One of the criticisms aimed at the Texas Tech football program is its lack of quality non-conference opponents. That shouldn't be a problem in 2027.
According to reports, the Red Raiders have agreed to open next season against USC in Las Vegas. That means that Tech will face off with USC head coach Lincoln Riley, a native of Muleshoe and a former walk-on QB at Texas Tech.
Riley is currently in his fifth season with the Trojans as head coach. In that time, he's struggled to get the program back to national prominence.
Entering Saturday, he was 42-20 overall since arriving from Oklahoma, where he had tremendous success. Still, the USC name remains one of the most recognizable in college football.
NEW: Texas Tech and USC are finalizing a neutral site matchup in Las Vegas to open the 2027 season, @walexander reports. https://t.co/U6Hj2crJG5 pic.twitter.com/FGghYVrJiB
— On3 (@On3) November 14, 2026
This is the type of high-profile non-conference game the Red Raiders have been trying to schedule in recent years. However, it has been difficult for head coach Joey McGuire and his program to find a dance partner.
In each of the past two seasons, the Red Raiders have not faced a Power-4 opponent outside of Big 12 play. That was due to the fact that Oregon State does not meet that criterion since the PAC-12 had to reshuffle its table of schools following the departure of most of its name-brand programs.
When that series was agreed to, back in May of 2017, it was supposed to be a matchup of major-conference opponents. However, by the time that the two programs met on the field the past two seasons, the PAC-12 was a shell of its former self.
What's more, other Power-4 programs such as Mississippi State and NC State have recently backed out of scheduled games against Texas Tech. That has left Tech's recent non-conference schedule lacking. The criticism, though, has fallen at the Red Raiders' feet as people around the nation have held Tech's weak schedule as a point of ridicule.
Tech needed to find a Power-4 opponent to add to the 2027 schedule to meet the College Football Playoff Selection Committee's requirement of 10 Power-4 games. USC certainly solves that problem, at least for one season.
All-time, the Trojans hold a 3-0 lead over the Red Raiders. However, the last time the teams met was in the 1995 Cotton Bowl. Before that, the two schools squared off in 1978 and 1979.
The 2027 matchup will be the first time Tech has played a Power-4 team in the non-conference portion of the schedule since Oregon played in Lubbock in 2023. Tech was supposed to play the Ducks on the road the next season but agreed to rework that deal and play Washington State instead. That decision, which was made at the request of Oregon, was to allow the Ducks to maintain their annual series with in-state rival Oregon State.
Tech will make the trip to Eugene, Oregon, in 2033. However, the Red Raiders will have plenty of work to do to fill out their non-conference schedule with Power-4 teams until then.
The only other Power-4 series Tech has on the books right now is a three-game set with Arkansas. Tech and the Hogs will meet in Las Vegas in 2030, while the Red Raiders will go to Fayetteville in 2031 and the Razorbacks will come to Lubbock in 2034.
Hopefully, the program will find more Power-4 teams willing to play home-and-home series. However, until that happens, playing marquee programs like USC at a neutral site is a nice way to keep the non-conference schedule competitive.
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