He posted on social media<\/a> that \u201cFriday Night Lights are sacred in the Great State of Texas!\u201d and also wrote that it was \u201dabsolutely absurd” that the Big 12 and Fox Sports would consider that.<\/p>\nBut the Big 12 television contract allows for 12 regular-season football games a year to be played on a day other than Saturday.<\/p>\n
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark, who had some public back-and-forth with Campbell, has said that television ratings for the conference\u2019s Friday night games last season were 64% better than its average rating.<\/p>\n
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This isn’t the only non-Saturday game for Texas Tech<\/p>\n
The Red Raiders (2-0) have two non-Saturday regular-season games this year. Their regular season finale at home against TCU is on Thanksgiving night. In their previous 30 seasons in the Big 12, they played only six times on Friday, all on the road and with four of those coming the day after Thanksgiving. The last was in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, obviously people have known for a long time that you play high school football in the state of Texas on Friday night,\u201d McGuire said. \u201cAnd so this is a little different, but it\u2019s huge.\u201d<\/p>\n
This meeting of expected contenders is the first of eight games matching Big 12 teams that won’t be on a Saturday. Five of those are in November. Eleven of the league’s 16 teams will be part of those conference games.<\/p>\n
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Houston (2-0), which played three Friday night games last season, and Texas Tech are among five teams that will play two this year. The Cougars are at Colorado on Nov. 13.<\/p>\n
Another sellout near where `Friday Night Lights’ began<\/p>\n
Even playing on a Friday night, this will be Tech’s 10th consecutive home sellout.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was one of the things that I was definitely worried about, even though we have the best fan base in the country,\u201d McGuire said. \u201cBut we\u2019re also in Friday Night Lights, like the world of Friday Night Lights in West Texas. That\u2019s where it all began whenever you think about the book and everything like that. But it\u2019s going to be a great game.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Texas Tech campus in Lubbock is a little more than two hours north of Odessa, Texas, where the 1988 Permian High School team was the subject of Buzz Bissinger’s book \u201cFriday Night Lights\u201d that was released in 1990.<\/p>\n
That was adapted into a 2004 feature film starring Billy Bob Thornton as the coach. A television series with that title had a five-season run from 2006-11.<\/p>\n
McGuire remains a big supporter of Texas high school coaches<\/p>\n
McGuire is a member of the Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) Hall of Fame, and the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame. He constantly refers to Texas Tech as the unofficial home of the THSCA, and 11 members of his current staff have ties to the organization. He regularly speaks at the group’s annual convention and hosts clinics for high school coaches each year.<\/p>\n
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During pregame Friday night, McGuire plans to wear his THSCA cap to show support for all prep coaches and that organization.<\/p>\n
Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here. Visit the Top 25 here and see AP\u2019s full college football coverage here<\/p>\n
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