The calendar is approaching Halloween, and there’s only one college football weekend left until November arrives. So, the postseason is just around the corner.
At 5-2 on the season, Texas Tech is in prime position for a bowl berth. Of course, the Red Raiders have higher aspirations than just reaching a low-level bowl like they have the past two years.
This year, the expectation is that Joey McGuire’s team will be in position to compete for a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game in November. If that happens, Tech won’t just be trying to sneak into the postseason like they have been the past two years.
Of course, a sixth win is not a given. Engineers learned this the hard way in 2011.
That year, the Red Raiders went 5-2 after seven games thanks to an upset of No. 3 Oklahoma University in Norman. Unfortunately, head coach Tommy Tuberville and QB Seth Doge were unable to lead the team to further wins the rest of that season, and Tech finished the year 5-7, bowling for the first time since 1999. I ended up missing the game.
Red Raider fans are confident that this scenario won’t come true in 2024 and believe there are still plenty of wins to come this fall. If that’s true, the Red Raiders could be in line to play a great bowl game. And if many of the current predictions hold true, Tech could remain in the Lone Star State until the postseason.
CBS Sports predicts the Red Raiders will land in the Texas Bowl in Houston to face the LSU Tigers. It will be a rematch of the 2015 Texas Bowl, which LSU won 56-27.
This year, the Tigers are currently 6-1 and ranked No. 8 in the nation. Therefore, they are still aiming to qualify for the College Football Playoff. But with games remaining against No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 15 Alabama and No. 25 Vanderbilt, the Tigers could still drop a few games and end up playing in Houston.
Patrick Andres of Sports Illustrated has another prediction, with the Red Raiders heading to Houston for the Texas Bowl. However, he saw the Red Raiders tangle with the Florida Gators.
Florida is currently 4-3 on the season. However, the remaining schedule is tough. The Gators do not qualify for the postseason, as they still have games remaining against No. 2 Georgia, No. 5 Texas, No. 8 LSU, and No. 18 Ole Miss.
Steve Lassan of Athlon Sports also predicts the Red Raiders will land in the Texas Bowl. He predicts they’ll play Arkansas in a rematch of the old Southwest Conference.
Tech has played the Razorbacks 37 times since 2015, when Patrick Mahomes led Tech to a 35-24 road victory. The Hogs are 4-3 overall this year, but they still have to play No. 18 Ole Miss, No. 5 Texas and No. 21 Missouri, so it’s unclear where they’ll land when the postseason arrives.
At ESPN.com, Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach bring technology to the PopTarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Coach Bonagura will have the Red Raiders play Pitt, while Schlabach will play Notre Dame.
Pitt is currently ranked 19th in the nation with an impressive 6-0 record. Meanwhile, Notre Dame is ranked 12th with 6 wins and 1 loss. Each of these teams still has plans to qualify for the playoffs, but they could end up facing the Red Raiders in Orlando.
College Football Network’s Oliver Hodgkinson has a less exciting Liberty Bowl prediction for the tech industry. There, he thinks the Red Raiders will play Vanderbilt, which plays at home in Memphis, Tennessee.
Vandy is currently ranked No. 25 this year, but still has games remaining against No. 5 Texas, No. 8 LSU, and No. 7 Tennessee. If Tech plays in the Liberty Bowl, it will be the second time since 2021 that the Red Raiders have played in that bowl game.
Finally, 247Sports.com’s Brad Crawford also has Tech landing in the Texas Bowl. But he sees the opponent as Tennessee.
Of course, the No. 7 Volante is aiming to win an SEC title and make the playoffs this year. But Crawford thinks they will stumble down the stretch and end up coming to Houston to face the Red Raiders.