An 0-2 start is not what anyone envisioned for the Texas Tech football program in 2023. However, that’s the reality Joey McGuire’s team faces ahead of this week’s annual game against an FCS opponent with Tarleton State fitting the profile of this year’s sacrificial lamb from the lower division of the sport.
However, McGuire was his usual upbeat self earlier this week when speaking to the media. In fact, he praised the way his team has handled this unexpectedly poor start.
"“I was proud of the way the guys came in,” he said on Monday. “Going 0-2 and the expectations, sometimes teams come in and they’re hanging their head and they can feel sorry or we can feel sorry for ourselves. This is not the time to feel sorry for ourselves. This is the time to correct the things we can control, the things we can correct, and get a win.”"
Pulling out a win this week is essential, of course. If Tech can’t find a way to beat an FCS program in Lubbock, then the noise around the program will be deafening heading into the Big 12 opener at West Virginia.
Fortunately, Tech has never dropped a game to an FCS opponent. That doesn’t mean that it can’t happen though.
Already this year, FBS teams Nevada, Buffalo, and Northern Illinois have fallen to FCS opponents. What’s more, in recent years, Power 5 teams such as Northwestern, Washington, Vanderbilt, Florida State, Arizona, Baylor, Virginia, and Iowa have also suffered the same fate.
Tech has had its share of close calls against FCS teams with Stephen F. Austin in 2021, Houston Baptist in 2020, and Central Arkansas in 2014 all nearly stunning the Red Raiders in Lubbock. While few people expect the Texans to threaten to hand the Red Raiders a third loss on the season this Saturday, it will be important for the Red Raiders to take this game as seriously as they did last week’s showdown with Oregon.
The effort the Red Raiders displayed in that 38-30 loss was back to the level we’ve come to expect from a McGuire team over his season-plus in charge. However, what we saw out of Tech in the season opener at Wyoming didn’t meet that standard. Which team will show up Saturday night? That will be one x-factor to keep a look out for.
Interstingly, McGuire is going to have to win this game to be able to stay above .500 as the Red Raiders head coach. His record stands at just 8-7 overall thanks to his 0-2 start, a mark that doesn’t seem to correlate with the vibe that still surrounds his program, a vibe that was greatly improved this week by the commitment of 5-star 2024 wide receiver, Micah Hudson.
All of that goodwill could fly right out the window this week, though, if Tech stubs its toe against Tarleton. That shouldn’t happen but still, this game is an important opportunity for the Red Raiders to iron out the wrinkles before conference play arrives. Perhaps, part of that process could see struggling players find a way to give this team what we have expected them to since the offseason.