No one loves to dwell on the negatives of a college football season. Especially given the fact that head coach Joey McGuire had a successful first year in Lubbock. But learning from mistakes is critical for growth in all aspects of life, not just building a competitive football program. The Texas Tech 2022 losses will sting in reviewing them. But which ones have the most bitter taste?
Texas Tech 2022 Losses
5. NC State 27-14
The Texas Tech 2022 losses began in week two of the season against NC State. At the time, NC State had early season buzz about challenging for the ACC conference title. So a tricky early-season road trip was always going to be a tall task for the Red Raiders. The Wolfpack jumped out to a 20-0 lead, but the Red Raiders hung around as it was only a 13-point deficit heading into the 4th quarter. In a theme that would be consistent in almost all of their losses, the team fought until the end. Ultimately, this was just a case of a team more talented and more experienced. So, in terms of losses, this one didn’t hurt more than any other game. Texas Tech was an underdog coming into it and it played out as much during the game.
4. Baylor 45-17
A visit from the Baylor Bears at the end of October had all the makings of the second half of the season momentum builder. Patrick Mahomes was in the building to have his number retired and the Red Raiders were fresh off of running over West Virginia in Morgantown. Instead, it was the Bears who ran all over Texas Tech. The Red Raider defense allowed 231 yards on the ground to Dave Arranda’s team as this game was never competitive. When a team like Texas Tech has a bad day, it can get ugly in a hurry. Getting stomped on at home is never fun, but there isn’t always a lingering bad aftertaste after a butt-whooping. This is often when a coach tells the media, “We didn’t watch the film.” because nothing went right. With nothing major on the line, it was easy-ish to move on after just a bad game all around.
3. Kansas State 37-28
We now enter the portion of the Texas Tech 2022 losses where there is a real burn factor. The next few games on this list will have fans going “Man, that game could have changed the course of the season.” Coming into the game, the Red Raiders had lost six straight against the Wildcats. The game started off almost as poorly as Texas Tech could have imagined as they were down 13-0 after the first quarter. But the comeback effort showed up, as it had all season, and they entered the fourth quarter tied at 20. However, it all unraveled quickly in the fourth quarter as Kansas State scored 17 consecutive points to push Kansas State’s winning streak over Texas Tech to seven games.
2. Oklahoma State 41-31
Quarterback Behren Morton made his first start against, at the time, a healthy Oklahoma State team that was undefeated and ranked seventh in the polls. After letting one get away after Kansas State, Texas Tech started off with a bang with a crisp-looking offensive drive for a touchdown. Then they appeared to have executed a perfect onside kick. But some quick thinking by an Oklahoma State player prevented the successful recovery by the Red Raiders and the shootout was underway. And yet again, Texas Tech entered the 4th quarter in a one-score game. The offense sputtered, in part because Morton was injured, in the fourth quarter and Texas Tech dropped a second consecutive road game. This one hurt more than the Kansas State game because the Red Raiders were the better team for extended stretches of the game. They really felt as if they had Mike Gundy’s team on the ropes, but simply couldn’t knock them out.
1. TCU 34-24
Of all of the Texas Tech 2022 losses, the game against the Horned Frogs absolutely has the sourest taste. TCU was the unquestioned best team of the Big 12 in the 2022 season. But the Texas Tech defense played one of its best games of the year, led by Tyree Wilson. Because it was Fox’s Big Noon game of the week, it was a bit of a coming-out party for Wilson as he was in TCU’s backfield all game. Another injury to Morton meant Tyler Shough was forced back into game action for the entire second half. It was his most significant playing time after returning from a week one injury. Even with the shuffling at quarterback, Texas Tech was winning 17-13 entering the fourth quarter.
TCU marched down the field on a 10-play drive to take the lead 20-17 with 13:25 left in the game. It was the next four series in which the game fell apart. Texas Tech’s offensive aggressiveness on fourth down had been working overwhelmingly in their favor up to this point in the season. But at the most critical point in the game, two fourth-down attempts on their own side of the field failed. The Red Raider defense finally broke and TCU stretched the lead to 17, eventually winning the game by 10. Not only did Texas Tech have the best team in the conference down on the road, but it all fell apart by the one thing that had buoyed a large portion of their success on the season. A win in Fort Worth, especially with how the rest of the season played out, could have resulted in a four-game winning streak to close out the season.
