Texas Tech bowl projections after week 10: An opponent Tech has never played before?

The Texas Tech football team has accomplished its first goal of the 2024 season by reaching bowl eligibility. Picking up their sixth win of the season by taking down No. 11 Iowa State 23-22, the Red Raiders didn't go down to the wire to qualify for a postseason game this year.

Last season, Tech had to win its final home game, the second-to-last game of the regular season, against UCF to get to a sixth win. That came on November 18.

The year before, Tech again got its sixth win by beating Iowa State on the road, just as it did this fall. However, that game was also the second-to-last game of the regular season and it was played on November 19.

In 2021, while playing for interim head coach Sonny Cumbie, the Red Raiders got win No. 6 on November 14 by beating Iowa State in Lubbock. That was the second-to-last home game of the seson for Tech which wouldn't win another game that year until the Liberty Bowl win over Mississippi State.

Of course, just getting to a bowl game is the lowest bar Tech aimed to clear this season. There are higher aspirations for this program and as we look toward this weekend's game against Colorado, a Big 12 championship is still possible.

Still, it is nice for the Red Raiders to have a 13th game to look forward to this season. So now that we know for certain that Tech will play in a bowl game this year, let's look at the latest Texas Tech bowl projections.

Texas Bowl vs South Carolina or Arkansas

Sports Illustrated's Patrick Andres and ESPN's Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach project the Red Raiders to play in the Texas Bowl in Houston. Wha'ts more, they all see the opponent being the South Carolina Gamecocks.

This year, South Carolina is 5-3 overall. The Gamecocks are coming off of an impressive 44-20 home win over No. 10 Texas A&M and with games remaining against Vanderbilt, Missouri, Wofford, and Clemson, they have plenty of opportunities to earn win No. 6. Should this matchup come to fruition, it would be the first time these programs have met.

Meanwhile, Steven Lassan of Athlon Sports also has Tech in the Texas Bowl in Houston. However, his opponent for the Red Raiders is Arkansas.

Tech's former Southwest Conference bunkmate, the Razorbacks are 5-4 on the season. They still have games remaining against Texas, Louisiana Tech, and Missouri with the first two of those at home.

Pop Tarts Bowl vs. SMU

Jerry Palm of CBS Sports projects an interesting matchup for the Red Raiders. He sees Tech taking on SMU in the Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida. That would be a game that would generate plenty of juice given the familiarity of these two fan bases and programs.

Tech owns a 33-16 edge in the all-time series against the Mustangs. That includes a current winning streak of 15 games stretching back to 1989. However, these schools haven't met since 2013.

This year, SMU is thinking bigger than the Pop Tarts Bowl, though. At 7-1 on the season, they have designs on playing for the ACC title and qualifying for the College Football Playoff.

Liberty Bowl vs. Vanderbilt

College Football Network holds steady for the second week in a row. Just like last week, they have the Red Raiders taking on Vanderbilt in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.

Though Vanderbilt is one of the feel-good stories of the season thanks to wins over Virginia Tech and Alabama, this would be a disappointing bowl destination for Texas Tech. Not only is Vanderbilt a rather unintriguing program historically, but Tech was just in the Liberty Bowl two years ago. Plus, a winter trip to Memphis is not exaclty gong to fire up most Texas Tech fans.