CINCINNATI - Texas Tech arrived with a loud offseason boast hanging over it, and left with a bruising loss that made Cody Campbell’s words age badly.
Campbell, the billionaire booster who has poured money into the Red Raiders and serves as chair of the school’s Board of Regents, had used a Paramount+ documentary to talk up what he saw as Texas Tech’s handling of the Brendan Sorsby situation. His line in the film was blunt: “Looking back on it, I know that Texas Tech and I handled everything with integrity, and we did things the right way,” said Campbell, who also chairs the school’s Board of Regents.
“I think this is something that could have been handled much more privately. We’re not going to forget about that, and I don’t think they’ll forget about it either when we’re up by 40 and still throwing the ball in the fourth quarter.
That’s where the retribution will come.”
The retribution never showed up that way. Instead, Cincinnati controlled the game and rolled to a 37-24 upset of No.
8 Texas Tech, then kneeled twice to drain the final seconds after holding a lead of at least two touchdowns for the last 31 minutes and 37 seconds. The Bearcats didn’t keep pouring it on late; they let the clock run and let the celebration begin as Nippert Stadium emptied onto the field.
Cincinnati’s athletic X account marked the win and made sure to tag Campbell. Campbell’s own postgame response was short and sharp: “There is no excuse or reason to lose a game like this. We have to be better.”
There is no excuse or reason to lose a game like this. We have to be better. @TexasTechFB
Campbell was not seen at Nippert Stadium. Texas Tech president Lawrence Schovanec and athletic director Kirby Hocutt were there, both stone-faced during Joey McGuire’s postgame news conference and occasionally checking their phones.
For the Red Raiders, the loss does real damage beyond the embarrassment. If they don’t reach the Big 12 championship game, they could be left out of the College Football Playoff at 11-1.
If they make the title game and lose, they could still be pushed out at 11-2. At this point, the cleanest path is simple: finish 12-1 and leave no doubt.
That’s not the kind of position Texas Tech expected to be in after building what looks like a deep, expensive roster. But Saturday exposed plenty of flaws.
Cincinnati scored the most points against Tech since the 2024 Liberty Bowl, and its 252 rushing yards were the most anyone has put on the Red Raiders since Oct. 19, 2024.
Texas Tech also turned it over three times and committed 12 penalties for 80 yards, a season high that doesn’t even include at least two holding calls Cincinnati declined.
The Red Raiders were just 3 of 15 on third down and scored one touchdown in four trips inside the red zone. That again put the spotlight on quarterback Will Hammond, whose season has already become tangled in the fallout from Brendan Sorsby’s transfer saga. Texas Tech had also brought in Tommy Castellanos as a backup, but he never got on the field Saturday despite the offense repeatedly stalling near the goal line.
McGuire didn’t hide his frustration after the game.
“It seems like this happened to us last year at this time and we didn’t play well, but this was totally different from that loss,” McGuire said. “We talk about it all the time-bad football, this was bad football.”
He added, “We played about as bad as we could play,” McGuire said. “I’m telling you guys, I’ve been doing this a long time and I can’t think of a game that was as frustrating as what I was just a part of. … I’m as frustrated as I think I’ve ever been in my 32 years of coaching [because] of what we did today.”
Cincinnati came in on a two-game losing streak, but Scott Satterfield’s team has a habit of producing the kind of result few people see coming. This one fit that pattern. It also put upcoming ranked opponents Utah, Houston and BYU on alert, while turning the spotlight back on Texas Tech’s postseason outlook.
The noise around the game never really stayed on the field. With the result in hand, Nippert’s speakers played “All My Ex’s Live In Texas,” and the student section chanted “F--- you, Sorsby” late in the game. When the final horn sounded, Cincinnati fans climbed the walls ringing the stadium and stayed there as the clock hit zero.
The Bearcats kept the goalposts upright. Texas Tech took the hit. And Campbell’s promise of retribution ended as just another bad look in a loss the Red Raiders can’t afford to repeat.
In Other News...
Texas Techs QB Problem Just Changed The Big 12 Picture
Texas Techs quarterback situation has gone from uneasy to urgent after Cincinnati handled the Red Raiders 37-18, a result that exposed just how thin the margin is for a team trying to stay afloat in the Big 12. Will Hammond put up 227 passing yards, but the production came with an interception and a fumble, and the offense never found much rhythm when it mattered most. Cincinnati also took advantage of a defense that gave up plenty on the ground, turning a competitive setup into a lopsided conference result.
The bigger concern is what comes next for a Texas Tech team already dealing with the absence of Brendan Sorsby, who stepped away amid a gambling probe. With ranked opponents on deck, the Red Raiders need far cleaner play from Hammond and a steadier overall operation if they want to avoid letting one loss turn into a deeper slide. For Cincinnati, it was the kind of conference win that can sharpen the bracket conversation around the league, especially when an opponents quarterback issues are becoming impossible to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Cincinnati Just Turned A Statement Win Into More Texas Tech Drama
Texas Tech came into its trip to Cincinnati unbeaten and left with its first loss of the season, a result that tightened the Red Raiders path in the College Football Playoff race. For the Bearcats, it was the kind of statement win that carries more weight than a single Saturday, especially against a program with bigger postseason ambitions and very little room to absorb a stumble.
The aftermath added another layer to an already testy relationship between the schools. Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell took to social media to criticize the Red Raiders after the defeat, keeping the spotlight on a matchup that has been charged well beyond the field for months. Campbells frustration with Cincinnati has been tied to the offseason Brendan Sorsby transfer situation and the public back-and-forth that followed, which made this loss land with even more force in Lubbock. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Has A Stake In The Big 12's Next Decision
Cincinnatis upset over Texas Tech did more than give the Bearcats a signature home win. It sent fans spilling onto the Nippert Stadium field, a scene that put the program back in the Big 12s spotlight and marked Cincinnatis first home victory over a top-10 opponent since 2006.
Now the conference is reviewing whether the Bearcats crossed the line under its field-storming policy, with the key question centered on the postgame exit for Texas Tech and the officiating crew. A ruling is expected soon, and Cincinnati could find itself waiting on the league to decide whether the celebration comes with a financial penalty. [Read more 🡒]