The 2024 Texas Tech football season came to an inglorious close on Friday night thanks to a 39-26 loss to Arkansas in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. It was a disappointing way to wrap up a season that could have been Tech's first nine-win campaign since 2009.
As a program, Tech hasn't been accustomed to losing bowl games in its recent history. In fact, the Red Raiders are now 5-3 in the postseason since the 2010 season, the first year after the Mike Leach era ended.
Thus, wrapping up a season with a loss is a pill that people around the South Plains are not accustomed to swallowing. However, the way that the 2024 season ended...with a thud...should have no bearing on what fans feel about the immediate future of the program.
In fact, this will be a long offseason given how excited people in Scarlet and Black are for what next fall could bring. After all, Tech has put all of its cards on the table as a program for 2025.
Next year, Tech will add one of the nation's top transfer classes to a roster that returns plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, a roster that went 8-5 in 2024. What's more, on paper, the incoming transfer class is going to address every hole that Tech has on the roster. In fact, the transfer class is set to add talent to every position group other than linebacker. That even includes the place-kicking position.
Additionally, head coach Joey McGuire has been given the financial flexibility to hire his hand-picked coordinators on both sides of the ball. Defensive coordinator Shiel Wood arrives from Houston where he performed a nearly miraculous one-year turnaround for the Cougars.
Meanwhile, offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich was one of the nation's most coveted up-and-coming offensive minds after leading an innovative and productive offensive attack at Texas State. To hire each new coordinator, Tech stepped up financially and both will arrive amid masssive expectations.
Then there is the fact that under head coach Joey McGuire, Tech has gotten back to a place of respectability. In fact, it feels as if the Red Raiders are on the verge of finally taking the next step toward competing for a conference championship.
After going 6-3 in Big 12 play this year, Tech has had three consecutive winning conference seasons. That's a first for the program since 1995-97.
Also, getting to six conference wins was the best the Red Raiders have done since going 7-1 in the Big 12 in the unforgettable 2008 season. That's a sign that McGuire has the arrow pointed in the right direction.
Finally, 2025 is set up to potentially be a year in which Tech could see everything come together. The Red Raiders will have a senior quarterback to lead the offense in Behren Morton and the best linebacker in the conference, Jacob Rodriguez, to lead the defense.
On top of that, Tech will return 16 players from the 2024 defensive two-deep. On offense, the losses will be greater with players like running back Tahj Brooks, wide receiver Josh Kelly, and tight end Jalin Conyers all graduating. However, the return of major contributors such as Morton, wide receivers Caleb Douglas and Coy Eakin, running backs J'Koby Williams and Cam Dickey, and offensive linemen Sheridan Wilson and Vinny Sciury will make the Red Raider offensive attack formidable once again.
In recent years, Texas Tech fans have become a bit jaded when it comes to offseason expectations. Years of being told that this will be the season that the program will be in the Big 12 title mix only to come up short of that goal have left many afraid to "drink the Kool-Aid".
It is understandable for that to keep one from being overly optimistic about next fall. However, the fact that the 2024 season ended with a whimper in Memphis should not dampen any Red Raider's outlook on what lies ahead for this program. Texas Tech has loaded up to make a splash in 2025 and it will be fun to see what McGuire and Co. can do on the field when September rolls back around.