Week 0 of the 2025 college football season is wrapped up and done. Now we’re on to Week 1. And that means we’ll get to see the Texas Tech Red Raiders play sooner rather than later. But even though we didn’t get to watch Texas Tech this past weekend doesn’t mean that we didn’t get to see some meaningful Big 12 football.
There were a couple of games over the weekend that involved a small handful of Big 12 teams. We had Iowa State and Kansas State going international for a meeting across the Atlantic Ocean in Dublin, Ireland while Kansas hosted Fresno State in Kansas.
And we had some pretty interesting results. Iowa State managed to survive K-State while Kansas beat up on the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Let’s take a look at some of that.
What does this mean for Texas Tech?
The schedule certainly becomes a lot more interesting for Joey McGuire and Texas Tech. We’ll get to see the Red Raiders meet up with both the Kansas Jayhawks and the Kansas State Wildcats, but Texas Tech gets to avoid Iowa State.
Which, given how Iowa State beat K-State, I don’t view that as a bad thing.
But, with those things to consider, Texas Tech can’t afford to have a slow start. There’s a great opportunity for the Red Raiders here in the first few weeks of the season to build some momentum.
Along with that, it’ll be interesting to see how Shiel Wood’s defense is able to take on the Jayhawks and their incredibly efficient offense. Or in that early November trip to face off against Kansas State. That trip to Manhattan will be fascinating as we see Mack Leftwich’s offense against a pretty solid (but not perfect) Wildcats defense.
How does this impact the Big 12?
The Iowa State Cyclones made it to last season’s Big 12 championship game for a reason and it sure looks like they’ll have a chance to get back there again this year. With the way this conference has so much parity and talent spread out, the Cyclones winning in Dublin helps set them up nicely for an attempt to get to the conference title game once more.
After all, Kansas State was one of the handful of other teams that many expected to make a push for competing for the Big 12 championship this season. There’s now not much of a margin for the Wildcats as they try to move forward.
As for Kansas? Well, this game really didn't impact anyone else in the conference, but it probably felt pretty good to get a win to start the season while the Jayhawks’ rival didn’t.
What’s next for Iowa State, Kansas State, and Kansas?
After taking care of business in Ireland, Iowa State will return to the United States with an unblemished record and will get set to take on South Dakota this coming Saturday. That should present the Cyclones with another win.
As for Kansas State, who suffered a frustrating loss in Dublin, the Wildcats are also headed home. And they too will face a team from the Dakotas. But for the Wildcats, they’ll be meeting up with North Dakota in Manhattan.
Now on to Kansas. The Jayhawks won’t be playing a football game on Saturday. Instead, they’ll take on *checks notes* Wagner on Friday night.
What’s next for Texas Tech?
Week 1. The start of the season. It’s here. We’ll see it soon enough. The Red Raiders will have a chance to get things going against Arkansas-Pine Bluff this weekend. And then after that, we start getting slightly more competitive games and more difficult opponents.
It’s an exciting time to be a Texas Tech fan. It really is. The Red Raiders have a shot at making things interesting in the Big 12 this season with the way the schedule shakes out and the way the roster is assembled. And it all starts this Saturday.