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Texas Tech football: Ranking the 2023 road games by difficulty

By Matthew Conner

Oct 10, 2020; Provo, UT, USA; LaVell Edwards Stadium is shown before the start an NCAA college football game between BYU and UTSA Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020, in Provo, Utah. Mandatory Credit: Rick Bowmer/Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 10, 2020; Provo, UT, USA; LaVell Edwards Stadium is shown before the start an NCAA college football game between BYU and UTSA Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020, in Provo, Utah. Mandatory Credit: Rick Bowmer/Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 5, 2015; Laramie, WY, USA; A general view of fans at War Memorial Stadium during the second quarter of game between the Wyoming Cowboys and North Dakota. North Dakota beat Wyoming 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2015; Laramie, WY, USA; A general view of fans at War Memorial Stadium during the second quarter of game between the Wyoming Cowboys and North Dakota. North Dakota beat Wyoming 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 6: @ Wyoming

Over the last two decades, it’s become customary for the Red Raiders to open the year with a glorified scrimmage as was the case last year in a 63-10 thumping of FCS weakling Murray State.  In fact, since 2003, eleven Texas Tech football seasons have begun with games against FCS teams. What’s more, six more of those seasons kicked off against SMU with most of those games coming at a time when SMU was one of the worst FBS programs in the nation.

This year, Tech will be tested right out of the gates though with a road test at Wyoming.  It will be the first time since 2013 (the first year of the Kliff Kingsbury era) that Tech has opened a season on another team’s campus.  (The 2021 season began with a game against Houston in Houston but at NRG Stadium, not on the U of H campus.)

Though this should be the easiest road game of the year for Tech, there’s no reason to think it will be a walk in the park.  Last year, the Cowboys were 7-6 on the year and 5-3 in Mountain West play.

Going 4-2 at home in 2022, Wyoming took down Tulsa and Air Force, two respectable teams.  But, on the other hand, they struggled against big-time opponents.  Though both games were on the road, Wyoming’s 38-6 loss to Illinois and 38-24 loss to BYU didn’t really show that the Cowboys are ready to topple a major-conference opponent.

That doesn’t mean that the Cowboys can’t be dangerous at home though.  For instance, in 2019 they took down Missouri 37-31 in Laramie to open the year.

What’s more, their style of playing tough defense and trying to grind the clock down by controlling the football gives them a chance to spring an upset.  The people in Wyoming will have this game circled and the atmosphere for this night game will be as tough as a 30,000-seat stadium can provide.  But this should be a game Tech wins, even if it will be a tougher-than-usual season opener.

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