Texas Tech is ready for a sell-out home opener and Joey McGuire said he is excited for the crowd to be back, no matter the circumstances unlike the showing at USC.
LUBBOCK -- Texas Tech is gearing up for its season opener against Abilene Christian this Saturday and there is set to be a sell-out crowd in attendance at the newly dubbed Galaxy Stadium.
While fans do not seem to be in short supply in Lubbock, head coach Joey McGuire is not taking that for granted with a pointed example of how that is not always the case, even for one of the sport's most prestigious programs.
Getting a head start on most other programs around the nation, USC began its season this past weekend with a bout with in-state foe San Jose State.
The Trojans' took care of business against the Spartans in a 42-26 victory for the No. 14-ranked squad in the land, which was much more lopsided than the final score indicated.
Despite the showing from Lincoln Riley's latest group, it appeared that some USC faithful were not aware that the season was starting early.
In the aftermath of the big win, much of the discourse revolved around the plethora of vacant seats throughout the Colosseum.
The unfortunate sight was explained away by some in Southern California as a result of the extreme heat and the presumed inferior quality of the opponent.
That did not stop the talk around the sport and it apparently found its way to the leading man at Texas Tech.
During his weekly media availability, McGuire commented on how excited he is to have the rowdy crowd of Red Raiders back in the stands and made a comment about the initial showing over at USC.
"Not to take shots because I have a lot of respect for USC and Lincoln Riley, but man it is really awesome to be in Lubbock, Texas knowing we're going to playing in front of 60,000," remarked McGuire.
"And it's going to be warm. It's going to be every bit as warm as it was Saturday," he continued in a direct reference to the aforementioned weather explanations.
"The great thing is we got some really tough people at West Texas that love their football and they're going to show up. No matter what the weather's like, there's not going to be any excuse of why they're not going to be there for us."
One of the most iconic programs in the history of college football, USC is undoubtedly leaps and bounds ahead of Texas Tech when it comes to tradition and accomplishments.
However, the Red Raiders are quickly emerging as one of the sport's newest power players and their strong attendance is a point in favor of that status.
With that raucous crowd in tow, Texas Tech will look to have another unforgettable year to truly cement its position in the upper tier of college football.
