Texas Tech football: The benefits of a 10-game schedule

MANHATTAN, KS - NOVEMBER 16: A general view of the Big 12 logo on the field at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium prior to a game between the Kansas State Wildcats and West Virginia Mountaineers on November 16, 2019 in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images)
MANHATTAN, KS - NOVEMBER 16: A general view of the Big 12 logo on the field at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium prior to a game between the Kansas State Wildcats and West Virginia Mountaineers on November 16, 2019 in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images)
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LUBBOCK, TX – SEPTEMBER 29: General view of footballs before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Kansas Jayhawks. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX – SEPTEMBER 29: General view of footballs before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Kansas Jayhawks. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)

More by weeks (possibly)

Also helping the team’s depth could be the addition of an extra off week or two.  While we don’t know for certain that the Big 12 is going to give teams more than one bye week, it seems almost a given.

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That’s because the conference will want to fill as many of its television windows as possible.  With just 10 games on the schedule, the conference is going to have to spread out the season in order to make sure that every week there are games for the tv partners to air.  After all, that’s where the vast majority of the conference’s revenue comes from.

Another benefit of giving teams a second week off is that it may help alleviate the potential impact of a COVID-19 diagnosis for key players.  For instance, if a player is diagnosed with COVID-19, he could miss two or three games but should the timing work out to where an off week falls during his quarantine, he could be lucky enough to miss only one contest.

As we just mentioned, Tech has had some struggles with overcoming injuries in recent seasons.  So an extra bye week would seem like a godsend in most seasons.  In fact,  you could make the case that an extra week off could have potentially changed the course of the program’s history two years ago.

Back in 2018, the Red Raiders went to Kansas State in the second-to-last game of the year needing to win one game to get to bowl eligibility, which likely would have saved Kliff Kignsbury’s job.  But QB Jett Duffey had to play that game with a knee injury that kept him from being able to run and which limited his ability to put any zip on his throws.  In fact, he wouldn’t finish the game, a 21-6 loss in which Tech had just 181 total yards.

Imagine how much a well-timed week off before that game might have helped the Red Raiders either rehab Duffey or prepare Carter for the start.  It could have been what would have saved Kingsbury’s job.

So if Tech gets an extra off week in 2020, which we don’t know will happen for sure, it will only help a thin team to be more competitive in a season that needs to be a step forward for Matt Wells.  Thankfully, we know that season will at least include 10 games…for now.