2008
The Crabtree catch
Michael Crabtree's last-second touchdown beats No. 1 Texas — the most famous moment in program history
Program prestige
Zeitgeist staturePower Program IIIone line from Power Program II
Program outlook
Program outlook
Texas Tech spent thirty years as the most entertaining team in the Big 12 that never won the league. In December 2025, the Red Raiders routed BYU 34-7 for the program's first conference title. Then Oregon shut them out 23-0 in the Playoff. Both things are true.
Since Oct 28: W 34-26 vs Arizona. 7-1 this season.
Read the full essay — 4 more paragraphs
The Air Raid was born in Lubbock. Mike Leach arrived in 2000 and turned a remote West Texas school into the most prolific passing offense in college football, an offensive philosophy that reshaped how the entire sport plays. What Leach didn't win was the Big 12. Patrick Mahomes put up video-game numbers here from 2014 to 2016. Michael Crabtree's last-second catch beat No. 1 Texas in 2008, one of the sport's iconic moments. But the conference title — the thing that separates a fun program from a serious one — stayed out of reach for a generation.
Joey McGuire's fourth season changed the argument entirely. Backed by Cody Campbell's collective and a roster reported north of $28 million, Texas Tech went 12-2 in 2025, won the Big 12 championship game with a 34-7 rout of BYU, and reached the College Football Playoff. Behren Morton threw for 3,335 yards and 27 touchdowns. The league title is in the trophy case, real and permanent, whatever Oregon's 23-0 shutout in the quarterfinal says about the distance to the sport's top tier.
The 2026 question is sustainability. One faction reads the title as a new standard — McGuire is extended, the infrastructure is built, and Lubbock is a destination now. The other reads the spending as a top-of-market buy that the collective won't maintain at the same level two years running. The Crabtree catch proved Texas Tech could beat the best on a given day. The championship proved it could win a league. The 2026 season is the first data point on whether both can hold.
Update (Oct. 28, 2026): Texas Tech is 6-1. Its one loss, 37-24 at Cincinnati on Oct. 24, came as a 10.5-point favorite.
On the field
Air Raid gunslinger, championship edition — the wide-open, pass-happy, fearless offense that Leach built is still the spine, now paired under McGuire with the roster depth that a heavily-funded collective can assemble. Morton operates from the pocket in a spread system that creates mismatches through tempo and pre-snap motion. Jones AT&T Stadium is loud, weird, and tortilla-stained — one of the sport's most distinctive home environments, now with a conference banner to hang above it.
Texas Tech has won 55% of its games since 1926 — 66% at home, 42% on the road.
596-472-24 all-time · 101 seasons · 1926–2026
Home
370-176-13
Away
203-265-10
Neutral
23-31-1
7 g
1920s
68%
1930s
57%
1940s
46%
1950s
46%
1960s
60%
1970s
43%
1980s
54%
1990s
66%
2000s
48%
2010s
63%
2020s
The CFP era
13 seasons inside the CFP era, no bids yet — the era the program is still trying to break into.
Trajectory · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned
Program quality
AP rank (inverted)
CFP appearance
Swipe left for earlier seasons
Texas Tech’s 2014–2026 record is 84-74.
Joey McGuire
Joey McGuire has held the program for 5 seasons — the era is established.
Era Joey McGuire · 2022–presentPrev: Sonny Cumbie (2021)OC: Mack LeftwichPrev OC: Zach Kittley (2022–2024)DC: Shiel Wood / Rob Greene (co)Prev DC: Shiel Wood (2025)
5
years · era
Texas Tech and Baylor, meeting by meeting
Baylor leads the series 42-40-1 (since 1929); in the last 10 meetings, Texas Tech is 4-6
2024: Baylor won 59-35. After this game, Baylor led 42-40-1.
Last 25 meetings: ▲ Texas Tech won, ▼ Baylor won, by how much
Each step is one meeting: up when Texas Tech wins, down when Baylor wins, flat for a tie. Counts every game in our records since 1929. Tap the line for any season.
Moments in Texas Tech history
- Texas Tech 23, Iowa State 22Nov 2, 2024
- Texas Tech 34, BYU 7Big 12 Championship · Dec 6, 2025
- Texas Tech 33, Houston 30Sep 10, 2022
On this date, Nov 4, 2017: Kansas State 42, Texas Tech 35
What this program never forgets
Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.
2025
The first Big 12 title
A 34-7 rout of BYU delivers Texas Tech's first conference championship and a Playoff bid
2025
The Orange Bowl CFP loss
Oregon shuts out Texas Tech 23-0 in the Playoff quarterfinal — the title run's hard ceiling
Heartbreak
Moment of the year · 2026
Won 28-26 vs Houston
Week 3 of 2026. The single game that defined the season's arc.
2022–2026
Texas Tech has sent 16 players to the NFL Draft since 2022 — 2 of them in the first round.
Strong. 2 first-round picks. Recruits with NFL ambitions notice.
16
picks · 2 in round 1
#2
David Bailey
Defensive Edge · 2026 · 
New York Jets · #1/583 final season
New York Jets · #1/583 final season
#7
Tyree Wilson
Defensive End · 2023 · 
Las Vegas Raiders · #51/548 final season
Las Vegas Raiders · #51/548 final season
#43
Jacob Rodriguez
Linebacker · 2026 · 
Miami Dolphins · #10/583 final season
Miami Dolphins · #10/583 final season
#59 all-time · 10 first-round picksthe talent factory →
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Program facts
Program résumé
1CFP apps
Ladder finish
Season standing · 2026 · 7-1 · CFP #15 / AP #13
Season standing · 2026 · 7-1 · CFP #15 / AP #13Texas Tech is 15th in the CFP poll at 7-1 — a top-15 team.
Top 15 nationally. NY6-bowl conversation.
Top 15
Sub-FBSBuildingBowlRankedContenderPlayoff
Conference
Big 12 standing · 2026
3rd in the Big 12
Texas Tech is 3rd in the Big 12 at 4-1. 2 teams above — that's the direct path to the title game.
| # | Program | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah | 5-0 |
| 2 | BYU | 4-1 |
| 3 | Texas Tech | 4-1 |
| 4 | Arizona | 3-2 |
| 5 | Baylor | 3-2 |
| 6 | Houston | 3-2 |
| 7 | Oklahoma State | 3-2 |
| 8 | Arizona State | 2-3 |
| 9 | Cincinnati | 2-3 |
| 10 | Iowa State | 2-3 |
| 11 | TCU | 2-3 |
| 12 | UCF | 2-3 |
| 13 | West Virginia | 2-3 |
| 14 | Colorado | 1-4 |
| 15 | Kansas | 1-4 |
| 16 | Kansas State | 1-4 |
Coaching history
Coaching history
- Hired Joey McGuire
- Hired Sonny Cumbie
- Matt Wells departs
- Sonny Cumbie departs
- Hired Matt Wells
- Kliff Kingsbury departs
- Hired Kliff Kingsbury
- Tommy Tuberville departs
Coordinator lineage
Texas Tech’s offense and defense, by coordinator
FBS-relative efficiency percentile per season (2014–2026), same population as the Coordinator Mirror board. Dashed vertical lines mark a coordinator change.
Offense2014–2026
2014–2017 · Eric Morris2018 · Kevin Johns / Clay McGuire (co)2019–2020 · David Yost2021 · Sonny Cumbie2022–2024 · Zach Kittley2025–2026 · Mack Leftwich
Defense2014–2026
2014 · Matt Wallerstedt (2nd season; first 3 games) / Mike Smith (co)2015 · David Gibbs / Mike Smith (co)2016–2017 · David Gibbs2018 · David Gibbs / Zac Spavital (co)2019 · Keith Patterson2020–2021 · Derek Jones (co) / Keith Patterson2022–2024 · Tim DeRuyter2025 · Shiel Wood2026 · Shiel Wood / Rob Greene (co)
Elite (≥70th pct)AveragePoor (≤30th pct)
Gameday customs
Rituals
Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.
Guns Up
since 1972
more
The 'Guns Up' hand sign — index finger and thumb extended in a pistol gesture — is the Texas Tech fan identity marker. Used as greeting between alumni, raised during touchdowns, photographed at every campus event. Texas's 'Hook 'em Horns' is more famous, but 'Guns Up' is just as universal among Red Raiders.
Tortilla Throwing
since 1980s
more
Red Raider fans throw tortillas onto the field after kickoffs — a tradition dating to the 1980s tortilla-pricing-protest era. The university has alternately discouraged + tolerated; tradition survives. Visiting team players cite it as one of the strangest stadium experiences in the Big 12.
Mike Leach Era Legacy
since 2000
more
Mike Leach's tenure (2000-2009) defined the program — the Air Raid offense, the 2008 Crabtree catch, multiple top-25 finishes. The 2009 firing (dispute over a player's medical care) didn't erase the Air Raid identity, which became permanent program DNA. The 2022 Leach death (at Mississippi State) was mourned as a Texas Tech tragedy.
Cultural identity
2025 L
2024 L
2023 W
2022 WReddit blowups
r/CFB moments
1.9k
[Postgame Thread] Texas Tech Defeats BYU 29-7
782
[Postgame Thread] Texas Tech Defeats Abilene Christian 52-51 (OT)
647
[Postgame Thread] TCU Defeats Texas Tech 34-24
All-time top community posts
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