Texas Tech football: Why the Texas game still matters

Though noting is at stake when the Texas Tech football team takes on Texas Friday in Austin, there’s still some value in securing a win against the Longhorns.

It’s hard to remember a less engaging matchup against Texas than this week’s contest in Austin.  But for the Texas Tech football program, there’s always some value in beating the Longhorns.

To say that each of these programs has been a disappointment in 2019 would be putting it lightly.  Of course, we all know how disappointed Red Raider fans are with a 4-7 record, including four losses by three points or less.

But expectations were astronomical this year for Tom Herman’s 6-5 Horns.  Texas began the year ranked No. 10 in both national polls and many pundits were predicting that UT might be a surprise playoff team.

Of course, some were skeptical given that the Longhorn hype train was built largely on the back of a 7-point win over Georgia in the 2019 Sugar Bowl.  Bowl games should never be used as a measuring stick for future expectations and this year’s Longhorns have learned that the hard way.

Sure, January’s win over the Bulldogs was nice.  But remember, Georgia had no interest in playing that game given that they were coming off a 4th-quarter collapse against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game that knocked them from the college football playoff.

So often, bowl games come down to simple motivation.  Tech fans have been on both ends of that reality.

In the 2004 Holiday Bowl, the Red Raiders ambushed No. 4 Cal, which narrowly missed out on a BCS bowl birth.  To say that Aaron Rogers and his teammates were fully engaged when they took on the No. 21 Red Raiders would be laughable and it showed in Tech’s 45-31 win.

Nine years later, Tech returned to the Holiday Bowl as a 7-5 team in Kliff Kingsbury’s first season as head coach.  Facing an Arizona State team ranked No. 14 in the nation and coming off a loss in the PAC 12 Title Game, Tech was by far the more motivated squad in a 37-23 win that the Red Raiders controlled from the jump.

But back in 2009, the Red Raiders were on the other end of that equation in the Cotton Bowl.  Having missed out on a trip to the Big 12 title game because of a tiebreaker with OU and Texas, the No. 8 Red Raiders were sluggish and lethargic in a 47-34 loss to No. 20 Ole Miss.

This year, one has to wonder if motivation will play a factor in the season finale against Texas.  Literally nothing is on the line for either team.

Tech has already been eliminated from bowl eligibility thanks to last week’s 30-27 loss at home to Kansas State.  Meanwhile, Texas has been eliminated from contention for the Big 12 Championship Game after last week’s uninspiring 24-10 loss at Baylor.

Therefore, much like a bowl game, this contest may be won by the team that is more motivated to be on the field.  Expect a sleepy atmosphere in Austin where the cavernous Royal Memorial Stadium will likely be as far from filled to capacity as it has been all season.

But there’s still value in winning this game for Texas Tech.  Let’s take a look at why beating the Longhorns would still be important for Matt Wells’ team.