Texas Tech is reportedly struggling to find future opponents: ‘Everybody’s told us no’
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Texas Tech could’ve been thought of as the wonderful program that separated itself last season with its first Big 12 title in program history and a run all the way to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
But hardly anyone is singing the Red Raiders’ praises right now as the 2026 season nears, and hardly anyone is lining up to play Texas Tech in the coming years, as it turns out. According to a report by On3’s Brett McMurphy on Monday afternoon, Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire said his surging but controversial program “can’t find future games.”
McGuire told McMurphy that the likes of Texas A&M, USC, NC State and Mississippi State have rejected Texas Tech’s offering for future games, either “saying no or canceling series.”
“We’re talking to everybody and anybody. So far, everybody’s told us no,” McGuire told McMurphy in Monday’s report.
In light of the scheduling issues that more than likely have come from Texas Tech’s off-the-field issues this offseason, McGuire also told McMurphy that the Red Raiders are leaning into their new image as the villains of college football.
“We’re the most hated team in college football. And I absolutely love it,” McGuire told his players in a meeting, according to the On3 report.
McGuire also told On3 on Monday that Texas Tech would be interested in a future home-and-home series with Notre Dame, if Texas cancelled its dates with the Fighting Irish.
Texas Tech advanced all the way to the Playoff quarterfinals last season, and off-the-field distractions aside, the Red Raiders are hoping to be right back in the Playoff in 2026. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about Texas Tech’s chances to do just that this fall:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
