Those Texas Tech football fans who are afraid of embracing offseason hype should get ready for a rough offseason. That's because the 2025 Red Raiders are going to be talked about quite positively in the lead-up to next fall.
In fact, the Red Raiders are already showing up in some national way-too-early top 25 rankings. That's a sign that people around the country expect Tech to take a step forward in the fourth year of head coach Joey McGuire's tenure.
For instance, Sports Illustrated has Tech at No. 22 in its 2025 way-too-early rankings. Of course, the main reason is the Red Raiders' success in the transfer portal this offseason.
"Assessing the programs that hit the transfer portal heavily can be a challenge," the article says, "but anyway you strike it, the Red Raiders are one of this offseason’s big winners. Joey McGuire is adding 17 transfers, including seven former four-stars, making for arguably the best transfer class in the country. Adding that talent on both sides of the ball, along with returning an experienced quarterback in redshirt senior Behren Morton could help Texas Tech climb out of the muddled Big 12 middle and into position for an automatic bid."
247Sports.com puts McGuire's team at No. 22 as well. They also point to the transfer portal class as the reason for that ranking.
Other Big 12 teams in that ranking are Iowa State (No. 18), Kansas State (No. 17), and Arizona State (No. 15).
Meanwhile, Dennis Dodd at CBSSports.com puts the Red Raiders at No. 24 in his 2025 rankings. He notes that Tech has won eight games twice in McGuire's tenure and says that the program is ready to "bust out" next season.
It is great to see the Red Raiders get some early national attention. However, there is a significant portion of the fan base around Raiderland that doesn't want to drink the Kool-Aid.
That's easy to understand. In each of the past two offseasons, there has been quite a bit of talk about the Red Raiders being a dark horse contender for either the Big 12 title or even the College Football Playoff.
Much of that hype has been generated by internal expectations as well as McGuire's exuberance and confidence. Unfortunately, though, Tech has yet to be able to break through the glass ceiling that has kept this program mired in mediocrity since the end of the Mike Leach era over a decade and a half ago.
As a result, some fans have said they refuse to believe in a Red Raider renaissance until it actually happens. However, many of those who don't have any emotional ties to Texas Tech are buying into the Red Raiders as a legitimate contender next fall. Hopefully, this will be the year that those experts are correct when it comes to McGuire and his team.