidham was at one time a Texas Tech verbal commit before backing out in December of 2015 to sign with Baylor.
Stidham’s last-minute decision left Kingsbury scrambling to find a QB in that class. Ultimately, Tech did not land a QB in the 2016 signing class which is why Tech had to start Nic Shimonek last year and had so many QB questions heading into the 2018 season.
But regardless of where Texas Tech winds up for its bowl game, do not lose sight of the fact that most experts predicted that the Red Raiders would not even make the postseason this year. Thus, simply earning a bowl bid, regardless of how prestigious, should be considered a small victory for Kliff Kingsbury’s team this year.