Texas Tech scored nearly 40 points per game in 2025, but red-zone struggles remain the biggest obstacle between the Red Raiders and a CFP run.
Texas Tech’s offense was good enough to win the Big 12 last season. Now it has to become good enough to win the whole thing.
That’s the challenge facing offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich, whose second season in Lubbock comes with a completely different level of expectation.
The Red Raiders averaged 39.4 points per game in 2025, seventh-best nationally, captured a conference championship and established themselves as one of college football’s most dangerous offenses.
But there’s one number Texas Tech can’t ignore.
The Red Raiders scored touchdowns on just 55.41 percent of their red-zone possessions, ranking 98th nationally.
For a team with legitimate College Football Playoff aspirations, that’s not a small flaw. It’s the kind of flaw that gets exposed when the opponent across the field is Ohio State, Georgia or another national-title caliber roster.
And Leftwich knows the offense has to evolve.
The biggest change begins at quarterback. Behren Morton is gone, opening the door for Will Hammond, whose recovery from the ACL injury he suffered last October could dramatically alter what Texas Tech can do schematically.
Hammond brings a rushing element Morton didn’t provide at the same level. If his knee holds up, Leftwich can lean harder into read-option concepts, quarterback runs and RPOs that force defenses to account for an extra ball carrier.
That could become especially valuable near the goal line.
Texas Tech also has options in the backfield with Quinten Joyner, Cameron Dickey and J’Koby Williams, giving Leftwich different styles of runners instead of relying on one player to carry the load.
The offensive line could be the biggest reason for optimism.
Two Red Raiders linemen landed on the Outland Trophy watch list, and Leftwich has expressed confidence in a group that enters the season with far fewer questions than it did a year ago.
Better line play should mean more freedom to attack vertically, expand the run game and dictate matchups rather than simply react to defenses.
The tempo isn’t going anywhere, either.
Leftwich built his reputation on forcing defenses to think and communicate while exhausted. The difference in Year 2 is that Texas Tech shouldn’t need weeks to figure out what it does best.
The system is installed. The players understand it. The roster is deeper. Now comes the uncomfortable part.
Texas Tech proved it can overwhelm Big 12 opponents. The Orange Bowl showed there’s another level.
If Hammond gives Leftwich the quarterback versatility he wants and the Red Raiders turn more of those red-zone opportunities into touchdowns, this offense won’t merely be productive.
It could become the piece that makes Texas Tech a legitimate national championship threat.
