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Fansided

Texas Tech football: Matt Wells needs 2020 season played as scheduled

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 07: The sun sets behind Jones AT&T Stadium during the first half of the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the UTEP Miners on September 07, 2019 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 07: The sun sets behind Jones AT&T Stadium during the first half of the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the UTEP Miners on September 07, 2019 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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Jones AT&T Stadium  (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Jones AT&T Stadium  (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

Playing with no fans would eliminate Tech’s home-field advantage in a year with seven home games

An old philosophical question asks if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it really make a sound?   In 2020, we are now asking ourselves if a college football season is played but no fans are allowed to attend the games, is it really worth playing?

A season in which games are played in empty stadiums seems rather sacrilegious but it is a possibility we must consider.  Some seem willing to accept the idea so long as it means we have games to watch on television.  Meanwhile, others believe the idea is preposterous given the money that ticket sales, concessions, and merchandise bring into each program.

For certain, Matt Wells would be in the camp that would want fans in Jones Stadium at all costs, even if it means there has to be an adjustment of the schedule.  That’s because his team is set to host seven games this year, including five Big 12 contests.

With Tech and Baylor now playing on campus again, the Red Raiders are back in the same boat as every Big 12 team but Texas and OU by playing five home conference games every other year while hosting four in the opposite years.  For the foreseeable future, the even-numbered years are going to be when Tech has the theoretical advantage of one extra home conference game.

What’s more, even-years are also when Texas, OU, and Baylor are set to come to Lubbock.  Also, West Virginia is an even-year guest to Jones Stadium meaning that four of the most intriguing Big 12 opponents all come to the South Plains in the same season.  On top of that, Tech is set to host PAC 12 opponent Arizona this fall.  Should that happen, it will be just the second time since 2014 that Tech has hosted a Power 5 opponent.

In other words, the schedule this year is set up for the Red Raiders to draw large crowds and to potentially have an edge with so many key games in the Hub City.  Of course, the cynical among us will be quick to point out that the Red Raiders have been atrocious at home against Big 12 teams lately after having not won more than two conference games at Jones Stadium in any season since 2015.

Regardless of that unfortunate fact, we would all rather Tech have what may be the three best teams on the schedule this year (UT, OU, and Baylor) all have to come to Lubbock.  But if they come to an empty stadium with no students, band, or drunks, they will be huge favorites given that Tech’s biggest advantage in those matchups will be neutralized.

With such a marquee slate of games in store this fall, it’s also a time when Wells could finally start to make inroads with the Lubbock fans by bringing some good vibes back to the corner of University and Marsha Sharp.  But that will only happen if fans are allowed to be there in person to remember what it feels like to leave The Jones happy.

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