The No. 13-ranked Red Raiders host the No. 22 Cougars at Galaxy Stadium on Friday night.
LUBBOCK, Texas -- Joey McGuire isn't used to Friday nights in Texas involving anything other than high school football.
Before he was the conference championship-winning coach of Texas Tech, the No. 13-ranked team in college football this week, McGuire rose through the high school ranks. He's a Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Famer for his time winning several state titles at Cedar Hill in Dallas.
Come this Friday in Lubbock, McGuire will be back on the sideline and under the lights as his Red Raiders host No. 22-ranked Houston at Galaxy Stadium on Sep. 18.
The ranked matchup serves as both undefeated teams' first game in Big 12 Conference play.
"This is going to be weird for me," McGuire said in Monday's press conference. "I don't know the last time Tech has played on a Friday night in [the] regular season. This is weird because I'm so used to Friday nights in the state of Texas as, kind of, holy ground when it comes to Texas high school football."
McGuire vowed that he'd wear a THSCA hat pregame as a sign of respect and appreciation for the support the association has had for his program. The coach tends to refer to his program as the "unofficial home of the Texas High School Coaches Association" because his staff often has coaching ties from across the state.
McGuire and Texas Tech board chairman Cody Campbell have voiced vehement disapproval of the Big 12's scheduling for this game, which puts the Red Raiders and Cougars on a nationally televised spotlight prior to the rest of the league's games on Saturday.
Despite the short week, Galaxy Stadium will still be sold out, much to McGuire's admiration. Texas Tech has now sold out 10 straight home games (which includes next week's game against Sam Houston), dating back to the start of the 2025 season.
"That was one of the things I was definitely worried about, even though we have the best fan base in the country," McGuire said.
The preseason scheduling that pinned the much-anticipated game on a Friday was met with grating criticism statewide, spearheaded by Campbell's remarks directed at conference commissioner Brett Yormark.
"They (TV networks) have the draft or whatever, and the conference doesn't want to really acknowledge it, but they do have an ability to influence those decisions," Campbell told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in April. "They just chose not to because they were chasing ratings - which I do understand on one hand, but on the other hand, high school football is important in the state of Texas."
Campbell pushed the discourse to social media, as well, calling the situation "absolutely absurd".
The Red Raiders' Sep. 18 Big 12 kickoff is the program's first as the conference's reigning champions.
"I told Brett Yormark I meant what I said. I'm not going to back down from it," Campbell added.
Yormark hasn't, either. The commission, who pointed to members' earlier approval of up to 12 games this season being played on days other than Saturday to maximize visibility opportunities, issued this message in response to the Tech booster:
"Cody Campbell does not run the Big 12."
In the meantime, Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt has been in contact with local school districts about rescheduling this week's high school games if necessary, and University president Lawrence Schovanec has used executive power to cancel all late-afternoon classes on Friday to allow students to attend the game.
"It's gonna be a great game. We need the students to show up," McGuire said. "So, make sure you're in class that morning and then get ready for the game Friday night."
The Red Raiders' last regular-season game on a Friday, which was also played at night, was in Austin against Texas in the 2023 regular-season finale, a 57-7 win for the Longhorns before they exited the Big 12.
Since joining the conference in 1996, the Red Raiders have played in six Friday games overall, four of which (including the last meeting with Texas) came on Thanksgiving weekend.
Texas Tech's last Friday night home game was back in 1941, a 36-0 win over New Mexico.
The Red Raiders and Cougars will play live on FOX, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. CT.
