The Week Ahead: Arizona State vs. Texas Tech

The Basics

Teams: Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-0, 2-0) vs. Arizona State Sun Devils (3-2, 1-1)
Date & Time: Saturday, October 17th, 2026 @ 2:30 p.m.
Location: Galaxy Stadium | Lubbock, Texas
TV & Streaming: FOX
Line: Texas Tech -14.5 Open at -12.5

One of head coach Joey McGuire’s favorite head coaches, Kenny Dillingham. There had been some issues on play calling, maybe OC Marcus Arroyo started calling plays just last week after a bad run for Dillingham. Maybe Dillingham was trying to do too much. Arroyo has been with Dillingham for quite some time and the Sun Devils are a pro-style type of offense I think would like to be a strong running game, but that hasn’t happened quite yet. ASU is 42nd in pass play percentage and 97th in rush play percentage, so they aren’t as fast-paced as maybe they would like to be.

Tell me that you’ve heard this before, that defensive coordinator Brian Ward is a DC that likes to run a multiple front that wants to force turnovers. At some point, I think we’re just going to figure out that all DC’s are basically running the same thing in order to play offenses that do multiple things. Have to be prepared for multiple tight ends or a spread offense every other week.

Don’t look now, but Oregon State demolished San Diego State and the Beavers should be ranked. This is why preseason strength of schedule is a sham and we don’t know much of anything until teams play on the field. And that’s especially true with in the NIL-era of college football. Everyone is so quick to be an expert and that’s not how these things work until you see teams play.

The News:

Texas Tech Football: No. 10 Texas Tech hosts Arizona State for Homecoming & Game Notes

Red Raider Sports’ Jarrett Ramirez: Joey McGuire sees Arizona State as a key rival for Texas Tech in new Big 12

Red Raider Sports’ L. Jordan: What Mack Leftwich Said About Texas Tech’s Offensive Struggles

“That’s the thing. Especially against Colorado, we ended up in third and extra long way too many times because of the negative plays on first and second down. So just being more efficient, getting us in good plays that we can execute. And our guys understanding what we’re trying to get out of each play. From the quarterback standpoint specifically, since I coach those guys, if it’s 2nd and 10 and we’ve got a pass call, the checkdown’s open. Being in 3rd and 5 is a lot better than forcing it down the field and being in 3rd and 10, or taking a negative play and being in 3rd and extra long. So just understanding the situation of the game and putting us in good situations.”

Red Raider Sports’ Lane Selph: Joey McGuire details Texas Tech’s bye-week takeaways, personnel updates ahead of Arizona State

The Non-Transcript

Head Coach Joey McGuire:

Scout Team Players of the Week: Krush Johnson, Jackson Hildebrand, Ashton Rowden.
Can’t wait to see Red Raider Nation. On Saturday morning started watching Coach Rhule and Indiana and Arizona State and Hawai’i. Kentucky vs. LSU and Alabama vs. Georgia, great to see places packed. New deal below the band as we are keeping track of opponent pre-snap penalties. Crowd has caused 6 pre-snap penalties. Will have a bunch of lettermen here and lead us into the stadium from Raider Walk. Big fan of Kenny Dillingham, we are 1-1 against Arizona State, have been really physical game, expecting that. Opportunity to go 1-0 and stay undefeated in Big 12 play. Going to be great games in our conference and see BYU and Notre Dame as well as Oklahoma state and Houston.
Self-scout, the negative self-inflicted wounds in the 1st half, whether it is behind the sticks or not containing the quarterback and the pass rush. I think everyone sees how good Oregon State is and that was a good win, we saw how good Houston is, they have seen some of that. We have some good efficient runs on Saturday and get the ball out of Will Hammond’s hands and trending in a good direction defensively. Are causing turnovers and we had 7, had a huge emphasis on that. We need to hit their quarterback. They have come out to throw the football.
Our depth, the defensive tackles we are playing 6 tackles, Charles Anderson has come on the DE rotation. Coach Wood has sprinkled in Brock Golwas and Cory Platt, Jr. and the urgency to be on the field. I hate not having Cameron Dickey on this game, Quinten Joyner ran hungry at the end of the Colorado game. Both coordinators do a good job of settling guys down. It is very efficient. Howard Sampson has been a tremendous leader on the offensive side of the ball. John Curry, Austin Romaine and Ben Roberts have done a good job on the defense.
Ashton Rowden is a physical runner, just be who you are and he’s really got behind his pads. He is an inside the tackle runner, we do inside zone and counter and he does those extremely well. We have a high belief in what Ashton can do for us.
Hammond and comfortable plays, but it is across the board. Have to take what they are giving you, throw a hitch, but it is also calling plays where he feels comfortable. Will emphasize with him. Day 1 install, plays where we expect things to be open, he has come off that 1st read too fast.
A guy who has had more snaps is Charles Anderson, proud of how he is playing. Brendan Jordan coming back. Amier Boyd is back and played a good big against Colorado, Davin Martin has a rotation now and what Coach McBath did with those corners. Feel good with Cash Cleveland and feel good with Terrance Carter.
Boley is a big quarterback, he is 6’5″ and they are a play action team and good fakes, the safeties not putting their nose where it doesn’t belong. He has 2 big time receivers. Both receivers are projected NFL guys and does a good job of getting rid of the ball. He’s really effective in that intermediate route.
They have a lot of new guys. Year 1 and 2 they had a lot of old guys, now they have kids from Texas, they are very physical. Their game plan on the offensive and defensive side of the ball against us was elite. They seemed to be complicated, and then they played against Hawai’i and simplified some stuff.
When we met on Sunday, tomorrow I introduce them statistically and our team yesterday, it is all over the building, it is to go 1-0 and how many games were there to be won. Don’t worry about what it looks like and find a way to win. Challenge the coaches, we lost the game in the 2-minute drill last year. Our coaching staff will have a chip on their shoulder. I thought they out-coached us last year. Need an elite game plan and just go 1-0 and that. We want to be one of the ones who are left each week.
Tommy Castellanos case coming up this week, we will treat it like he won’t be there. He has so many reps in short yardage. Kirk had more reps this week. We treated yesterday like a Friday and Kirk got a majority of the #2 reps. Tough to put a game plan package together, but will be our base runs. Need to get more creative on 3rd and short.
We have some guys like Kenny Johnson and Coy Eakin and Carter seems like he is always open. Some of the balls going through the running backs have been checkdowns. If you want the ball and you are the 1st read you have to win that one-on-one battle. Juice does a great job, but in the back of your mind, then you have to win your one-on-one.
Their 2 receivers are high-end guys and I get a lot of jobs, and I love this, but on the Arizona State staff they have a lot of high school coaches. They play with who they have and go play at a high level with what they have and they adapt very well. We have a lot of fun with Kenny Dillingham and he has a really good culture. He is very connected with his players and he has some veteran coaches and that is what they benefit from and they play hard and on the other side, we put too much around the quarterback run game last year and we are not going to get away from J’Koby and Q, probably too much on Will Hammond last year. Will is going to be excited to get redemption.
This week we were able to take a big breath and the stress of the season is good, but it is good to take a step back. Had guys go hunting. Howard Sampson killed a buck, Jett and Coy went to Stephenville and Jett killed a hog. John Curry cooked some dove. Those guys getting a deep breath and taking a step back. You are more physical with your young guys, but gives the older guys a rest on their body. But gives you appreciation and cannot wait to get back in that stadium, those guys feel the same way. We want this to continue, we play our best football as the season continues, we have really good months of October and November.
This morning, Will Hammond and he was in there watching film. He does a great job with prep and how important these games are. Just human nature and and opponent where you didn’t succeed and he’s excited about that. I told Will not to get too hyped and he needs to go out and will execute. He went to Dallas and trained a bit this week and looks good and feels good.
To me it does feel like a rivalry, two teams where you can measure and have respect, for the new Big 12 and we get excited to play those guys. I didn’t think about it until yesterday, these 2 teams won the new Big 12 and it is fun and as staffs, we know each other really well. Some of those guys I coached in the Under Armour All-American game. I do think for the new Big 12 it is a rivalry. Their tight ends coach and linebackers coach.
The pre-snap penalty counter. I reminded Huff and Dowdy, right by the student section. I don’t need these, but when you take away a tradition, we need something our student body can get behind. Love seeing the towels. There’s a sponsor. I love when it is 3rd down. We are fortunate to have the fan base we have.
If you look at we are undefeated, we should be up there. As far as how we have played there are some questions. This is the highest we’ve been in the AP. We want to stay up there. If we are up there we are winning games. We don’t talk about being disrespected.
Last year I wanted to get into the playoff and have that bye, but I don’t want to set out 25 days and want to bring somebody here, stay in the hunt for the Big 12 Championship, and host a game here.

AI summary the two coordinators:

Offensive Coordinator Mack Leftwich’s Comments
Bye-Week Focus & Self-Scout: Leftwich emphasized that the bye week was used to get players healthy, return to fundamental and technical details, and review play-calling tendencies [41:14]. He noted that many of their negative plays and tackles-for-loss stemmed from a lack of technical detail rather than missed assignments.
Working with Quarterback Will Hammond: The staff used the bye week to help Hammond improve his pocket presence, recognize pressure, and build timing/chemistry with the receivers [41:09]. Leftwich stressed that consistency on first and second down is critical to avoid getting stuck in third-and-long situations [43:13].
Running Back Depth & Short-Yardage Adjustments: With running back Cam’s injury status, Leftwich expressed full confidence in players like Q (J’Koby / Q) and Jack to carry the load, comparing Q’s hard running style to Marshon Lynch [43:07]. He noted they may need to get creative in short-yardage and goal-line situations without Cam [46:44].
Tight End Impact & Freshman Running Back (Ace): Leftwich praised having a healthy Terrence back in the lineup, calling him a massive matchup problem and a crucial security blanket for the quarterback [47:33]. He also commended freshman running back Ace for his physical running and forward-falling style when given opportunities [48:21].
Defensive Coordinator / Defense Discussion (Sheil Wood & Joey McGuire)
Defensive Momentum & Takeaways: The defensive staff highlighted the massive momentum gained from forcing seven turnovers over the previous two games (particularly the strong second-half performance against Colorado) [05:03, 29:24].
Zone Coverage & Execution: Discussing defensive metrics, the staff noted that while they play various zone coverages and have excelled at forcing interceptions, there are areas to clean up regarding rush lanes and coverage consistency to limit opposing yards [32:31].
Individual Standouts: Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez and defensive back Malik Dunlap/Scara were highlighted for their consistent leadership, communication, and playmaking ability [33:40].
Looking Ahead at Arizona State: The defensive staff is preparing for a physical battle against Arizona State, keeping a close eye on their run-pass options (RPOs) and big-play capabilities, specifically highlighting quarterback Cutter Bully’s size, physical running style, and ability to throw downfield [30:16].

This Week in the Big 12 & National Games of the Week

Big 12 Game of the Week: Two really great games, but they are on at the same time. Notre Dame at BYU and we get to see what both teams are made of with the Irish favored by 12.5 early. We also get to see how well Oklahoma State travels. I think the Cowboys and Cougars are very good teams and Houston is favored by 3.5.

Cincinnati @ West Virginia 10/17 @ 11:00 am on TNT
Kansas @ Kansas State 10/17 @ 11:00 am on FS1
Arizona State @ Texas Tech 10/17 @ 2:30 pm on FOX
TCU @ Baylor 10/17 @ 6:00 pm on FS1
Notre Dame @ BYU 10/17 @ 6:30 pm on ABC
Oklahoma State @ Houston 10/17 @ 6:30 pm on FOX
Utah @ Colorado 10/17 @ 9:15 pm on ESPN

National Games of the Week: The biggest game is Ohio State and Indiana. We get to see if Indiana is for real and if Ohio State, on the road, is as good as lots of people think. Alabama and Tennessee is always played the 3rd Saturday of October and is a fun tradition.

Nebraska @ Oregon 10/17 @ # am on #
Florida @ Texas 10/17 @ 11:00 am on ABC
Ohio State @ Indiana 10/17 @ 11:00 am on FOX
Mississippi State @ LSU 10/17 @ 11:00 pm on ESPN
Missouri @ Ole Miss 10/17 @ 2:30 pm on SEC Network
Alabama @ Tennessee 10/17 @ 2:30 pm on ABC

Education

NFL Defenses Have A New Problem