Texas Tech is gearing up to take the field for a season with high expectations and the first opponent standing in the way of the Red Raiders is one that almost took them down two years ago.
LUBBOCK - Texas Tech is set to begin another anticipated season this weekend in Lubbock and the stakes have arguably never been higher for the Red Raiders.
Entering as the reigning Big 12 champions, this latest group for Texas Tech has drawn attention as a known contender and less of an unexpected challenger like in its run last year.
With the No. 12 spot in both the preseason Associated Press and Coaches Top 25, the Red Raiders boast their second-highest ranking to start a season in the over 100 year history of the program.
Although there was a lot of talent that left the locker room this offseason, including another record nine NFL Draft picks, head coach Joey McGuire reloaded the roster through the transfer portal.
Not to mention the talent that was lying in wait behind the prior squad, such as quarterback Will Hammond, linebacker Ben Roberts and defensive tackle A.J. Holmes Jr.
And the first team to get a glimpse of the newest incarnation of Texas Tech? None other than a familiar in-state foe, Abilene Christian.
Based on all the aforementioned highlights for the Red Raiders, it may appear that the Wildcats are seriously outmatched in their most recent trip north to Lubbock.
That is most likely the case, but the last time the pair faced off there were some unexpected theatrics.
Heading back to 2024, Texas Tech found itself in an almost identical scenario, with the Wildcats in town to kick off the season.
In what was expected to be an easy win in front of a crowd eager to welcome the Red Raiders back to action, ACU spoiled those plans in a 52-51 overtime thriller.
Granted, most of that group of Wildcats that nearly pulled off the unthinkable has since moved on.
Even with a No. 20 ranking in the FCS level and former Red Raider legend Graham Harrell on the sideline, there is a slim chance that history repeats itself for ACU.
While the probability of another upset is astoundingly low this time around, that does not mean there is not something to prove for Texas Tech.
All the success the Red Raiders have seen over the past year comes with the hefty burden to make it an expectation and not an exception to what the program is known for.
McGuire is obviously hoping that his starters are not on the field the entire night, especially Hammond. However, any time they are on display, they will assumedly be holding nothing back.
That long journey toward another spectacular season has to get its start somewhere and that happens to be with Abilene Christian. Just because they may be seen as lesser does not mean that Texas Tech cannot show what it is capable of against the Wildcats.
