OTF Premium Putting the latest kerfuffle between Texas and Texas Tech to bed

[THookem]

 

[HonkEm]

58 minutes ago, selfdm said:

Very well written Jeff. The whole thing is tiresome man.

However I have to say that if you're in Tech position, you've played your cards pretty perfectly on this one. Clearly the goal was to paint Texas as a villain. The goal was to do all the things that you said. The more I think about it, I can't blame them for responding the way they are. In some ways it's working out in their favor perfectly — media buzz. 
 

I kind of felt the same way about the criticisms thrown at tech, at their desperation to be relevant.  Of course..what college football program doesn't want to be relevant? What program doesn't want to take advantage of all possible avenues to try to be more relevant, especially if they’re not a blue blood?

 

Well said....If you’re Tech, this is exactly how you’d want to play it. When you’re not a blue blood, you take every scrap of attention you can get and try to turn it into momentum. No shame in that.

But that’s also why the ‘desperate for relevance line isn’t really an insult - it’s just reality. Every non‑blue‑blood is desperate for relevance. That’s the entire sport. Tech isn’t doing anything wrong; they’re just doing what programs in their tier have to do.

The difference is Texas doesn’t need to manufacture buzz. Tech does. So yeah, they’re playing their cards well - but let’s not pretend it suddenly puts them on Texas’ level. It just means they’re maximizing the little window they have.

[THookem]

 

[horns96]

Here's the real story - 

 

 

Cody Campbell spent $6M dollars on this player.  

West Texas smart.

Edited 10 hours ago by horns96

[Neil Leininger]

Last 3 games, Texas outscored Tech 161-79, or an average of 53.7 to 26.3. Yeah, Tech needs to quit talking.

 

[Alex Butler]

Breaking news: Texas Tech business and law school now advocating that insider trading is ok and legal as long as you feel closer to your clients. 

[Califashorn75]

Great article Jeff. 

[Burnt Orange Horn]

2 hours ago, selfdm said:

Very well written Jeff. The whole thing is tiresome man.

However I have to say that if you're in Tech position, you've played your cards pretty perfectly on this one. Clearly the goal was to paint Texas as a villain. The goal was to do all the things that you said. The more I think about it, I can't blame them for responding the way they are. In some ways it's working out in their favor perfectly — media buzz. 
 

I kind of felt the same way about the criticisms thrown at tech, at their desperation to be relevant.  Of course..what college football program doesn't want to be relevant? What program doesn't want to take advantage of all possible avenues to try to be more relevant, especially if they’re not a blue blood?

 

If you count the intentionally unprincipled and studiously ignorant as the target audience, TTU won big time!!!   🤦🏾‍♂️

🤘🏻🤘🏼🤘🤘🏽🤘🏾🤘🏿

[jbseamus83]

I will come out and admit it.... My grad degree is from TTU.  Up until the last couple of years, I was able to root for both schools except when they played each other.  Then, it was always UT. It was fun. I had 2 dogs in the fight and there were more games that mattered to me on Saturdays.  All that said, I have never been more embarrassed about being associated in any way with TTU. The way they have handled everything the last 2 years has been awkward, but the last 2 months has been abysmal. Knowing people at the university, I really didn't think we would see the day that they would be this petty and blatantly disgusting. I knew they had a major little brother syndrome and they would do some things that were over the top, but this is ridiculous. So long watching or caring about them moving forward, at least until major changes within the leadership of the athletics department takes place.

[FatherofMinky]

Good read Jeff. Catching up on the reading 7 hours ahead. Sitting here in Frankfurt Airport in Germany & there is a guy here at my terminal with a Texas Longhorns Burnt Orange ball cap on. World wide brand baby 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

[SB21]

Good stuff Jeff. Well written and on point. 

[PaulieD]

13 hours ago, Jeff Howe said:

I love football.

I love talking about football.

I love writing about football.

I love talking and writing about Texas Longhorn football.

Forgive me then for not champing at the bit to dissect a war of words between Texas and Texas Tech that’s devolved into an obnoxious publicity stunt. Hopefully, we’re nearing the end of this tiresome situation and can get back to actual football matters in the near future.

Consider this my part in helping put it to bed.

Joey McGuire, Cody Campbell, Kirby Hocutt and anyone else on the Red Raiders’ side of the fence who believes they have a dog in the fight have taken umbrage with Steve Sarkisian singling out Texas Tech’s less-than-stellar 2026 schedule. The offended parties appear to be hellbent on milking every possible ounce out of their time atop college football’s offseason news cycle.

The public challenge McGuire and Campbell have issued to Texas — to ditch the season opener at home against Texas State and play the Red Raiders, either in Lubbock or at AT&T Stadium in Arlington — achieved its intended purpose by riling up the Texas Tech faithful and giving casual college football fans perceived ammunition to question the Longhorns’ fortitude.

The same is true of Hocutt’s comments to The Athletic, even though Texas somehow managed to match the Red Raiders' scoring output in last season’s College Football Playoff without participating.

The idle threats have also buried a few key points (including Brenden Sorsby’s ongoing pursuit of eligibility getting moved to the national media’s back burner, for the moment) in the back-and-forth since Sarkisian’s comments in Houston last Thursday.

— Sarkisian didn’t insult Texas Tech, its head coach or its football program. He called out the Red Raiders’ schedule, which nobody has stepped up to defend.

Of the seven Power Four schools in Texas, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football believes Texas Tech has the easiest schedule this coming season.

Parker Fleming’s analysis has the Red Raiders with the easiest path to the CFP of any Power Four team in the country.

College Football News ranked Texas Tech’s schedule 65th out of 138 FBS programs. Only three Power Four schedules were considered easier than the Red Raiders' 12-game slate.

According to Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings, the two FBS opponents on Texas Tech’s schedule (Abilene Christian is an FCS program) rank No. 91 (Oregon State) and No. 136 (Sam Houston), respectively.

I’ve yet to hear anyone say Sarkisian was wrong about the Red Raiders’ schedule, which has proved his point.

If the CFP selection committee doesn’t use strength of schedule as a primary separator when push comes to shove, then what’s the point of risking a non-conference loss?

— Whether viewed through the prism of subjective opinions or objective metrics, Texas Tech is taking the path of least resistance with its non-conference schedule in hopes of reaching the CFP. Instead of owning it (if the system prioritizes winning a conference championship, no matter how it’s acquired, then admit that's what you're doing and roll with it), the folks in Lubbock threw a fit, went on the attack and tried to gain sympathy in the court of public opinion.

Texas isn’t going to play Texas Tech in the regular season. Social media trolls can cry for the Longhorns to “SPOT THE BALL!” all they want. It won’t matter.

McGuire knows it, Campbell knows it, Hocutt knows and in their heart of hearts, Red Raider fans who possess a modicum of common sense know it’s nothing more than a glorified pro wrestling promo. The goal was for Texas Tech to paint Texas as the villain, an SEC behemoth too scared to play the upstart in-state program that’s beating the Longhorns on the recruiting trail and making a move toward the top of the state’s FBS pecking order.

This was never about getting Texas to agree to a game. It was to make the Longhorns look petty, keep the hype train going after a watershed season in their program’s history, draw attention away from the Sorsby situation and hope to get a few college football talking heads and personalities with large social media followings on their side.

Those things won’t impact anything the Longhorns do on the field in 2026 and beyond. Regardless, the Red Raiders accomplished their goal

— Sometimes, situations like this aren’t that deep. I think this one is for Sarkisian.

A 37-34 overtime loss to Texas Tech in 2022 was enough of a burden to bear for Sarkisian and the Longhorns. McGuire’s speech to his team in the victorious locker room poured salt in the wound.

Specifically, one portion of McGuire’s sermon was so sharp that it might've gotten embedded under Sarkisian’s skin.

“I told you they were going to break and they did,” McGuire told his squad. “The reporter asked me at the end, she said: ‘What does it mean to win this game and beat Texas?' I said, ‘It doesn’t mean anything to beat Texas. We’re 1-and-0 in the Big 12.' That’s what it means.”

Just like Sarkisian’s campaign rally-style pep talk to a hotel ballroom full of alumni, donors and fans in Houston, McGuire’s words were crafted with a specific audience in mind. In both instances, once the comments went public, the offended party processed what was said and prepared to respond as they saw fit.

Leading up to the 2023 season, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark didn’t mince words about backing the Red Raiders when they made their way to DKR for Texas’ last regular-season game as a member of the conference. In the face of the remaining Big 12 members and the league office making things as publicly uncomfortable as possible for the Longhorns and Oklahoma before their respective departures for the SEC, Sarkisian saved his retort to Yormark, McGuire and anyone else who might find themselves caught in the blast radius for Nov. 24, 2023.

Sarkisian didn’t have to say anything. The 57-7 bludgeoning of Texas Tech that sent Texas to the Big 12 title game spoke volumes.

Essentially, McGuire called Sarkisian’s team soft while downplaying the relevance of the Red Raiders’ 18th win in 73 meetings with the Longhorns (Texas leads the all-time series with Texas Tech, 55-18). If Texas Tech is top of mind for Sarkisian, it would be hard to blame him for the genesis of his ire stemming from what got back to him after a close loss.

Sarkisian and the Longhorns got the last word when it mattered. No matter how bad the Red Raiders want to settle the score, barring a postseason meeting, the status quo won’t change for the foreseeable future.

 

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excellent read, Jeff.  

And THANK YOU, I'm sick of reading about those turdknockers.P

[hookem1014]

10 hours ago, Beldar said:

He actually did not say Tech, he said a school. Tells a story  that they knew it was them. He was trying to send message to the committee picking playoff teams that strength  of schedule should matter. I hope this mess with their Amarillo Slim QB keeps the Big 10 and SEC from admitting them if expansion and super conferences are formed. Would serve the loud mouth Scumbags right.  I am all for ignoring them going forward.

 

As they say.. “if the shoe fits” 😂 but agreed.. they’re getting too much undeserved attention and they love it. 

[CJ Vogel]

That was an awesome read! Really well done Jeff