Texas Tech football: Ranking the 2023 road games by difficulty

No. 4: @ Kansas

Is anyone else still not accustomed to Kansas being something other than a layup?  For me, I still see that goofy-looking fictional bird on the schedule and initially think that it will be a gimmie for the Red Raiders.

That won’t be the case in 2023 though when Tech heads to Lawrence on November 11.  Though KU has one of the most docile home environments in the Big 12 and one of the smallest stadiums in the league, they do feature a competent head coach for the first time in over a decade and they will be led by the Big 12 preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Jalon Daniels.

Last season, the dual-threat QB passed for 2,014 yards and 18 TDs while also rushing for 419 yards and 7 more TDs.  All of that was done in just nine games thanks to injuries.

Now, let’s not act like KU is ready to be a Big 12 title contender though.  After all, last year they went just 6-7 overall and 3-6 in conference play.  That included only two home losses though, to TCU and Texas, a pair of quality opponents.

The last time Tech was in Lawrence, it was a 41-14 drubbing by the Red Raiders but that was before the Jayhawks found their footing as a program after years of being the laughingstock of the conference and arguably the nation.

However, two years prior Tech fans had to live through the humiliation of being beaten by KU when the Jayhawks pulled off a wild 37-34 win, one of only three they would collect that season. So no one in scarlet and black should take this road trip for granted.  That’s why it’s no longer the Big 12’s version of playing against a JV team.

The Jayhawks should feature one of the most dangerous offenses in the conference so it will be a huge test for a Red Raider team that believes it will have one of the top defenses.  But in the end, Tech’s offense should be able to exploit an average KU defense and score enough to win. It won’t be easy though.