We've said all season the Texas Tech football team of 2026 isn't the Texas Tech football team of 2025 that broke out victory cigars after the Big 12 championship game at Jerry World. The drop-off has been even more stark for the Arizona State Sun Devils, whose 2026 edition is a long way from the 2024 version that won a Big 12 title of its own.
The Sun Devils already had suffered blowout losses to Texas A&M and Baylor this season before they showed up at Galaxy Stadium to tangle with Texas Tech on Saturday, Oct. 17. Maybe we shouldn't overdo it, then, assessing the Red Raiders' 53-25 victory on a beautiful homecoming afternoon.
That doesn't mean all involved with the scarlet and black shouldn't enjoy being 6-0. Not many other teams are, and such
circumstances don't come along often.
The college football world wakes up Sunday with only six FBS teams remaining undefeated, the Red Raiders being one. We're only halfway through the schedule, so it could all come tumbling down. Still, being in the small circle of undefeated teams beats the alternative.
And although I'm still not convinced the Red Raiders won't lose a regular-season game or two, there's no obvious better team in the Big 12. Agree or disagree?
On Saturday, though, the Red Raiders set season highs for points and sacks and got career highs from two playmakers.
"I really think it sets a new standard," wide receiver Kenny Johnson said after he caught 7 passes for 120 yards. "Now it's like we know we can do it, so the rest of our games there's no reason that standard should fall anything below that."
In five years under Joey McGuire, the Red Raiders have tended to improve as seasons go along. Maybe Saturday's game, the Red Raiders' best all-around performance this year, is a sign that's about to happen again. Austin Romaine, for example, has had time to get his feet on the ground. Will Hammond has had time to make up for lost time.
Tech coaches during the open week solved those sluggish first halves for a change.
J'Koby Williams sizzled on Saturday, shaking off a fumble on the game's first series to rack up career-high rushing yardage by halftime. Hammond clicked with Johnson, who put up career-high receiving yards, and with Coy Eakin, who caught a touchdown pass on Hammond's tight-window throw.
"Kenny is really getting a good feel," McGuire said, "and he and Will have such a good connection. I thought the ball thrown to Coy was an absolute elite throw by Will Hammond. That was unreal."
As efficient as the offense was, scoring on seven of eight first-half possessions, the defense stirred memories of the 2025 bunch. And how about those comparisons? Through six games last season, David Bailey, Romello Height and company had 21 sacks. These Red Raiders, with less star power, reached 17 sacks with six against the Sun Devils.
The ball-hawking Red Raiders of '25 had 13 takeaways after six games, which is — believe it or not — only one more than than Shiel Wood's current guys. Last year's calling card was Jacob Rodriguez punching out pigskins. This year it's pick-sixes. The linebackers, Romaine, John Curry and Ben Roberts, have four interception-return touchdowns in the past three games. Roberts got his on Saturday.
"Coach [Mack] Leftwich gave them both photos of their picks when they scored," Roberts said, "so now I get mine. That's going to be pretty cool."
Am I saying this defense is going to be the equal of its predecessor? Again, let's not get carried away.
That doesn't mean folks who have gone back and forth between pulling for and complaining about the Red Raiders shouldn't enjoy their current station in the college football universe.
You could be rooting for Texas A&M. The Aggies' fan base might not be a cesspool but team fortunes are, well, in the dumpster. Or you could be rooting for Texas, which, once again, is back — in turmoil. The Longhorns, after reaching No. 1 in the polls, have lost two in a row.
No way the Aggies are making the College Football Playoff.
And suddenly it's no sure thing for the Longhorns either.
Aggies tanking, Longhorns tanking, Red Raiders ridin' high. That's sweeping a tripleheader, is it not?
If any doubt remained about how much revenue sharing and crowdsourced NIL have changed college athletics, consider this: Every team in the SEC already has a loss midway through the season. (The latest: Down goes Georgia!) When's the last time that happened? Traditional powers Clemson, Oregon, Michigan, Alabama and LSU, among others, already are twice-beaten.
Not a deal killer in the coming era of the 24-team playoff. Now it's enough to make panic set in.
Texas Tech has had its issues, sure, but the Red Raiders have so far sidestepped disaster. The 1976 Red Raiders, who started 8-0 and finished 10-2, were in town this weekend for a 50th anniversary celebration. For people such as me, they represent the best of times in Texas Tech football.
Don't jump to conclusions now, but the current group could deliver some of that, too. If not, I can think of worse outcomes than the Red Raiders being best team in Texas.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football's an imperfect 6-0, which beats being A&M or UT | Williams
