Because of the way the Texas Tech Red Raiders established themselves and built their team over the offseason, a bit of attention started getting shifted towards Lubbock. The Red Raiders, far from being a blue blood program, are definitely an underdog.
But because of the way Texas Tech took advantage of the Transfer Portal, folks are talking a bit about the Red Raiders (and it’s not always all that positive).
The members of the Texas Tech football program are certainly aware of that. They know. They see the headlines, understand that folks online are chatting about them, and know that people are rooting against them because of that NIL and roster spend.
It’s weird to see people somewhat upset about an underdog doing what it can to not be an underdog, but that’s where we are.
On Monday, in a press conference, Joey McGuire got the chance to talk about that, especially in light of the way he and the Red Raiders might be facing some elevated expectations that come with this sort of roster spend.
Joey McGuire and Texas Tech sure seem okay with working to prove folks wrong during 2025 season
“We’re really fortunate that we have a very deep team, we have a lot of the right pieces in place,” McGuire said.
I would agree with that. And I think most college football fans, regardless of their allegiances and preferences, would also agree with that. Some might view that a bit more cynically than others, but that’s on them.
As for Texas Tech, it seems like the Red Raiders are using external criticism as some serious motivation.
“They’re ready to play more than anything because they’re tired of hearing the talk about the roster and everything like that,” McGuire said.
Yeah, I bet. Folks are overlooking how good this team might be and are focused a lot on the roster spend.
“Don’t think we won’t use that to fuel the team,” Texas Tech’s head coach said.
I can get on board with that. Please do that. Please use this as a chance for motivation. It’s such an easy thing to do with this team. Just a golden opportunity.
“I think people will find out this is a really good team,” McGuire said.