Joey McGuire didn't need to anger any more college fans, but that's what he's done

For someone who has built a wildly successful career by connecting with people, Joey McGuire sure is embracing his newfound identity as one of college football's top agitators. That continued Monday when he took a shot at one of the softest and most entitled fan bases in college football.

During his Monday press conference, McGuire was asked a generic question about playing in front of a sold-out crowd this coming Saturday night in Lubbock. For some reason, he decided to use that as an opportunity to throw a little jab at the Southern California Trojans.

“Not to take any shots, because I have a lot of respect for USC and Lincoln Riley, but it’s really awesome to be playing in Lubbock, Texas, knowing we’re going to be playing in front of 60,000 (fans),” McGuire said. “It’s going to be warm. It’s going to be every bit as warm as it was Saturday.

“The great thing is we got some really tough people in West Texas that love their football, and they’re going to show up, no matter what the weather’s like. There’s not going to be any excuse of why they’re not going to be here for us.”

Of course, McGuire was referencing the paltry turnout USC had for its season opener last Saturday in Los Angeles. Facing San Jose State didn't quite bring the Trojan faithful out in droves on a 94-degree day that had a heat index of 104.

The weather and the unintriguing opponent were factors many cited for the empty seats outnumbering the filled ones by what had to be a 5-to-1 margin at the Coliseum. Of course, the images of the near-empty stadium had people around the nation laughing at one of the most tradition-rich programs in the history of the sport.

Why did McGuire feel the need to add to the USC ridicule?

Though McGuire said that he wasn't taking "a shot" at USC, that's exactly what he did, and everyone knows it. Why he decided to do so is what is interesting.

It is hard to imagine that someone as intelligent as McGuire would make any remarks that weren't intentional. That's especially true when deciding to throw another program and its fan base under the bus in front of the media.

Once he had the perfect chance to point out USC's attendance struggles, he was ready to come out swinging. There was no hesitation on his part. He knew he wanted to poke the Trojans, and he seized his opportunity.

This might seem like an odd course of action for McGuire. After all, USC and Texas Tech are not rivals. They reside in different states and live in different biospheres of the college football landscape. What's more, they almost never cross paths on the field. And therein may lie McGuire's motivation.

One can't help but wonder if McGuire decided to ridicule USC and prop up his own fan base because he (and the rest of the leadership of the football program) have some bitterness toward the Trojans after earlier this summer, USC reportedly backed out of a series against Texas Tech.

In early August, reports surfaced that the Trojans decided to walk away from talks with Texas Tech that would have had the two teams meeting on the football field in Houston in 2027 and in Las Vegas in 2028.

Tech is desperate to find quality non-conference opponents to play in the upcoming years, given the criticisms from around college football of the Red Raiders' recent and upcoming schedules. However, many programs of note are unwilling to schedule the Red Raiders now that Tech is good enough to beat just about any team in America.

Fans of other programs will point to Tech's lack of pedigree as a reason why their school shouldn't play McGuire's. Meanwhile, administrators and leaders of some programs have cited the Brendan Sorsby mess as a reason to avoid scheduling McGuire's program. However, most Tech fans believe that the fear of losing to little old Texas Tech is what is motivating most blue-blood programs from taking on the Red Raiders.

USC obviously had openings in its schedule, and Tech was motivated to help fill them. What's more, Riley is a Texas Tech alum who cut his teeth coaching under Mike Leach in Lubbock. So if any opposing coach might have a soft spot for the Red Raiders, it should have been him.

For reasons we'll never know, Riley and his program did what so many other Power-4 programs in America have done recently: dodged the Red Raiders. So it isn't hard to imagine that McGuire and Co. might have some ill will toward USC as a result.

Though he'd never admit it, McGuire likely enjoyed taking a shot at the Trojans. After all, it is in line with his new persona as one of the most hated coaches in the sport (at least to fans outside of West Texas).

Following the past two offseasons, during which his program has become the bad boys of the sport in many people's eyes, McGuie didn't need to anger another set of fans, but that's what he did on Monday. Though if USC's attendance is indicative of its fans' passion, then maybe McGuire only angered a few hundred Southern Californians anyway.

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