In the aftermath of the Texas Tech football team's season-opening victory against Abilene Christian, we opined that any man who signs on to be the Red Raiders' offensive coordinator signs up to be judged by Mike Leach standards. For a loud and large portion of the Tech fan base, satisfaction comes not merely from winning, but from breaking 50 on the scoreboard and looking good doing it.
The Red Raiders didn't come close to breaking 50 against ACU, winning 33-10 on Saturday, Sept. 5, at Galaxy Stadium, and a lot of you out there aren't happy about how they looked doing it. The questions that came in for our question-and-answer session bear that out. Nearly every one involved the performance of the offense and coordinator Mack Leftwich, so we chose
two or three from that list that are representative of the overall tone of the rest.
On to the questions.
Q: How quickly can we fire our OC? Total trash. Worse than [David] Yost.
DW: Probably not soon, considering Tech gave Leftwich a new contract that runs through the 2028 season. It included a 45.5% raise, so he's scheduled to make $1.55 million for this contract year and $1.6 million and $1.65 million the two years after that.
Defensive coordinator Shiel Wood also got a new deal with a big raise, and both coordinators signed them on Oct. 30. It's fair to ask if offering coaches extensions and raises after eight games is premature. But Utah wanted Leftwich at the same time Tech did, and considering the Red Raiders scored 42 or more points eight times last season, there was reason to believe other schools would be looking at him.
Q: Have there been discussions with a new offensive play caller? How confident are you in Mack Leftwich? Do you believe that Mack Leftwich can lead [Tech] far into the playoffs considering the most recent Oregon and ACU games?
DW: No, no discussions with a new offensive play caller. When Tech hired Leftwich at age 30, he was regarded as one of the up-and-coming young coordinators in college football with what his offenses at Incarnate Word and Texas State had done. Then in year one at Tech, the Red Raiders averaged 39.4 points per game, most in nine years. Their 67 touchdowns ranked seventh in the FBS and their 28 field goals second.
That's a strong showing when everyone's learning a new system. It's the kind of résumé add that gets you hired elsewhere, not fired.
Oregon's the only team that matched Tech's talent last season. From last year's Ducks defense, there was an NFL first-round draft pick and two fourth-round picks, and the 2026 Oregon defense likely will have at least three more players drafted in 2027, including a couple in or near the first round.
They dominated the Red Raiders that day. It happens. I wouldn't make too much of Tech-ACU. It was a season opener, Tech took command from the start and did what it had to do to win easily. The Red Raiders punted twice, both in the fourth quarter, after they were up 26-3 and 33-10.
Q: Following the Oregon game, the Sorsby drama, and the Paramount Documentary is this the best offensive performance Tech could put together?
DW: No, but a lot of people are disregarding that Tech spent all winter and spring putting together and practicing an offense with Brendan Sorsby, had to start over in June and then didn't get Will Hammond back until a few weeks ago. It's disruptive having your starting quarterback taking his first reps in more than nine months only one month before the season starts — and trying to get on the same page with about a half dozen new receivers for the first time.
With that context, to complete your first 14 passes and finish 26-of-33 for 298 yards is better than expected.
Q: In Texas Tech's uniform reveal two days before the game, there was no Monster logo on the jersey. Then on game day, there was the patch. What gives?
DW: The promo was shot several days — or maybe even a few weeks — in advance. So the patches simply hadn't been added yet.
Q: Can Tech write a $1 million check in exchange for not having to wear the Monster patch?
DW: Are you kidding? With the amount of debt Tech's taken on over the past couple of years for the new football facilities and the amount on the annual operating budget, it'll gladly take every million it can get.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football Q&A — The fans fume over the offense
