'No Room For Error!' Joey McGuire Knows Challenge Ahead for Red Raiders

LUBBOCK -- No. 13-ranked Texas Tech looks to bounce back from its first loss of the season, at Cincinnati last week 37-24, to remain a top contender for a Big 12 championship.

Coincidentally, this is the Red Raiders' fourth straight in game No. 7 of a season under head coach Joey McGuire. That means there is familiarity in where Tech is positioned, especially this year at 6-1 overall.

Like last season, Tech hopes to win out its regular-season slate to give themselves a chance at returning to Arlington to defend the conference title.

That run begins with the Red Raiders' second ranked matchup of the season at Galaxy Stadium, a Halloween afternoon clash with No. 23 Arizona.

READ MORE: Will Hammond Under Pressure?

"We've got our hands full," McGuire said in previewing the contest against the Wildcats, who lost their only game of the season early in the year against one-loss BYU.

McGuire added that he's happy to be playing in another top-25 matchup at home. The first such meeting this season was Texas Tech's narrow win over Houston in Week 3, which was one by a goal-line defensive stand.

"We need to make this place a homefield advantage without a doubt," McGuire said in Monday's game-week press conference.

McGuire said that his message to the team after the loss to the Bearcats was similar to what he said after last year's first loss, which came at Arizona State to also drop Tech to 6-1.

The Red Raiders would end the regular season 11-1, win their first Big 12 championship and receive an automatic berth in the College Football Playoff.

The 2025 roster may have been more productive than what we've seen from this year's squad, but there remains an opportunity to stay on the hunt.

"We've turned this into a five-game season to where there's not room for error," McGuire said, pointing to crucial games in November against West Virginia, at Oklahoma State and Baylor, and versus TCU after the meeting with Arizona.

Utah remains the only unbeaten team in the Big 12 after Texas Tech and BYU lost. Joining the Red Raiders and Cougars with one loss is Arizona. McGuire also acknowledged a "really good" Houston team that has two losses, as does Oklahoma State.

"It's gonna come down to who can play the best each Saturday, and we've got to play much better, especially this week," McGuire said.