Living up to the previous year's accomplishments can be a double-edged sword.
Nobody's going to take away what the 2025 version of the Texas Tech football team achieved. That's etched in stone, the record book overflowing with good deeds by the Red Raiders, many of whom are now showing their moxie at the NFL level.
For the first five games of the 2026 season, though, it appeared obvious this version of Texas Tech had a long way to go to reach last year's high marks. Despite being 5-0 at the open date, there were plenty of questions about Joey McGuire's team.
Was the defense capable of coming anywhere close to 2025? Can Will Hammond turn it on and get the offense going? And would the Red Raiders ever figure out how to start a game with their hair
on fire?
The answer to all of those, of course, was yes. At least to McGuire and his coaching staff. They've believed this year's team can be just as good as last. Seeing and believing are two different things.
Now that they have a punishing win over Arizona State, even Texas Tech's critics, myself included, have to admit McGuire may have been right.
The defense looked legitimate. Though lacking the full force of David Bailey, Romello Height and Lee Hunter at the line, defensive coordinator Shiel Wood has found his groove. Ben Roberts added a fourth pick-6 to the Tech linebacker's credit in the past three games. That opened the floodgates for a defense that was looking to flex its muscle against overmatched teams like Arizona State.
Cutter Boley had nowhere to turn most of the game. His counterpart Mikey Keene fared a bit better in the second half, but not good enough to make any discernable difference.
Cameron Dickey may not be in action, but J'Koby Williams has been Tech's best running back all season. He proved as much with a career-high 165 rushing yards on just 11 carries, finding the end zone by dicing up the Sun Devil defense.
Will Hammond may still look Kenny Johnson's way too often, but can you really blame the guy? Johnson is as steady as they come, also eclipsing a career-high with 120 yards on seven catches.
The halftime scoreboard reflected those of many 2025 games in Lubbock. A large Texas Tech lead (43-10) where the second half was a mere formality than anything else.
Keeping up this pace is where Texas Tech's attention turns to now. At the very least, though, doing it for one game is good enough to keep the rabid dogs at bay. The Red Raiders are still powerful, just different.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Is Texas Tech football finally living up to 2025's lofty standard?
