Texas Tech should have a key piece back in the mix Saturday in Boulder.
Tight end Terrance Carter Jr. is expected to play against Colorado after missing one game, a boost for a Red Raiders offense that has been searching for more consistency in Big 12 play. Head coach Joey McGuire said Thursday night on his weekly radio show, "It's going to be great to get Terrance Carter Jr. back this week,"
For Texas Tech, the timing matters. The offense has not fully hit its groove in 2026, and Carter gives quarterback Will Hammond another dependable target to pair with wide receivers Kenny Johnson and Coy Eakin.
Carter’s season has been slowed by injuries from the start. He entered 2026 with big expectations after posting 55 catches for 624 yards and five touchdowns in his first year as a Red Raider, but he has only five receptions for 62 yards so far this fall. He missed the Oregon State game in week two because of a foot injury and sat out last week’s Sam Houston game in Lubbock with a shoulder issue.
Texas Tech has managed to keep rolling without him. Transfer tight end Jett Carpenter and true freshman Matt "Moose" Ludwig have filled the void well enough to help the Red Raiders get to 4-0. Still, neither has Carter’s explosiveness, and McGuire made clear what Tech has been missing.
"Whenever he gets the ball in his hands," McGuire said Thursday, "you have yards after the catch. And so, some of that we've missed."
That absence has left the Red Raiders leaning heavily on Johnson and Eakin. The pair has accounted for 31 catches, 472 yards and three touchdowns. The rest of the team’s wideouts and tight ends have combined for 30 receptions, 375 yards and two scores, a split that shows how much Texas Tech needs another playmaker to step forward.
Carter was also supposed to be a safety valve for Hammond, a first-time starter who could use a steady outlet in the passing game. McGuire pointed to that kind of relationship when talking about the value of a trusted target.
"When you look at all quarterbacks," McGuire said, "when you look at the best in the world is Patrick Mahomes, and he's got Travis Kelce. I mean, there is a deal where, whether it's a running back or a tight end, there is a comfortability of being able to find that guy..."
Even so, Carter remains listed as "Questionable" on Thursday’s updated Big 12 injury report. Under McGuire, though, players tagged "Questionable" have usually ended up suiting up.
In Other News...
Baylor May Have Just Sparked A Colorado Quarterback Problem
Deion Sanders has spent the first month of the season trying to find the right answer at quarterback, and Baylor may have been the latest team to force the issue. After Julian Lewis struggled in Week 4, Sanders chose to sit the redshirt freshman, a move that immediately shifted the focus in Boulder from development to damage control.
Isaac Wilson is now expected to get the nod against Texas Tech, according to reports from ESPN and CBS Sports, though Sanders has not officially made that call public. Even with the change, he says the competition is still open and he praised Lewis for how hard he competed, but the timing suggests Colorado is looking for stability fast with the Red Raiders next on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Faces A Road Test That Could Get Uncomfortable Fast
Colorados homecoming game brings No. 12 Texas Tech into a setting where the Buffaloes will need to be sharp early, even as the visitors arrive favored and with plenty of momentum. The matchup starts in the trenches, where Colorados interior defensive line has the unenviable task of slowing the Red Raiders run game and making life difficult for quarterback Will Hammond, who is still working back from a torn ACL.
On the other side, Colorados offense has a challenge of its own in the passing game, where receiver Williams is set to see plenty of Texas Tech top cornerback Brice Pollock. If that matchup tilts the wrong way for Colorado, the Buffaloes could be in for a long afternoon, with little room to ease into the kind of game they need to make homecoming matter. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Could Catch Texas Tech In A Quarterback Mess
With Texas Tech still waiting on guidance from its compliance office, the quarterback picture has suddenly become one of the biggest questions heading into the matchup with Colorado. The issue centers on Tommy Castellanos, whose status changed after the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled on Oct. 2 that he was ineligible to play, dissolving the temporary injunction that had kept him on the field as a fifth-year college athlete.
For the Red Raiders, the timing is far from ideal. Any decision on whether Castellanos can be used against Colorado will rest with the schools compliance staff, leaving Texas Tech to sort through an uncertain situation just as the game approaches. It adds another layer of intrigue to a quarterback room already under pressure, with the next step still hanging in the balance. [Read more 🡒]