hoping they might encounter<\/a> in Lubbock.<\/p>\nWhen teams come to Jones AT&T Stadium, all they\u2019re finding is a rude beatdown and a quiet flight home.<\/p>\n
The Red Raiders are one of the nation\u2019s best teams. And clearly the class of the Big 12.<\/p>\n
Barring an influx of money in a place like Fort Worth, Waco, Stillwater or Salt Lake City, this could be the new normal in the Big 12. \u2014\u00a0Ubben<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2245700917.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Fans at Texas Tech on Saturday leaned into the program\u2019s status as a big spender. (John E. Moore III \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
At full strength, the Red Raiders look like a contender<\/p>\n
Texas Tech\u2019s defense was dominant Saturday, but the offense was disjointed. The red zone offense was a disaster. And the Red Raiders still played a mostly uncompetitive game against an undefeated opponent in the top 10.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s win gave the Red Raiders an average margin of victory of 33.2 points in their nine wins this season.<\/p>\n
Texas Tech\u2019s only loss this season came on the road without starting quarterback Behren Morton against Arizona State. Nursing multiple injuries, Morton finished 17-of-32 for 219 yards and a touchdown Saturday against BYU\u2019s stingy defense.<\/p>\n
But even when he missed time against fellow Big 12 contender Utah earlier this season, the Red Raiders rocked Utah, 34-10.<\/p>\n
The defensive front is still playing without transfer Skyler Gill-Howard, but week-to-week dominance has been the story of the season in Lubbock. When the Red Raiders are healthy, no one else in the league can keep up. \u2014\u00a0Ubben<\/p>\n
Life on the edge catches up to BYU<\/p>\n
The Cougars spent the first three months of the season testing fate, falling behind to several inferior teams on the road only to rally every time they were pushed. But Lubbock ain\u2019t Boulder or Tucson or even Ames. A double-digit road deficit against the most overwhelming defense in the Big 12 with a true freshman quarterback? That\u2019s fate finally smiling back.<\/p>\n
The Cougars were uncharacteristically sloppy throughout the day at Texas Tech. Special teams face-planted in the biggest game the program\u2019s seen in decades. A shanked punt, a muffed punt return attempt and a missed field goal in the first half essentially told the story of what kind of day it was going to be for BYU.<\/p>\n
Offensively, quarterback Bear Bachmeier was overwhelmed with the instant pressure the Texas Tech defensive line provided. The true freshman finished 23 for 38 for 188 yards, a touchdown and an interception. BYU\u2019s defense kept the Cougars from being thoroughly embarrassed with several stops in the red zone. \u2014 Kamrani<\/p>\n
BYU\u2019s Playoff odds waning<\/p>\n
The Cougars\u2019 chance at a CFP appearance is dropping. And the road ahead doesn\u2019t get much easier.<\/p>\n
Next week, BYU hosts TCU, which boasts a top-10 passing offense. It\u2019s a game that has all the makings of a potential upset with a potential hangover effect from such a disheartening loss in Lubbock.<\/p>\n
A win over TCU sets up potentially the second \u201cgame of the year\u201d in the Big 12, BYU at Cincinnati on Nov. 22. Assuming the Bearcats take care of business against Arizona next weekend, both BYU and Cincinnati would go into that matchup of the penultimate week of the regular season 6-1 in conference play. That would make it a de facto play-in game for the Big 12 title game. The CFP committee showed it respected the Big 12 quite a bit in its introductory rankings this week, with three teams in the top 13 in BYU (7), Texas Tech (8) and Utah (13).<\/p>\n
The Red Raiders, who will certainly rise in next week\u2019s rankings iteration, now hold tiebreakers over both BYU and Utah and seem a near-lock for a Big 12 Championship Game berth. \u2014\u00a0Kamrani<\/p>\n
How many NFL prospects are on Texas Tech\u2019s defense?<\/p>\n
With all due respect to legendary linebacker Zach Thomas, Texas Tech has been known more over the years for sending its offensive prospects to the NFL. That won\u2019t be the case this draft. The Red Raiders\u2019 defense, specifically the front seven, has been key to their success in 2025.<\/p>\n
A quarterback growing up, Jacob Rodriguez made the transition to linebacker in Lubbock and has been filling up the stat sheet ever since. He had 14 tackles and an interception Saturday. His size and speed are more good than great, but he puts himself in position to make plays with outstanding finishing skills. The feedback from NFL scouts is exactly what you would expect: \u201cLeader of men\u201d \u2026 \u201cGets his boys going with his energy every day\u201d \u2026 \u201cLeaves it all on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Rodriguez is the heartbeat of the defense, David Bailey is the right hook. He is a bullet off the edge with his first-step burst and closing acceleration, which allows him to win the edge or convert his speed to power. He leads the FBS in pressures (by double digits) and made his presence felt all game against BYU. He needs to continue getting better as a run defender, but this is a first-round talent.<\/p>\n
Fellow Red Raiders defenders Romello Height, Lee Hunter and Gill-Howard have all put themselves in draftable territory this season, too. Texas Tech has never had more than three defenders drafted in the same class, but that should change in April. \u2014\u00a0Brugler<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By David Ubben, Christopher Kamrani and Dane Brugler In the first College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday, undefeated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42057,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[794,261,27,29,28,415],"class_list":{"0":"post-42056","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-byu-cougars","9":"tag-college-football","10":"tag-texas","11":"tag-texas-headlines","12":"tag-texas-news","13":"tag-texas-tech-red-raiders"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}