Texas Tech’s first College Football Playoff ranking left plenty for Red Raiders fans to gripe about, and Tuesday’s comments from selection committee chairman Hunter Yurachek only sharpened the frustration.
The Red Raiders landed at No. 15 in the committee’s opening top 25, a spot that feels shaky for a 7-1 team when only 12 programs will make the field. What really set people off was seeing a string of two-loss teams placed ahead of Texas Tech, including LSU at No. 14.
Yurachek, who is also the Arkansas athletic director, pointed to Tech’s road loss at Cincinnati as a major reason for the placement.
"I think that the committee thinks highly of Texas Tech," he said Tuesday, "and you look at when they went on the road a couple of weeks ago, didn't play well against Cincinnati, and give Cincinnati a lot of credit for that. That's followed up with what Utah went to Cincinnati and did this past week."
That explanation puts the spotlight on Tech’s worst outing of the year, and it does make sense to a point. But the wider picture is where the Red Raiders’ supporters are bristling. Other teams with losses to unranked opponents are sitting much higher.
Texas, for instance, has a neutral-site loss to unranked Oklahoma and is still No. 7.
Georgia was beaten at home by Auburn and checks in at No. 2.
BYU has just one ranked win and lost on the road to a bad UCF team, yet the Cougars are No. 9.
Notre Dame, meanwhile, has no wins over ranked teams at all, but its dominant results against a soft schedule have pushed the Irish to No. 11.
The LSU comparison is the one that really stings. The Tigers are one spot ahead of Tech despite a resume that includes no wins over teams currently in the committee’s top 25. Their two ranked wins from earlier in the season, against Texas A&M and Mississippi State, no longer count as ranked victories because both teams have fallen out of the poll.
Still, Yurachek defended LSU’s position when asked directly about it.
"I think you'll have to really lean on the loss that [Texas Tech] had at Cincinnati two weeks ago for that reason. LSU has a loss against Kentucky, who's ranked 6 in our poll, and a loss to Ole Miss, who's ranked 10th in our poll, and LSU has looked good, and the games that they have won, they have dominated those games against some really stiff competition within the SEC, and then that season-opening win that they had against Clemson."
That answer says plenty. Texas Tech’s loss is clearly carrying weight, but so are the committee’s impressions of schedule strength and how convincingly teams have handled business. The Red Raiders’ close calls against Oregon State and Houston, along with the uneven wins over Colorado and Sam Houston, are part of the case against them.
It also underscores something Tech fans already suspected: the SEC carries real influence in these rankings. Yurachek specifically cited LSU’s work against “stiff competition” in the conference, which helps explain why the Tigers are sitting above the Red Raiders.
For Texas Tech, the path forward is obvious, even if the climb is not. The Red Raiders have to win out, and they have to do it with authority.
Leaving unranked teams hanging around is not going to help. If Tech wants to keep moving up, the margin matters now.
And even then, the question remains whether SEC bias is too much to overcome.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Just Got A CFP Reality Check Fans Wont Like
Texas Techs first College Football Playoff ranking of the season delivered a blunt message, and it was not a flattering one. Despite a 7-1 record and two wins over top-25 opponents, the Red Raiders landed at No. 15, a placement that underscored just how little margin for error they may have with the committee.
The ranking also fed the familiar frustration around the Big 12, with several teams sitting above Texas Tech despite weaker rsums or fewer quality wins. For the Red Raiders, the path is now obvious but unforgiving: keep stacking wins and, most likely, win the Big 12 to have any real shot at staying in the playoff conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Should Watch This TCU Problem Before November Arrives
TCUs November is going to demand a lot, and Texas Tech has reason to keep an eye on it. The Horned Frogs are staring at a finish that includes three of their last four games against ranked opponents, with Arizona, Utah and the Red Raiders all on the schedule as they try to lock up bowl eligibility and keep their season moving in the right direction.
Sonny Dykes has pushed the message of staying in the moment and not getting caught looking ahead, which makes sense with that kind of closing stretch. TCU believes its defense can keep it in games, but the offense still needs to clean things up, and the players sound confident they can handle the challenge. For Texas Tech, the bigger question is whether the Frogs will be sharper by the time that matchup arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Faces A Real Test In A Tricky West Virginia Spot
Texas Tech gets another Big 12 measuring stick this week with West Virginia coming to town, and the timing makes it a little more interesting than a standard home game for the No. 13 Red Raiders. After the loss to Cincinnati, Texas Tech steadied itself with a win over Arizona, but the Mountaineers arrive with a bit of life after snapping a three-game skid by beating Cincinnati and TCU.
JKoby Williams has been one of the recent bright spots for Texas Tech, and his form is part of why this matchup still feels manageable on paper. Even so, West Virginia has reminded the league it can still make things awkward, which is why the betting line and the predictions around this one have drawn attention heading into kickoff. [Read more 🡒]