Winter is coming to Lubbock, Texas. Another year, another disappointing Texas Tech football season, and it is not even over yet. With only 3 games left in the 2015 regular season, I have already conceded defeat. It’s funny because in early September, I was calling the Red Raiders the ‘dark horse’ of the Big XII. I was all in, as was all of Red Raider Nation. But the heartbreaking 55-52 loss to TCU was a dagger that set off a month and a half of frustrating and mediocre play. What looked like it was going to be Texas Tech’s program defining win under Kliff Kingsbury, turned out to become one of the most gut wrenching moments in sports I have ever witnessed. Would a victory that day have propelled the Red Raiders past the Baylor Bears the next week? Probably not. But it could have kept the team’s spirits high enough to over come Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The TCU stunner appeared to have sucked the air out of the Red Raiders’ sails.
When it comes to Texas Tech football, don’t get me wrong, I am not asking for a Big XII championship every year. I just want Texas Tech to get better. The offense is there, but the defense doesn’t even make it out of bed. The University of Texas, the legendary football powerhouse, has been out of commission for a couple of years now. Coach Charlie Strong is trying to bring the Longhorns back to their glory days, but it will take a while. So in the meantime, Baylor and TCU have sucked up all the Texas talent. They are taking advantage of UT’s downtime. Who knows how long that will last?
So in the meantime, where is Texas Tech? They are recruiting great players only to have them transfer or decommit and go to rival schools. Why? Because Tech keeps losing. Not only that, they keep losing the same way, every year. They go on a roll, get a great win, choke, then cannot recover for the rest of the year. In 2013, the Red Raiders were ranked in the top-10 before losing their last five games. Then last season, Tech started 2-0 against soft opponents, before going 2-8, including losing 4 of 5 to close the season.
I can very well see, and expect, Texas Tech going 0-5 to close the season. Texas Tech was good enough to beat TCU, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State. But as soon as the team faces adversity, they give up. I am not going to accuse every Red Raider of quitting when the going gets tough, but the defense sure knows how to make it seem like they don’t want to play. Granted, Tech’s defense has had to face top tier offenses, but 70 points? Giving up over 600 yards each of the past two weeks? C’mon man. I thought I would never see a loss worse than the 66-6 game, but boy was I wrong.
Some may call me a fair-weather fan. In reality, I am a critical fan. I see the potential Texas Tech has, as a team and a brand. Cool mascots, cool uniforms, cool coach, they just need some wins. I still support Coach Kliff Kingsbury. I want him to succeed. But if the Red Raiders lose out the season (@ WVU, vs. K-State, @ Texas), the throne he is sitting on is going to warm up quickly. Sure, I am frustrated, but I understand building a system takes time. But with TCU and Baylor leading the way, UT and OU getting their bearings back, and the SEC continuing to infiltrate the fertile Texas recruiting ground, it is going to be very hard for Texas Tech to get a piece of the talent in Texas. The biggest way to turn that around? Start winning, and start winning now.Â
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