On the Pitch
Texas Tech soccer is in Dallas to take on SMU on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at the Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium. The game will be on ESPN+. I may re-post this tomorrow since the game is tomorrow. Just depends what happens.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
MATCHUP: RV/No. 17 Texas Tech (2-0-2) at SMU (4-1-1)
DATE: Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026
TIME: 7 p.m.
LOCATION: Dallas, Texas (Washburne Soccer and Trac k Stadium)
TV: ACC Network Extra/ESPN+
On the Hardwood
Lady Raider basketball made some staff changes ahead of the season:
Head coach Krista Gerlich announced staff changes for the 2026-27 season on Tuesday morning, promoting Ashlee Villarreal to Assistant Athletic Director for Basketball Operations and elevating Erik DeRoo to General Manager in addition to his duties as Associate Coach.
On the Gridiron
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese on Will Hammond being QB1 (as an aside, I sort of hate the term “QB1” for some reason):
Adding Castellanos, some figured, was Tech’s way of saying Hammond may not be the guy. Those people aren’t around Hammond or the program enough to know that was never the case.
“It was a great conversation,” Hammond said, “and I think it’s important to bring someone like that in. Just for the depth in the room and to just add more value to the offense.”
ESPN’s Bill Connelly runs millions of simulations for the season. Just a fun read and I’m pulling just a bit, which is Big 12 odds based on those sims:
Big 12: Texas Tech (55.1%), BYU (28.4%), Utah (18.5%), Kansas State (18.4%), Arizona (16.1%), Houston (14.6%), Oklahoma State (11.0%), Baylor (7.6%), UCF (7.5%), Kansas (7.5%), Colorado (6.7%), Arizona State (5.5%), TCU (5.4%), Cincinnati (5.1%)
CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford has 25 boom or but players and LB Austin Romaine makes the list:
The assumption is that this former All-Big 12 Kansas State linebacker will alleviate much of the leadership and statistical loss the Red Raiders lost following the NFL departures of Romello Height, Jacob Rodriguez and David Bailey within the front. However, those were three dominant defenders, and Austin Romaine’s going to need help from the all-new pass rush in front of him. Texas Tech is well-coached on defense, but expecting Romaine to have All-American numbers might be asking a bit much considering how much the Red Raiders replaced in the trenches.
ESPN’s Heather Dinich has college football superlatives:
2. Is Texas Tech still the team to beat in the Big 12? Transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s Tech career ended before it even started, and the preseason polls and computers still say the Red Raiders are the team to beat with Will Hammond running the offense. BYU, though, might have something to say about that. Or Utah. Or Arizona. Or Houston, when the Cougars host Texas Tech on Sept. 18, a Friday night. Arizona comes to Lubbock on Halloween for what should be a real thriller. ESPN’s FPI gives Texas Tech more than a 50% chance to win every game, but the Red Raiders don’t play BYU during the regular season. They are the most likely matchup, though, in the Big 12 title game.
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese on right tackle Jacob Ponton being one of the best linemen in the country:
Like McGuire, Ponton felt like he should’ve gotten more time straight out of Dripping Springs. He had the size and athleticism to stand out. Veterans, though, usually get the nod over the unproven commodity. All he could do was wait his turn.
“I loved the guy in front of me,” Ponton said. “He was a really great dude, great player. Obviously, you want to get on the field whenever you can, but I think that confidence from that first year, going into the next year, knowing I could have started last year and knowing I was definitely ready to start that year, just that confidence it gave me throughout the season was good.”