No. 11 Texas Tech Is 3-0 Again, But This Season Feels Different

Texas Tech's football team has won its first three games of the season, just like it did last year. But this year, the No. 11 Red Raiders are winning in a very different way. Last season, they rolled over almost every opponent by big scores and made it to the College Football Playoff. This year, their wins have been much closer and harder to come by. Coach Joey McGuire said it best: "We don't look the same, but we're 3-0."

One big reason things are different is that Texas Tech lost nine players to the NFL Draft this past offseason. That was a school record, and six of those players were on defense. The team also had some drama with a transfer quarterback named Brendan Sorsby, who had a fight over whether he could play but eventually dropped the issue. Losing so many key players made it harder for the Red Raiders to look as sharp as they did last year.

Their three wins this season have all been a bit shaky. They had trouble scoring touchdowns in their first game against Abilene Christian, a smaller school. Then they were actually losing in their second game at Oregon State before coming back to win 35-24. In their third game, they beat No. 25 Houston 28-26 at home, but they almost gave it away by letting Houston score a touchdown in the final minute. Texas Tech had to stop Houston from getting a 2-point conversion that would have tied the game.

Defensive tackle A.J. Holmes said the team knows it isn't playing at its best yet. "Just because you had an awesome season last year, that's supposed to be the same, but we're still working and getting better every day," Holmes said. "So just because it's starting off a little rocky, don't mean it's going to end that way." That kind of attitude shows the team believes it can improve as the season goes on. Their home winning streak is now at 10 games in a row.

Texas Tech sits at the top of the Big 12 standings with five other teams, all at 3-0. The only school in the Big 12 with a losing record is Kansas, which is 1-2. This means the conference looks very balanced so far, with lots of good teams bunched together. However, not every 3-0 team has looked equally strong.

No. 9 BYU is one of the teams that has looked the most impressive. Running back LJ Martin is averaging 109.3 rushing yards per game and has scored three touchdowns. Quarterback Bear Bachmeier has thrown for 642 yards and six touchdowns with just one interception. BYU is 3-0 for the fourth year in a row, making them one of the most consistent teams in the conference.

No. 15 Utah has also gone 3-0, outscoring its opponents by a combined score of 142-24. The Utes blew out Idaho in new coach Morgan Scalley's first game, beat Arkansas by 33 points, and crushed in-state rival Utah State. But Utah has not faced any really tough opponents yet. Their first big challenge comes Saturday against Iowa State, a team that has won two games by large margins but also lost a close game to rival Iowa.

Kansas State is 3-0 after two easy wins, but barely held on to beat Tulane 31-20 last week. The Wildcats face another undefeated team, Cincinnati, on Saturday. Cincinnati had its own rough game last week, coming back from 21 points down at halftime to beat Miami (Ohio) 35-31. Both teams will be looking to prove they deserve to be undefeated.

One team worth watching is West Virginia. Coach Rich Rodriguez returned to his old school last year and the team went just 4-8. But this year the Mountaineers are playing much tougher football and are 3-0 for the first time since 2018. A big win over then-No. 25 Virginia helped put them on the map. Next up for West Virginia is Oklahoma State, a team that surprised everyone by beating then-No. 6 Oregon after losing 21 straight games against top-level opponents.

Other Big 12 teams are still finding their footing. Arizona and Arizona State are both 2-1, but both lost their biggest games so far — Arizona to BYU and Arizona State to No. 23 Texas A&M. Colorado is also 2-1 after getting blown out by Northwestern, and they play at Baylor on Saturday. TCU, also 2-1, heads to UCF in another matchup between two teams looking to separate themselves from the pack. The Big 12 race is wide open, and there is plenty of football left to be played.