Texas Tech's dream season ended with a nightmare in Miami. The Red Raiders got an inspired performance from the defense, as they have all season, but Behren Morton and the offense were downright awful, losing 23-0 to Oregon in the Orange Bowl.
The game was an unfortunate ending to a great run that included Tech's first Big XII conference championship. It also showed that there is a lot of work left to be done, and many replacements will be found when the transfer portal opens tomorrow. After today's game, it's easy to see where Texas Tech's initial focus will be.
A moment before the postgame conference began, Joey McGuire consoled his quarterback.
— Ty Kaplan (@TyKaplan_) January 1, 2026
Thursday marked the end of Behren Morton’s lifelong dream of playing for Texas Tech. pic.twitter.com/kCWGGlOyue
Red Raiders must find more on offense
Cody Campbell and the big-bank rollers at Texas Tech used their financial resources to build one of the best defenses in the country, now it's time to do more on offense. Quarterback is where it begins. There's no nice way to put Morton's performance on Thursday. It was bad and if Texas Tech wants to be serious contenders for a championship, it needs more from the position.
Cincinnati's Brendan Sorsby is the big name that is most linked with Tech, but there are plenty of good QBs expected to be in the portal. How would South Florida's Byrum Brown, who threw for 3,000 yards and rushed for 1,000, fit in Lubbock? Or maybe a more experienced, cerebral player like Iowa State's Rocco Becht?
And Texas Tech has to build some pieces around the new signal caller. A top wide receiver is also needed. How about Colorado's Omarion Cooper? He's a legitimate No. 1 outside target that could get to 1,000 yards in a season with the right QB.
Leadership, experience and production are needed on defense
As much as the Red Raiders will need to improve the offense, they will have to replace many of the stars from that unit, including All-Americans Jacob Rodrirguz and David Bailey and defensive tackle Lee Hunter.
Some help will come from a top-20 recruiting class that includes five-star edge defender LaDamion Guyton. That's a significant young building block, but replacing a big-body defender like Hunter is definitely going to come from the portal. Would Arkansas' space eater Ian Geffard be a guy that could provide some help?
Replacing a player like Rodriguez probably doesn't happen with just one guy, but Pittsburgh's Rasheem Biles might be the closest thing.
It looks like Texas Tech has to do a lot to repeat its success of 2025, but they've got a lot of resources to pull it off, so it's time to make it happen.