{"id":367080,"date":"2025-12-24T07:12:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T07:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/367080\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T07:12:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T07:12:13","slug":"joey-mcguire-compares-oregon-to-utah-among-big-12-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/367080\/","title":{"rendered":"Joey McGuire compares Oregon to Utah among Big 12 teams"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas Tech<\/a> head coach Joey McGuire<\/a> knows exactly what kind of challenge awaits his team in the College Football Playoff<\/a> quarterfinal. So, he framed it in familiar Big 12 terms.<\/p>\n

As the Red Raiders prepare to face the Oregon Ducks<\/a> in the Capital One Orange Bowl, McGuire believes<\/a> the Ducks most closely resemble one of the league\u2019s toughest, most physical programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it was one team \u2014 a little bit different quarterback, even though he\u2019s a dual-threat,\u201d McGuire said<\/a>. \u201cBut Utah<\/a>, as far as their physicality on defense. I\u2019d say a little bit like Utah.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGuire pointed first to Oregon\u2019s presence up front, calling out the Ducks\u2019 defensive line as the unit that immediately jumps off the film: \u201cThey\u2019re very physical up front,\u201d McGuire added. \u201cThey\u2019ve got multiple defensive tackles. The guys that really jump off tape are No. 1 and No. 52. Extremely physical.\u201d<\/p>\n

That physicality, McGuire noted, extends beyond the trenches. Oregon\u2019s balance on offense, particularly in the backfield, has been just as impressive: \u201cThey\u2019ve got three running backs that play at such a high level,\u201d McGuire explained. \u201cTwo are true freshmen. They\u2019re home run hitters. They\u2019re very explosive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oregon\u2019s explosiveness was on full display in its first-round Playoff matchup against the James Madison Dukes<\/a>. That\u2019s a game that was effectively decided early.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw that Saturday in the JMU game,\u201d McGuire elaborated. \u201cYou look up and they\u2019ve already scored 30-plus points. I think they had five touchdowns on five drives.\u201d That fast-start ability, McGuire emphasized, makes situational football critical for Texas Tech: \u201cWe\u2019ve got to do a good job of making them drive the field,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Moreover, Oregon enters the semifinal fresh off a 51\u201334 win. They totaled 514 yards and 22 first downs. The Ducks are riding momentum after last season\u2019s disappointment. They were the No. 1 overall seed, but fell to eventual national champion Ohio State Buckeyes<\/a> in the Rose Bowl.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Texas Tech is making history. The Red Raiders are appearing in their first-ever Playoff after a 12\u20131 season capped by the program\u2019s first Big 12 Championship. Their lone loss came Oct. 18 at Arizona State<\/a>, a game starting quarterback Behren Morton<\/a> missed due to injury.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s matchup at Hard Rock Stadium will also mark a recent reunion between the two programs. Oregon defeated Texas Tech 38\u201330 in Lubbock in 2023, behind a dominant performance from former Ducks quarterback Bo Nix<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This time, the stakes are far higher. If McGuire\u2019s comparison holds, Texas Tech is preparing to face an Oregon team built much like Utah, who\u2019s always a tough matchup for each and every Big 12 program.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014 On3\u2019s Daniel Hager contributed to this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire knows exactly what kind of challenge awaits his team in the College…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367081,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,32689,398,396,397,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-367080","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-joey-mcguire-89-crowley","10":"tag-ncaa","11":"tag-ncaa-football","12":"tag-ncaafootball","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}