On the Hardwood

The Lady Raiders defeated Abilene Christian 67-57 behind 14 from Bailey Maupin. This was a weird game, one where ACU was able to shoot 35 free throws to Texas Tech’s 7, not a typo. The refs were a little wonky with the fouls, but this is one of those games where you just try to persevere and get through the game and they did to move to 12-0 on the season. The Lady Raiders will be back in action on Wednesday, hosting Jacksonville for Education Day, tip-off is at 11:30 a.m.

On the Gridiron

ESPN’s Bill Connelly with storylines to watch for each bowl game and if you like college football, this is something I think you’d enjoy:

Texas Tech, meanwhile, will be playing in its first Orange Bowl. It is an injustice that the Red Raiders weren’t sent to the far closer Cotton Bowl — Ohio State was sent there instead, and there’s a chance it could create a bit of a home-field advantage for the Buckeyes’ opponent if they face Texas A&M there — but it is still a neat rarity for a program that is successfully spending its way into the big time.

For all the problems facing this sport at the moment, we could see Indiana winning the Rose Bowl and Texas Tech winning the Orange Bowl, clinching a semifinal appearance against each other and assuring that one of them will play the national title. That’s pretty cool. (Granted, we also could end up with Alabama-Oregon or something far more familiar.)

Also, I wrote this on Saturday, but think it’s worth it to post again:

ESPN’s Bill Connelly with his made-up awards for 2025 and this was a fun read and will tell you that it’s worth your time and there are a ton of Texas Tech references, including Romello Height winning the Journeyman of the Year, Jacob Rodriguez winning the Havoc King (with David Bailey coming in 3rd), and I really enjoyed the portion about best small offenses, which I find fun to find and watch (do I know how to party or what?).

CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah with grades for every Big 12 team:

The Red Raiders took one of the great swings in college football history by investing heavily in a stacked portal class. It was an unprecedented success. Texas Tech blew through the Big 12 to win its first outright conference title since 1955 and earn a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. The program has serious national championship aspirations. Grade: A+

CBS Sports’ Cameron Salerno with the biggest transfer busts and this list includes Micah Hudson, which I would argue is simply not accurate. I think that Hudson transferred to Texas Tech knowing that he would be in line for next year and not this year:

Hudson, who originally committed to Texas Tech out of high school, transferred to Texas A&M after the 2024 season ended. However, during the spring window, Hudson re-committed to Texas Tech. The former five-star recruit caught eight passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns in five games for the Big 12 champs.

Alternatively, CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer identified the top 25 transfers with DE David Bailey at #2, DE Romello Height at #8, and DT Lee Hunter at No. 13.

My high school classmate, Matt Mosley, had Joey McGuire on his show. As you all are probably aware, Mosley is a Baylor alum and generally covers the Bears, but he and McGuire have a good relationship.

Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL in a loss to the Chargers yesterday, ending his season. Get well soon.

Don’t know why this had to happen. And not going to lie it’s hurts. But all we can do now is Trust in God and attack every single day over and over again. Thank you Chiefs kingdom for always supporting me and for everyone who has reached out and sent prayers. I Will be back…

— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) December 14, 2025