What to hope for when the 2024 Texas Tech football schedule is released
With the Big 12 expanding to 16 teams this summer, there has been quite a bit of anticipation for the release of the 2024 football schedule. Now, it is being reported that fans will finally get to see the official schedule for the conference on January 30.
Of course, we already know who each team will face. We just don't know the order of the games.
This coming season, Texas Tech will again have five home conference games. Arizona State, Colorado, West Virginia, Baylor, and Cincinnati will all come to Jones Stadium where Tech has become quite difficult to beat under Joey McGuire. In addition, Abilene Christian and North Texas will come to Lubbock in the non-conference portion of the schedule.
However, Tech has struggled on the road during McGuire's tenure. To change that narrative, the Red Raiders will have to beat Oklahoma State, Arizona, Iowa State, and TCU (as well as Washington State in non-conference play).
This will be a strange year in some ways as Tech won't face Texas for the first time since 1959. It will also be strange for Tech to miss traditional Big 12 opponents such as Kansas State and Kansas. While playing the Jayhawks has been a blessing for the Red Raiders given that Tech is 23-2 all-time in the series, avoiding the Wildcats will be nice since KSU currently owns an 8-game winning streak over the Red Raiders.
In all, this is a schedule that could be rather manageable for McGuire's third squad. Tech will not have to face Utah, which will likely be the Big 12 preseason favorite. What's more, K-State will also be a trendy pick to win the league making this a good year to see them left off of the schedule.
So let's look at what we should hope for from the schedule when it is released. And we'll begin by praying Tech avoids a potentially cold road trip.
Texas Tech wants to avoid going to Ames in November
No team wants to play at Iowa State. It's one of the toughest road trips in the Big 12 given how loyal and passionate the Cyclone fan base is.
That is especially true when thinking about going to Ames when it is cold. That's why Red Raider fans want to see the Red Raiders avoid a November trip up north.
Now, that doesn't mean the Red Raiders can't come away from Jack Trice Stadium with a late-season win. As recently as 2022, Tech was able to score a 14-10 victory over the Cyclones in Ames on November 19.
However, that was a rare feat for Red Raiders to pull off. For instance, in 2016, Tech went to Ames on a brutally cold November 10th and left with a 66-10 beating despite being quarterbacked by Patrick Mahomes II.
The truth is that Tech hasn't won much at Iowa State not necessarily because of the cold but because the program hasn't been very good since the Mike Leach era. Still, cold-weather games don't typically go Tech's way, and avoiding Ames in November is always a plus. Hopefully, the 2024 schedule will send Tech there early on when the weather won't be a factor.