Joey McGuire knows his way around AT&T Stadium - and not just as a fan of the Dallas Cowboys. The Texas Tech head coach has built some good memories in the building, and he’s not alone.
Many of his Red Raiders have hoisted trophies under the lights of Jerry World before. Now, with the Big 12 Championship on the line, McGuire is aiming to add another chapter to that legacy - but first, Texas Tech has to get past a BYU team eager for redemption.
The Red Raiders already handled the Cougars once this season, rolling to a 29-7 win in a game that featured Patrick Mahomes on the sideline and ESPN’s College GameDay on site. But don’t let the score fool you - neither team walked away satisfied. Texas Tech left points on the field, and BYU left with a bitter taste in its mouth.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake made that clear during a Monday press conference, as he previewed the rematch with a heavy dose of respect for the Red Raiders.
“We did not show up our best,” Sitake admitted. “A lot of that had to do with Texas Tech.
They’re a complete team with a great coach, great coaching staff, and all three phases - they play amazing football. I think they’re the best team in the country.
So when you look at it that way, we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Texas Tech has looked like a team on a mission since that first meeting. Aside from a lone stumble at Arizona State - a game they played without starting quarterback Behren Morton - the Red Raiders have steamrolled their competition. And with Morton back at full strength, the offense has found another gear.
Starting with that BYU game, Texas Tech has outscored opponents 116-16 over its final three regular season games. That includes the 22-point win over BYU, a game where the Red Raiders had to settle for five field goals due to some red zone miscues.
“We were frustrated,” McGuire said, looking back on that first matchup. “We had a couple drops in the end zone.
And then you go back - I think that next week, the (College Football Playoff) committee said we weren’t scoring enough in the red zone. I think we’ve been one of the best teams in the country since that statement.
But it comes down to execution. They’re really not doing anything different than just executing at a really high level.”
That’s been the theme for McGuire’s squad down the stretch: execution. And now they’ll need it again, facing a BYU team that’s had weeks to stew over that loss and make adjustments.
In college football, rematches like this are rare - and tricky. McGuire knows that from experience.
Back in his days at Cedar Hill High School, McGuire coached through a similar scenario. His team beat DeSoto in double overtime during the regular season, then saw them again in the playoffs and won in dominant fashion. It’s a reminder that the second meeting is never just a repeat of the first.
“I asked the coaches yesterday in our staff meeting,” McGuire said, “to really dig into the first game - where we missed the mark, stuff where they could take advantage of us, and where we could take advantage of them.”
To prep for the rematch, McGuire is diving into BYU’s most recent games - against UCF, TCU, and Cincinnati - before circling back to the Nov. 8 meeting. The goal is to understand how both teams have evolved since that first clash.
“We’ve played each other and we kind of know our strengths and weaknesses,” McGuire said. “It’s going to come down to… I know that they’re frustrated, they feel like they left a lot on the field - we feel the same way.”
That’s the edge heading into this Big 12 title bout. Both teams feel like they’ve got something to prove.
For Texas Tech, it’s about finishing what they started. For BYU, it’s about showing the nation that the team that got pushed around in Lubbock isn’t who they really are.
One thing’s for sure: AT&T Stadium is about to host a heavyweight rematch, and Joey McGuire wouldn’t want it anywhere else.