Joey McGuire is the first Texas Tech coach since the late Mike Leach two-plus decades ago to get through his first three seasons without a losing record.
The former Texas high school coach might need more than another winning season to see a fifth year with the Red Raiders, whose No. 23 ranking is their first in The Associated Press preseason poll since 2008.
Expectations are as high as ever on the South Plains of Lubbock, Texas, with apparently one of the most expensive rosters in college football joining a program without a Big 12 championship in the conference’s first 29 seasons.
“I know there’s pressure, man,” McGuire said. “I would rather be here than be at a place where you’re hoping like crazy everything goes right just to maybe win four or five games. My job that I’m going to really try to do is keep the pressure on me and the coaches. (The players) shouldn’t feel the pressure. Let us have the pressure and see if we can’t go out and beat those expectations.”
Led by megadonor Cody Campbell’s funding of an aggressive haul from the transfer portal, the Red Raiders are the talk of the league with their spending spree, just a couple of months after the first $1 million player in softball — NiJaree Canady — carried Texas Tech to the championship round of the Women’s College World Series.
Quarterback Behren Morton is a holdover on offense, while linebacker Jacob Rodriguez returns from a defense that was among the worst in the country and underwent a portal makeover at defensive line and in the secondary.
The Red Raiders also have a new defensive coordinator in Shiel Wood, while the offensive play-caller is changing as well after Zach Kittley took over at Florida Atlantic.
“It’s a challenge to try get those guys to buy in to what we’re talking about,” Rodriguez said. “But everybody who’s supposed to be in the building is here. And so we love every single one of them. They jumped in head-first, and they’re all in for us. They’re believing in what we’re talking about.”
Morton had shoulder surgery in June, and the Red Raiders are hoping for a full season of health at the most important position for the first time in years.
“I haven’t gotten to play a healthy season since my redshirt freshman year,” said Morton, a senior. “It’s going to be a lot different playing with a healthy shoulder. I’m really excited about it.”
Keeping the pace
Morton directed the No. 4 scoring offense in the country a year ago, and there’s a big void behind him with the departure of Tahj Brooks, the school’s all-time leading rusher. Southern California transfer Quinten Joyner and J’Koby Williams are among the candidates to replace him.
Receivers Caleb Douglas and Coy Eakin scored 13 touchdowns between them last year, while the most intriguing pass-catcher is sophomore Micah Hudson. The highest-rated recruit in program history transferred to Texas A&M after a frustrating freshman season, but changed his mind and returned.
Shoring things up
There are so many new faces on defenses, it’s hard to pinpoint who the producers might be beyond Rodriguez, who finished in the top 10 nationally in tackles last year.
Stopping the run is a big focus, and 300-pound defensive tackle Anthony Holmes Jr. followed Wood from Houston. Edge rushers Romello Height (Georgia Tech) and David Bailey (Stanford) were among the leaders in pressure stats at their previous schools.
The schedule
The first intriguing test is Sept. 20 at Utah, which is coming off just its third losing season in 20 years under Kyle Whittingham. A big test comes Oct. 18 at defending Big 12 champion Arizona State followed two weeks later by a visit to Kansas State.
