Texas Tech Leads 'Bad' Week 8 for Big 12 Unbeatens

Just days after Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire preached that he believed the Big 12 Conference deserves multiple bids in the upcoming 12-team College Football Playoff, the league tumbled back to reality.

The No. 8 Red Raiders came apart at the seams for their first loss of the season at Cincinnati.

Then, No. 2 BYU lost in overtime at UCF, also ending an undefeated streak.

Then, No. 14 Houston had No. 10 Utah on the ropes before the Utes scored a fourth-quarter touchdown, then added another after recovering a fumble, to survive at home.

For Texas Tech, McGuire’s comments seemed severe, but weren't a new indictment based on the Red Raiders’ play so far. One of these games was bound to end as it did. Outside of last week's blowout of Arizona State, Tech has not had a convincing, wire-to-wire win like much of last season included.

"We played about as bad as we could play," said McGuire, who pointed to being as frustrated as he could remember across his 32 years as a football coach.

The matchup with the Bearcats provided a haunting reminder for Red Raiders fans about what could have been had former Cincy star Brendan Sorsby been at quarterback.

Sorsby's gambling-impacted eligibility made Texas Tech the target of banter at Nippert Stadium, and Will Hammond's performance in Mack Leftwich's was uncomfortable, to say the least.

What must change? "It's a mixture of everybody," McGuire said after his offense scored just one touchdown in at least five red zone trips. "It starts with getting the call and then at the quarterback position, having a sense of urgency to get the offensive line down, knowing that you've got motion, knowing where the play clock is, and everything like that."

Those seemingly routine steps were forgotten in between the lines. Texas Tech, almost laughably, was forced to call a timeout when coming out of a timeout because the play clock was winding down as Hammond was checking his pre-snap alignments and coverages.

There were several other things that unraveled. Like the defense allowing over 250 yards rushing in the final three quarters, or like the offense converting just 20 percent of its third-down chances, or the team as a whole being penalized 12 times, several coming before the snap.

For now, McGuire's group will need to reset with one of his classic catch phrases before the Halloween afternoon matchup with No. 25 Arizona, which is coming off a rout of Iowa State. Whether it's channeling a "1-0 mindset" or keeping their eyes on "what's next," the Red Raiders need to forget about this one.

After all, the Red Raiders aren't dead yet. Four Big 12 teams have just one loss after Week 8. Texas Tech has beaten one of them, and will face another next week. Then, the last unbeaten will play another with one loss.

Tech is still plenty in the race, but as for a CFP berth, the Red Raiders will hope to find the rhythm of last season's run that led to consecutive wins after a loss on the road in the seventh game.

There's also a long way to go before the rest of the league proves that more than just the conference champion deserves to fight for a national title.