Texas Tech is sitting at 5-0, ranked inside the top 10 in both polls, and staring at the midpoint of its season with a lot to like. The Red Raiders have put themselves in position to defend their Big 12 crown. But even with the record and the rankings, there are still some real questions hanging over Joey McGuire’s team as Arizona State comes to Lubbock this weekend.
The biggest one starts at quarterback. Will Hammond has been solid, and the advanced numbers have been better than most people realize. Even so, nobody is pretending he has reached his peak, and Texas Tech’s offense as a whole still hasn’t found its top gear.
The Red Raiders need more of the version of Hammond they got against Houston than the one they saw against Sam Houston and Colorado. Against Houston, he went 17-for-27 for 257 yards and a touchdown with just one interception, and his QB rating checked in at 147.7 even though his receivers dropped three critical passes. Over the last two games, though, he has completed 34 of 55 passes for 358 yards total, which comes out to 179.0 per game, with a 117.6 QB rating, three interceptions and two touchdowns.
Nobody is expecting Hammond to turn into Joe Montana. But if Texas Tech is going to get back to the playoffs, he’s going to have to level up.
The other side of the ball has been carrying more of the load, and that raises a different question: can the defense do it again? Tech’s defense has started to look sharper, especially over the last two games against Sam Houston and Colorado, when the Red Raiders gave up just 21 points combined, forced seven turnovers and allowed only 76 rushing yards per game.
That’s important because the overall numbers still show a defense that has work to do. Tech is 70th nationally in total defense and 124th against the pass.
Even so, the points allowed tell a better story. The Red Raiders are 26th in the country at 16.2 points allowed per game, and they’ve done that while facing a couple of high-scoring teams in Oregon State and Houston.
There’s no argument that defense is this team’s strength. The real question is whether it’s strong enough to carry Texas Tech back to a conference title the way the 2025 defense did.
Then there’s the issue of who is actually producing on offense besides Hammond. Right now, the most dependable weapon has been J’Koby Williams. He leads the team with 373 rushing yards, has 19 catches and is third on the roster with 137 receiving yards.
After that, the production thins out fast. Texas Tech doesn’t have a player with 300 receiving yards or 20 receptions, and no one on offense has more than two touchdown catches. In fact, linebacker Austin Romaine has scored as many touchdowns as any Tech receiver.
The open date last week could help if Terrance Carter Jr. is close to full health, and the Red Raiders need to use him more if he is. His speed gives him a chance to be a game-breaker. Kenny Johnson and Coy Eakin also need bigger roles as the two best outside receiving options Tech has.
Hammond’s play will shape all of that, but the supporting cast has to do its part too. If the offense can find more reliable playmakers, Texas Tech has a real path to be in the Big 12 title picture again in December.
In Other News...
Deion Sanders Just Added To Colorados Offensive Pressure
Colorados trip to Texas Tech came with an unusual wrinkle before kickoff, when Deion Sanders confirmed that a call sheet containing Buffaloes offensive plays was accidentally left behind and found before the game. Sanders addressed it in a press conference afterward, but tried to keep the focus on what happened on the field, pointing out that Colorado still opened with a touchdown drive despite the mishap.
The larger issue, though, is that the Buffs have been dealing with offensive problems all season, and the leak only added another layer of scrutiny to a unit already searching for answers. With the starting quarterback situation still part of the conversation, Colorados margin for error on that side of the ball remains thin, and every small setback tends to feel bigger when the offense is already under pressure. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Gets A Real Test In Arizona State Rematch
Texas Tech is heading into Saturdays trip to Arizona State with last seasons narrow loss still fresh, but the conversation inside the program sounds less like revenge and more like readiness. Several Red Raiders have emphasized staying locked in on the task ahead rather than turning the matchup into a referendum on what happened a year ago, a sign they know this one will demand their full attention from the start.
The rematch is set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Galaxy Stadium and will air on FOX, giving Texas Tech a chance to measure itself against an opponent that has already shown it can make things uncomfortable. For a team looking to keep its focus where it belongs, the challenge is simple enough: treat the game as its own test, even if the memory of the last meeting is impossible to ignore. [Read more 🡒]