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Texas Tech football: Why the new 2020 schedule is an upgrade

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 23: Wide receiver McLane Mannix #13 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders runs the ball past safety Wayne Jones III #4 of the Kansas State Wildcats during the first half of the college football game on November 23, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 23: Wide receiver McLane Mannix #13 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders runs the ball past safety Wayne Jones III #4 of the Kansas State Wildcats during the first half of the college football game on November 23, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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LUBBOCK, TEXAS – OCTOBER 19: Left guard Weston Wright #70 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS – OCTOBER 19: Left guard Weston Wright #70 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

Only one Red Raider opponent will be coming off of a bye

While there are more bye weeks on the schedule for teams this year, there will be only one opponent on Tech’s schedule set to play the Red Raiders coming off of a bye week.  That’s got to be a tremendous advantage for Wells’ team.

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That lone opponent coming off of an open week will be the Longhorns, who come to town two weeks after kicking the season off with UTEP in Austin.  After that, every team Tech plays will be coming to the table after at least one week of action.

Supposed one of those teams has key players missing, it will give them little time to recover before taking on the Red Raiders.  That’s especially important to consider this year given the specter of the current pandemic, which could play a huge role in determining competitive balance from week-to-week.

Even more interesting is that three of Tech’s opponents, Iowa State, West Virginia, and TCU will play Tech after two-consecutive games.  Meanwhile, when the Red Raiders and Baylor meet on November 14, it will be Baylor’s fifth-straight game.  What’s more, when Kansas comes to Lubbock in the final week of the regular season, it will be the Jayhawks’ third-straight game.

On the reverse side, Tech will meet Texas, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State after a week off.  Last year, Tech had only one bye after the start of league play.  In the original 2020 schedule, the Red Raiders were not going to have an open week between hosting Arizona and playing at Iowa State to begin conference action but there was going to be a week off prior to facing Baylor on a Thursday night.  However, that was going to be Tech’s only bye during Big 12 play.

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The previous Texas Tech schedule had the Red Raiders enjoying just one bye week over the course of the final ten games of the year.  Now, they will have three.  Having an edge with these off weeks could be a huge boost to a Red Raider team that has been struggling with overall depth for quite some time and that could help make 2020 a better season than most are expecting.

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