Administrative

I’m going to be in Seattle running my annual 50k on Friday, October 4th with the Houston game on October 5th. I’m also pretty likely to be doing family and uncle things with my brother and his kids on Saturday. I will absolutely have previews and all of the normal things happening, but I can’t guarantee that I’ll be around to watch the Houston game. I will likely do a 10 Things, but I’ll make sure and note whether or not I’ve had a chance to watch the game.

On the Hardwood

SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell with the 10 best guards in America and at No. 10 is Christian Anderson:

Anderson was ranked outside of the top-100 as a recruit entering Texas Tech, but he quickly became an indispensable piece for an Elite Eight team as a freshman. The Sweet 16 was Anderson’s national coming out party as he scored 22 points and played tough defense for 44 minutes to help the Red Raiders knock out Arkansas in overtime. This summer, Anderson starred for Germany (he was born in Atlanta, but has German citizenship through his father) at the U19 Basketball World Cup, averaging 17.3 points and 6.6 assists per game for the silver medalist. Anderson played mostly off the ball in a lower usage role (16.7 percent usage rate) as a freshman, but his starring run for Germany in more of an on-ball role should convince Texas Tech to give him plenty of opportunities for initiation. Anderson is a threat off the ball because he’s a high volume three-point shooter who knocked down 38 percent from three on 10.5 attempts per 100 possessions. He looked really slippery as a driver in FIBA play, and should be a bigger threat off the bounce as a sophomore. Anderson also competes defensively at the point of attack and likes to get into the passing lanes. He’s a bit scrawny for a 6’2 guard, but he overcomes it with a well-rounded skill set and never shying away from the moment. Texas Tech should be really good this year with star big man JT Toppin returning to campus, and if Anderson ascends the way I think he will, the Red Raiders will be a factor late in March once again.

Boot camp for the Lady Raiders.

Doing hard things 𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥. pic.twitter.com/9NkR2Ciw6w

— Lady Raider Basketball (@LadyRaiderWBB) September 21, 2025

On the Gridiron

The latest AP poll has Texas Tech at No. 12. As I’ve mentioned numerous times, that’s a great site if you want to see how everyone voted, Texas Tech is ranked as high as No. 5 and as low at No. 18.

Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger was at the game and filed his story from Utah:

It makes no difference why players signed with Texas Tech, says the team’s tackle leader, Jacob Rodriguez, a quarterback-turned-linebacker. Whether it’s “Coach McGuire or money, it doesn’t matter now,” he said. “It’s about love.”

Love, heart, strength, endurance — use whatever term. The bottom line: The most hated team in the Big 12 out-muscled one of college football’s historically tough programs. Texas Tech’s starting defense has now allowed one touchdown in four games.

“We showed the world what we are capable of,” defensive tackle Lee Hunter said. “We take pride in somebody trying to run over us. We work hard to stop the run. You want to beat us — change your game plan.”

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Don Williams on how this might be the start of something pretty special:

As it happened, the Utes gave up three touchdowns in the last 8:29.

If Whittingham was in disbelief over getting worked in the trenches, the rest of college football America soon might be doing double takes about something else: Texas Tech as a contender for the Big 12 championship and on an early march toward the College Football Playoff. Don’t take my word for it. On the FOX national telecast, Joel Klatt and Gus Johnson were gushing:

“I tell ya, Gus, I think this might be a top-10 team,” Klatt said as Tech was closing it out.

“Yep,” Johnson said. “I would agree with you a hundred percent.”

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese writes that it is now important for this team not to get too full of themselves:

Realistically, the score could’ve been much more lopsided. Style points are nice, though not always necessary. This was one of those games where simply winning would’ve been statement enough. Doing so by a 24-point margin will escalate the “Texas Tech has arrived” chatter.

Ignoring outside noise is something Texas Tech players and coaches say they’ve been doing since December, back when this transfer-heavy roster was pieced together. Sure, the Red Raiders have umpteen high-level players now, but will it actually work?

USA Today’s Matt Hayes on how no one should have a bad thought about Texas Tech purchasing a chunk of their roster:

The program that — say it slowly with me, everyone — has seven new defensive starters from the portal. Or one more than LSU.

One program and coach is celebrated for the gutsy call to find answers, the other is the leper of the sport.

It is here where I remind everyone that Georgia and LSU and Ohio State and Texas and every other heavy hitter in college football spends millions in private NIL deals. It’s just that Texas Tech, nothing more than a carnival sideshow for much of its existence, isn’t a blueblood of the sport.

The Athletic’s Jason Kirk and Alex Kirshner write about the teams that made a statement on Saturday, one of them being Texas Tech:

Jockeying: Here come Texas Tech, Ole Miss and Indiana
We don’t usually like to lead Saturday wrapups with College Football Playoff talk, and especially not in September. But yesterday made it feel like time for a check-in, since so many teams lingering right around the cusp of contention had major potential to move either up or down. More below on yesterday’s football itself.
📈 Based on Austin Mock’s updated CFP odds (as of late last night), here are the six teams who increased their standing the most yesterday:
No. 17 Texas Tech, from a 33 percent chance of making the CFP to 50 percent 👀 after dominating 34-10 at No. 16 Utah

ESPN’s Matt Miller on the NFL Draft aspect of yesterday’s game:

Miller: One of the best matchups of the day was the Texas Tech pass-rush duo of David Bailey and Romello Height against Utah offensive tackles Caleb Lomu and Spencer Fano. This was a résumé game with best-versus-best attributes, and Bailey walked away from the field the clear winner of the four prospects.

Matched up across from Fano for much of the game, Bailey’s first-step quickness kept Fano off-balance. At 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, his ability to counter with power and use of his arm length really frustrated the Utah right tackle. Fano entered the matchup as my top-ranked tackle thanks to his experience at both tackle spots, but his lack of anchor strength at 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds was noticeable. He’s still a Round 1 player — we don’t overreact to one game here — but Bailey’s strong showing (3 tackles, 1 sack) against elite competition is tape to go back to throughout the process. Bailey has the makings of a top-75 player.

CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah on the winners and losers from week 4:

The Red Raiders made headlines over the offseason by pouring resources into rebuilding their trenches through the transfer portal. Saturday proved why every cent was worth it.

Texas Tech flew into Salt Lake City and dominated No. 16 Utah, the preseason Big 12 favorite, in a 34-10 statement win.

Despite losing starting quarterback Behren Morton to an apparent head injury, backup Will Hammond stepped in and sparked a 24-7 second-half run. He finished with 169 yards and two touchdowns, while the defense smothered Utah quarterback Devon Dampier, holding him to just 4.2 yards per pass attempt.

Suddenly, Texas Tech isn’t just a contender — the Red Raiders look like the team to beat in the Big 12.

2027 DeSoto defensive lineman K’Adrian Redmond (6-3/305), a 4-star defensive tackle with offers from Baylor, California, Houston, Kansas State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, TCU, among others, committed to Texas Tech I think Friday of last week. Redmond apparently played for Lake Dallas last year and is now at DeSoto. A handful of those highlights are when Lake Dallas was in Kaufman last year (I was in the stands watching), I had no idea he was even a prospect, although to be fair, he was a sophomore in these highlights and is just now a junior.

Recruiting profiles: On3 | 24/7 Sports

The Athletic’s David Ubben on how Texas Tech is different now, in part to the defense:

Texas Tech’s defense entered this weekend ranked 10th nationally in yards per play (3.7) through three games against inferior competition. It held the Utes to 3.8 yards on 69 offensive snaps (for 263 total yards), forced four turnovers and kept them out of the end zone for the game’s first three quarters. Devon Dampier, Utah’s dynamic quarterback, was limited to 162 passing yards on 38 attempts and only 27 rushing yards.

The defense ranked 123rd last season in the same category, allowing 6.5 yards per play. In the last decade, it hasn’t had a defense finish higher than 59th. More often, it’s been outside the top 100. But in the NIL era, cash translates to results more directly than ever before. And Texas Tech has it and used it to buy the nation’s No. 2 transfer class to upgrade its roster.