Joey McGuire spent part of Big 12 Football Media Days floating the idea of a marquee in-state non-conference slate, with Texas and SMU both in the mix. But it was the Longhorns who clearly carried the most weight in the conversation, especially with McGuire and Steve Sarkisian locked into the same recruiting battle across Texas.
That backdrop made McGuire’s “Spot the ball” line to Don Williams of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal land with a little extra bite when the topic turned to a possible Texas season-opener. On Thursday, five-star Texas CB commit John Meredith III answered that talk with a pointed response of his own. Asked about McGuire’s comments, Meredith told Rivals, “I would like Texas to play Texas Tech so people can know what’s the real difference between them.”
Meredith, a Fort Worth, Texas, native, committed to Texas in June after also drawing interest from Texas A&M, Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Texas Tech officially offered him on Nov. 30, 2024.
McGuire, for his part, made it sound like he wouldn’t mind settling things on the field sooner rather than later. Asked how serious he was about the idea of opening against Texas, he said, “Spot the ball, man,” before adding, “We're ready to go right now.
We'll play it tomorrow. We don't need any film study or anything like that, man.
I know they don't either.”
The last time these teams met, Texas handled Texas Tech 57-7 in 2023, finishing the job as the No. 7 team in the country and in the program’s final Big 12 game. Texas rolled up 302 rushing yards, with Jaydon Blue leading the way, and forced three interceptions from Behren Morton in a game where neither side converted more than three third downs. Texas Tech ended that season 7-6 overall and seventh in the Big 12.
There’s no shortage of reasons a rematch would draw attention. Texas left the College Football Playoff picture last season and instead closed with a 41-27 win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.
Under Sarkisian, the Longhorns have put together three straight double-digit win seasons in Austin since their final year in the Big 12, and they entered 2024 with national-title expectations. Arch Manning is once again being talked about as a Heisman Trophy favorite after correcting his first-half issues from last season.
Texas Tech, meanwhile, is trying to turn last year’s momentum into something even bigger. Its peak came with a loss to Oregon in the Orange Bowl, a result that left some of the shine off the run, but the Red Raiders arrived at media days as one of the league’s headliners anyway, even with the Brendan Sorsby drama in the background.
They’re the outright favorites to win the Big 12 again, and the schedule gives them only a few obvious soft spots, with Colorado and West Virginia standing out on one side and no BYU or Utah on the other. Instead, the big tests appear to be Arizona, Baylor and TCU.
A Texas-Texas Tech CFP meeting would be the kind of thing that shakes the sport. For now, though, it remains a talking point more than a plan. Until a date gets written down for 2029, 2031 or somewhere beyond that, the rivalry is still living in the realm of what-ifs.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Finally Put A Timeline On JT Toppins Return
Texas Tech finally gave its fan base something concrete on JT Toppin, even if the update still leaves plenty of uncertainty. The Red Raiders said the standout forward is expected back for the 2026-27 season after a knee injury cut short what had been a dominant run, one that put him on the national radar with First-Team AP All-American recognition and production that made him one of the most productive big men in the country.
What Texas Tech did not spell out is the more immediate part of the recovery, and that is the part that matters most for the programs planning. Toppins absence changes the shape of the roster and the expectations around next season, while also keeping the focus on how he comes back from an injury that interrupted a season built on high-end scoring, rebounding and all-around impact. [Read more 🡒]
Eric Gutierrez Headlines A Texas Tech Hall Of Fame Class Fans Will Love
Texas Techs Hall of Fame will have a little extra buzz next fall, with the school announcing its 2026 class of eight former athletes from across the programs sports. The group will be honored during the weekend of the Sept. 26 home game against Sam Houston, and the headliner for plenty of Red Raider fans is Eric Gutierrez, the former baseball standout who is now on the Texas Tech coaching staff.
Gutierrezs induction carries a nice full-circle feel, especially since he made the Hall of Fame on his first year on the ballot. He is joined by Joe Filani, another former Red Raider who has gone on to coach at the college level, giving the class a strong current-day connection to the program as Texas Tech gets ready to celebrate a group that should resonate well beyond one sport. [Read more 🡒]