Texas Tech picked up another win on Saturday, 35-24 over Oregon State, but head coach Joey McGuire wasn’t exactly thrilled with everything he saw from his offense.
In particular, Joey McGuire didn’t hold back when discussing Will Hammond’s quarterback play following the Red Raiders’ victory. McGuire pointed directly to turnovers, sacks and decision-making at quarterback as areas that simply weren’t good enough.
“I thought as we went on, we were able to run the football more effectively, but it’s a mixture,” McGuire said. “The turnovers in the game is absolutely inexcusable and that ball should have been thrown out of bounds.”
McGuire was just as direct when discussing the four sacks allowed by the Red Raiders.
“There’s two sacks out of the four sacks that are on the quarterback,” McGuire said. “He’s got to throw the ball away. You can’t take sacks.”
McGuire went on to explain that while quick pressure falls on the offensive line, a quarterback has to recognize when a play has broken down.
“There’s a clock that’s got to go off in your head when you step up, nothing’s there,” McGuire added. “You either run or you throw the ball out of bounds.”
Those aren’t insignificant comments from McGuire, especially as Texas Tech tries to figure out exactly what it has offensively early in the 2026 season. Hammond finished 20/27 for 189 yards and one touchdown. Florida State transfer Thomas Castellanos also got several snaps to run the offense after joining the team in recent weeks.
The Red Raiders have managed to keep winning, which gives McGuire and his staff some breathing room. But the turnovers, sacks and quarterback decision-making clearly have McGuire’s attention.
Does that mean a quarterback change is imminent? Not necessarily.
But after McGuire’s pointed postgame comments, it’s clear this is something to keep an eye on. The Red Raiders are 2-0, but they haven’t looked nearly as dominant as they did in 2025. And yes, it’s early, and next Friday night vs. Houston can change the conversation around this team, but there are certainly issues at this point in the season that we were not discussing during the early part of 2025, when Tech rolled to a Big 12 Championship and College Football Playoff berth.
Texas Tech vs. Houston kicks off in Lubbock at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 18th in the first Big 12 Conference game for both teams this season.
