The Assignment

Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-1, 5-1)
Bad Guys: BYU Cougars (8-0, 5-0)
Where: Jones AT&T Stadium | Lubbock, Texas
When: Saturday, November 8th @ 11:00 am
TV & Streaming: ABC
Radio: The Varsity Network
The Line: Texas Tech -9.5
Game Notes: Texas Tech | BYU
Weather Report: Sunny, High 78, Low 44

Is Kalani Sitake the uncle you have that has a family and is super chill, but also really cool and easy to talk to about anything? I’m pretty sure that’s who Sitake is. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like Sitake (other than maybe another coach from Utah, although Sitake spent 10 years with Kyle Whittingham at Utah and Whittingham is also a BYU alum so maybe there’s a great relationship there.) and it seems as if Sitake is one of the more well-liked coaches in the Big 12. Sitake played at BYU for LaVell Edwards, believe it or not a running back and had a cup of coffee in the NFL. Sitake has spent almost his entire career in Utah in some form or fashion, starting at Southern Utah, then utah, a year in Oregon State, and then landing at BYU.

The offensive coordinator is Aaron Roderick, also a BYU graduate and played receiver for the Cougars. Roderick has been all over the place and was in place with Jeff Grimes, Grimes left to go to Baylor (where that didn’t work out) and Roderick has been the play-caller at BYU since. I think fans have been hot-and-cold with Roderick, loving what he did early, but maybe souring a bit recently. BYU is a really good offense, maybe not elite, but really good.

Jay Hill is the defensive coordinator, a Utah graduate, Hill spent a ton of time at Utah, as cornerbacks coach, running backs coach, and tight ends coach, before becoming the Weber State head coach from 2014 to 2022. In 20222, Hill became the defensive coordinator for BYU. Hill’s defenses are actually very good and I think will involve lots of blitzing and pressure from different areas. I’d also add that Hill has been so good that everyone at BYU is resigned to the fact that he’s likely to leave this year to be a head coach somewhere.

The News:

Non-transcript of head coach Joey McGuire.

• Scout Team Players of the Week – Offense: Tristian Gentry & Defense: Eddy Smith
• Can’t wait for Saturday, lot of work to do. Environment will be incredible. Leave your tortillas at home. Love that our fans took to making sure they were affecting the game on how loud they were. Let’s do it again.
• Two years ago when we played BYU, it was one of the loudest, and want to return the favor. When our defense takes the field get loud. Our students are ready, there are 10 tents out there.
• Going to be a heavyweight fight on Saturday. Kilani is one of the best coaches at BYU, changing the narrative, the way they play. I thought they were a playoff team last year, they beat SMU last year and was overlooked. Is a big culture guy. So impressed with his team and that freshman quarterback. He’s got a big arm and can make all of the throws, but is also a huge load when running the ball. Has good vision and rush skills. Will have our hands full. I think it’s the best game in the country, 8 vs. 9, and the most physical game in the country and we have to have a great week of work.
• We’ve got some work to do on offense, we have our starting quarterback back, our two running backs are playing as well as anyone in the country. Cam’s leading the Big 12 in touchdowns and J’Koby in all-purpose yards. Caleb Douglas came up big, Reggie Virgil had a big play and have to have him going. Good to have TC back, great hands and can high-point the football. All of our guys need to come up and play big. Coy needs to have a big game, as a punt returner and receiver. Need to do a great job of perimeter blocking, I thought J’Koby should have had 200 yards if better perimeter blocking and need to play through the whistle on the backside of the play.
• It’s going to take everyone and make plays defensively, the mustache crew will take the challenge, BYU is a +10 on turnover margin, we are +8, we have to attack the football, creating turnovers. Big time players make big time plays in big time games, we talked about them, they all have to step up. This is why you coach and this is awesome. It is what football is all about.
• I think the BYU QB has stepped up, they win a close game in Colorado, beat Arizona in overtime. The biggest game for them is Utah and that was a close game and he came up really big in that game. They got down early against Iowa State and came back. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes and uses his legs. He’s very elusive.
• Jacob came to me and asked if he could set this up at his house in Kansas and I’m all in and told him to talk to Huff. They got to see the house, when we had dinner, he thanked me. Those guys are extremely close. They have a group in that room since the beginning with me or I recruited them out of high school. It was cool for those guys to do that.
• One of our plans to win is to win the 4th quarter. We try to break it up, we won the middle 8, 16-0, and when we get our fours up we go win the 4th quarter. They can feel it and play off of each other.
• It’s going to be huge, we will play off the energy of our crowd, they have earned the right to play in this game. We knew if we won the game at K-State they were getting Game Day and now they have to win it. We’ll have practice tomorrow and earn the right, we have strong leaders. Skyler Gill-Howard is on the field and we are undefeated and he’ll be there on Saturday for his pre-game speech.
• Going to be interesting and make sure he knows he’s in a football game and make quarterbacks uncomfortable, it will be like playing Jacob Rodriguez at quarterback. He’s got this ability, almost a hop and slides, we are going to have to do a good job of tackling him high and gang tackling him. This is a big football team, big offensive and defensive line.
• I am so fired up and fired up about it every year. I am a fan of CFP and it is my #1 sport. On Saturdays when we got back we celebrated with Taco Bell and watched the Utah game and was a fan. I absolutely love college football. Going to be really interesting, I really hope the Big 12 gets the respect that this conference deserves. We’ll see tomorrow night. So much football left. BYU still has TCU and Cincinnati. So many surprise games, West Virginia went into Houston and beat them and really got after them. Any given Saturday, anything can happen.
• #12 for them is a good football player, but they are a team with a dual-threat quarterback. Their quarterback could carry the ball 20 times, maybe doesn’t affect them as much. Legit receivers. He’s got a legit arm, it helps without a doubt if LJ Martin plays, he’s a good kid and gave him a hug. He was committed for us, I wouldn’t mind if he didn’t play until next week, but don’t think it will affect the offense.
• [On College Game Day] I don’t think about it one bit. My job is to pour confidence on the players. I think it is awesome for our students, great for our brand and our university. My job is to get them ready to play football. It is really cool to walk out of the office and see students. When they are my age that’s what they will remember. The experience of Game Day on campus is cool. We haven’t had this opportunity in a long time. Eric Morris facetimed me on Saturday night and he was fired up we beat K-state and he said he had 100+ yards receiving the last time Texas Tech beat them. I think about the people who got to see him and Graham Harrell and get to experience Big Noon last year.
• We have great leadership on this football team. We have a lot of things that need to go right and need to focus on football. Can’t let the outside affect us. Got to make it about the football. We have a really deep team, but we have a lot of team leaders and every room has a leader. In the receivers room it is CD and Coy. In the OL line it is Sampson. There is a person in each room to make sure we practice at a high level. When you are playing great football in December, defense travels and think we have a great defense.
• People take for granted Texas Tech and Lubbock, Texas. This tight community and everyone is wearing a double-t. When you travel around town or the grocery store, Texas Tech and Lubbock are intertwined. Every person in the football building is for them and we sold that in recruiting and they get that every day. Winning always carries a lot of momentum. I get Friday morning and Tanner Allen said that a lot of them went hunting, it was a mixed group. Some guys have really bought in, like Lee Hunter and Skyler Gill-Howard. I am fired up to see Kirk, haven’t seen Saban.
• Go get BBQ, talked to Pete Thamel and he said when he was coming in, I sent a text to all of the guys on the show, I told them they have total access to the building, so we might as well embrace it. Told them I have a great steak places. Las Brisas, and Double-Nickel.
• They are big humans and take up a lot of space. Have to do a great job up front. Have to win our 1-on-1’s like against Utah and throw the ball down the field and create explosive plays. They don’t let you drive the football. Need to create shorter fields and they have a great front 7. Need to do a good job of being physical up front.
• Their receivers have great ball skills and they have a legit slot. They do a lot with him, he’s a tough tackle. Their outside guys are big. This team that needs to be playing in the playoffs, they have met every challenge. Excited and going to be a lot of fun.
• [Martin] He committed to Stanford, but didn’t end up there, I think he really wanted to get that degree and then a coaching change and ended up at BYU. If we lose a kid, but we usually go to whoever is next and took that spot. Sometimes if we lose a spot we can take two next year. But he’s a great kid.
• [On Sitake] We’re both represented by the same guy and gone out to dinner and been part of the leadership and Big 12 meetings. I do think he’s made some changes coaching and their defensive coordinator is really good and was a big hire. The first time I watched him coach live at Baylor and I was at Baylor and he’s an energy guy and fires you up and always impressed with how he was with his players. We are a lot alike when it comes to that. I think he’s a player’s coach and gets the most out of him.
• Mistakes with high effort and inexcusable mistakes of tell-the-truth Sunday and had a certain number of offensive, special teams and defensive plays. I told the coaches to write down these plays and when they go through that play I want you to find yourself and did you do everything you were supposed to do or did you get out-efforted and take it personally. I want everyone in that room would know off that play who I am talking about and now you have to be truthful with yourself. A couple of weeks ago, Cole Wisniewski and told him to bring his feet and quit diving. In the second half he was bring a lot each play. It is inexcusable for a receiver not to play through the entire play and J’Koby was able to make him miss, sometimes get in the way is enough. I think they will take it personal. We are doing better penalty wise, but still too many pre-snap penalties.
• If you were going to wonder what we sent in, I thought the officials were elite, but I thought that play Caleb Douglas scored a touchdown and don’t see how that was any different that punch out was a fumble. I think we are getting better with penalties.

The Ride: Latest episode of The Ride from the Kansas State game.

Change the narrative.

🎬 Ŧhe Ride: K-State#WreckEm | @PlainsCapital pic.twitter.com/tcRAiZvTl2

— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) November 4, 2025

Education: This week’s education is what makes a grat receiver.

Stock Up:

• I thought this would be a good time to maybe look at the Big 12 race because it was a weird week.
• Utah throttled Cincinnati at home, 45-14. I think that Utah is a really good team and they ran for 267 yards on 53 carries so they just ran the heck out of the ball (but Cincy also ran for 206 yards). Utah’s only losses are to Texas Tech and BYU.
• BYU gets a bye week before arriving in Lubbock and you sort of hate to see them get healthy for this particular week, but you sort of want to play and try to beat the best.
• BYU is obviously undefeated at 5-0 with Texas Tech at 5-1 in Big 12 play. Cincinnati is also 5-1, while there are 3 teams who are 4-2: Houston; Utah; and Arizona State.

Stock Down:

• I did not have Houston losing to West Virginia by 10 on my bingo card. West Virginia ran for 246 yards on 53 carries, but the Cougars also had 4 turnovers, while WVU had none. And to top it off, the game was in Houston so this was a pretty brutal loss and moved Houston to 7-2 in the Big 12.
• Colorado continues to get blown out and were pantsed by Arizona, 52-17. I don’t now how much more Deion Sanders coaches in Boulder, but it may not be much longer.
• I don’t know what the heck is wrong with Iowa State. They fell to a Sam Leavitt-less Arizona State team 24-19 and dropped to 2-4 in Big 12 play. They allowed the ASU quarterback to run for 228 yards.
• I can’t say that I know exactly what TCU, Baylor, Kansas State, and Kansas are. They are all 3-3 or 3-2 in conference play and am just not sure if they are bad teams or mediocre.

Not a Candidate. LSU. Auburn. Penn State. Florida. Arkansas. Oklahoma State. UCLA. Virginia Tech. Stanford. All are Power Four positions that are currently open and I’m all but sure that Joey McGuire isn’t a candidate in one of those openings. I felt like this was a real thing that we were constantly worried about and wondering if/when a coach would be plucked from Texas Tech. This probably happened more in basketball than in football, but Texas Tech often felt like a stepping-stone a decade ago and that’s just not true any longer. Texas Tech is the destination and Joey McGuire is home.