Fans around the nation try to come to grips with Texas Tech's portal success

Remember when there was the thought among a large swath of Texas Tech football fans that the age of N.I.L. payments would signal doom for non-blue blood programs? The belief among many was that the traditional powers would dominate the sport even more completely than they already were once they could pay players above the table after decades of doing so in the shadows.

Now, it appears that the opposite might be true. There are reasons to think that traditionally mid-tier programs might be better equipped to compete in the new landscape of the sport where money can equalize traditional advantages such as a program's prestige, location, traditions, or conference affiliation.

And no program is embodying this shift better than Texas Tech. In fact, the Red Raiders are at the forefront of a new way of trying to build a roster.

Thanks to the efforts of The Matador Club, the N.I.L. collective that supports Texas Tech athletics, as well as the ambitions of some incredibly wealthy boosters, the Red Raiders have been the talk of the sport since the transfer portal opened on December 9th.

As of the time this post was written, the Red Raiders had the No. 2 transfer class in the nation according to 247Sports.com. With 14 players already signed from the portal, Tech's class trails only Ole Miss's class and that could change given that the Red Raiders are expected to add more transfers to their offseason haul.

That has left fans around the country, especially those of schools that have lost recent recruiting battles to the Red Raiders, puzzled. After all, most fans outside of the Texas Tech universe don't realize how much money, particularly from the oil and gas industry, flows into the pockets of Texas Tech's most prominent donors.

Thus, it has been funny to watch the reactions of people from around the nation as Texas Tech has gobbled up coveted transfers as if it were playing a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos. Here are some of the best social media posts from people who aren't Red Raiders and who are stunned to see little old Texas Tech throwing its weight around like never before.