Joey McGuire spent part of Big 12 Football Media Days selling a potential non-conference schedule with Texas and SMU as marquee in-state matchups for his team. The Longhorns, particularly, are the main draw, with McGuire and Steve Sarkisian battling each other for the county’s richest recruiting hotbed in Texas.
Earlier this week, McGuire told Don Williams of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal to “Spot the ball” on the subject of a potential Texas season-opener. Asked about those comments Thursday, five-star Texas CB commit John Meredith III told Rivals, “I would like Texas to play Texas Tech so people can know what’s the real difference between them.”
Meredith committed to the Longhorns in June despite competing interest from Texas A&M, Alabama, Florida and Georgia. McGuire and the Red Raiders officially offered the Fort Worth, Texas, native on Nov. 30, 2024.
Texas won its final meeting with the Red Raiders 57-7 in 2023 as the No. 7 team in the land, and for the final time as a member of the Big 12 Conference. Neither team converted more than three times on third down, but 302 rushing yards led by Jaydon Blue, and three interceptions by Behren Morton teed the Longhorns up for a blowout victory. Texas Tech finished that season 7-6 overall and seventh in the Big 12.
A prospective rematch would sell, no doubt, but just how similar are these programs these days?
Sarkisian and the Longhorns were left out of the College Football Playoff last year and instead opted for a 41-27 win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. Together, they’ve strung together three double-digit winning seasons in Austin since their final year in the Big 12, and looked poised to claim a national championship seat in 2024. Arch Manning is again a favorite for the Heisman Trophy after fixing last season’s first-half struggles.
Meanwhile, Texas Tech is out to prove itself as a CFP contender. Last year’s peak felt somewhat discounted following the Oregon loss in the Orange Bowl. Still, they entered media days as the stars (even with the Brendan Sorsby drama) and are the outright favorites to win the league again. The schedule doesn’t include too many breaks Big 12-wise outside of Colorado and West Virginia, but they don’t receive resume gems BYU or Utah, either; Instead, look for big-time matchups with Arizona, Baylor or TCU.
A CFP meeting between Texas and Texas Tech would shake the globe, but as of right now, that improbable outcome is all folks have to cling to when it comes to this rivalry. There’s plenty of talk, but until someone pencils that game in for 2029 or 2031 or whatever, it’s all up for discussion.
