The Case for Texas Tech 🌵 In their first year under head coach Joey McGuire, the Red Raiders had their best season of the CFP era. They went 8-5, capping their season with a 42-25 bowl victory over Ole Miss. This fall, Texas Tech returns ALL ELEVEN offensive starters. Most notably QB Tyler Shough who missed two thirds of the 2022 season. While having multiple injuries and three different QBs start 4+ games each, they still managed to score 34.2 PPG (27th of 131). Shough’s return is big, as he is 8-0 in his career in games that he’s started and finished (he had 480 total yards vs. Oklahoma, 353 total yards vs. Ole Miss in their last two games). Their most notable departure was EDGE Tyree Wilson who selected No. 7 overall in the NFL Draft. To help fill that gap, they got 4🌟 transfer EDGE Steve Linton (the No. 3 ranked transfer EDGE) from Syracuse. 4 of their 5 losses last year were on the road: at NC State (when they had Leary) at K State (Big 12 Champ) at OK State at TCU (national runner-up) This year they get 3 of their 4 hardest games at home: vs. #15 Oregon at home (Week 2) vs. #16 K State at home (Week 7) vs. #17 TCU at home (Week 9) They are currently just a 3-point underdog to #15 Oregon. They get their bye week before hosting #17 TCU. Their toughest game of the season (at least as of now) is the last week of the season: at #11 Texas. Texas Tech beat Texas 37-34 in OT last season. If they are able to start the season off strong with a victory over Oregon and build momentum for the remainder of their schedule, I can see Texas Tech having their best season since 2008. My 2023 projection for the Red Raiders is that they will take a huge step forward in year 2 under Joey McGuire and will make the Big 12 Championship.