Texas Tech’s football scheduling puzzle keeps getting tougher, and the Red Raiders are still searching for the kind of non-conference heavyweight matchup that keeps slipping away.
The latest setbacks have come from multiple directions. NC State backed out of a planned one-off in 2027 back in April, and Mississippi State came off the board for 2028 and 2029 after the SEC moved to a nine-game schedule. That second change, as the source notes, left little Texas Tech could have done to keep the Bulldogs in place.
Even before the Brendan Sorsby fallout pushed the issue into sharper focus, Texas Tech had already been running into walls. Schools like Georgia and Nebraska reportedly said they would not schedule the Red Raiders in football, and head coach Joey McGuire has not been shy about trying to force the issue himself.
He challenged Texas to open the season against Texas Tech, but the Longhorns quickly turned it down. That would have been one of the biggest Week 1 games on the board, alongside Clemson at LSU and Wisconsin vs.
Notre Dame, and it also would have revived an in-state rivalry that disappeared when Texas left for the SEC. Still, many college football analysts understand why Texas passed.
McGuire has also said he tried to line up USC and Texas A&M, though neither one has worked out for future non-conference schedules. The USC matchup had at least some life because of games being played in Houston and Las Vegas, but reports say the Trojans decided not to go forward with it.
While the scheduling chase continues, Texas Tech is also building out its financial foundation. The athletic department announced a 15-year naming rights deal with Galaxy, and the stadium formerly known as Jones AT&T Stadium is now Galaxy Stadium. The agreement is tied to NIL possibilities and investment, with the stadium serving as the home of Red Raider football.
Texas Tech has already been active in this new era of college athletics. The program integrated The Matador Club under the Red Raider Club umbrella, added approximately 80 student-athlete scholarships for non-revenue sports, and continues to lean on Cody Campbell and his influence as it grows.
There’s also a new move aimed at Texas Tech students. The athletic department announced a fresh system for reserving student tickets for football games this season and for games at United Supermarkets Arena. Starting with the 2026-27 academic year, the loyalty system will let students secure tickets in advance for both Galaxy Stadium and United Supermarkets Arena home events.
On the field, Texas Tech teams are already getting work in. The women’s soccer team beat New Mexico 4-1 in an exhibition, then opened the season with a 1-0 win at Hawaii, their first road game of the year.
Women’s volleyball also posted a 3-1 exhibition win over Abilene. And women’s soccer finished against Seattle University in a 0-0 draw.
In Other News...
Joey McGuire Just Gave Texas Tech A New Edge For 2026
Joey McGuire used a recent podcast appearance to push back on the criticism that followed the Brendan Sorsby gambling controversy, and he didnt sound like a coach eager to move on quietly. Texas Techs head coach suggested that some of the loudest voices, especially in coaching and college sports administration, ought to think twice before piling on, since similar situations could eventually land in their own orbit.
For the Red Raiders, the bigger takeaway may be the tone McGuire has set heading toward the 2026 season. His comments framed the backlash as something his team can carry with it, turning outside noise into a source of motivation as Texas Tech keeps building for what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Just Got Its First National Reality Check
The preseason AP Poll gave the Big 12 a familiar kind of attention, and Texas Tech came out of it in the best possible light as the leagues highest-ranked team at No. 12. BYU followed at No. 14, Utah landed at No. 21 and Houston checked in at No. 23, giving the conference four teams in the Top 25 and underscoring how much national respect the league has collected before a snap has been played. Arizona and TCU were close behind just outside the poll, a sign that the Big 12s depth is already being treated like one of the defining storylines of the season.
For Texas Tech, the broader takeaway matters almost as much as the ranking itself. Preseason polls have a way of setting expectations that the league spends the fall trying to confirm or upend, and the Big 12 has increasingly lived in that space where early respect can turn into weekly pressure. If the Red Raiders are going to justify being the conferences highest-ranked team, they will have to do it while navigating a league that already has several teams positioned to make noise in the Top 25 race. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Is Emerging As The Big 12 Team Nobody Wants To Ignore
Texas Tech keeps popping up in the preseason conversation for the kind of reasons that matter in August: a roster that looks deeper, a program that has built real momentum, and a sense that the Red Raiders are no longer just another Big 12 team trying to hang around. In a field where Miami and Louisville also got nods as underrated national names, Texas Tech stands out because the buzz is tied to more than one splashy offseason talking point. It is about a group that has put itself in position to matter when the conference race starts to settle.
That is what makes the Red Raiders so interesting as the season approaches. The preseason rankings only tell part of the story, but Texas Tech is being framed as the kind of team that can move from overlooked to unavoidable if the early returns match the promise. The next question is whether that momentum can turn into the sort of run that puts the Big 12 title picture, and maybe even the College Football Playoff conversation, within reach. [Read more 🡒]