Joey McGuire was 30 seconds into his remarks following Texas Tech's big win at Utah when, unprompted, he brought up the money.
The Red Raiders coach said he and his players understand the program has been derided, presumably for trying to buy a championship by lavishing NIL riches among one of the nation's highest-rated transfer classes. On3 reported the sum to be $28 million, second in spending only to Texas, and that doesn't include revenue-sharing distributions.
McGuire surely knows the old saying, “When somebody says it’s not about the money, it’s about the money." In this new era of college athletics, it's always about the money, and it is to be embraced.
Maybe McGuire's players aren't mercenaries, but it doesn't hurt to have what McGuire called the “best boosters in the country by far,” a group that includes billionaire Cody Campbell and a host of others who foot the NIL bill.
“We've got a good football team and they care a lot about each other,” McGuire said. “There’s a lot of things said about our team and a lot of things written about the cost of the roster and this and that. I would challenge anybody to have a closer locker room, guys that care more about wearing the Double-T than care about themselves, and that shows up in tight games.”
The game against Utah was tight for three quarters. The Red Raiders outscored the Utes 21-0 over the last nine minutes and won 34-10 in a performance that vaulted them to No. 12 in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll Sunday.
The Red Raiders (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) have the third-largest point differential (208-45) in the country and are off to their best start since the 2013 team won its first seven and was ranked No. 10.
Tech entered this season picked high in the Big 12 Conference, and Saturday's win reinforced its fans' hopes of winning the conference and going to the College Football Playoff. As of now, there is only one ranked opponent left on the schedule, No. 25 BYU at home Nov. 8.
Ohio State acknowledged $20 million was spent on name, image and likeness compensation last year, and the Buckeyes won the national championship. There will be no shame in Lubbock if all that NIL spending helps propel the Red Raiders to the Big 12 championship game for the first time.
“People came to Texas Tech for a reason, whether that be Coach McGuire, whether that be money,” star linebacker Jacob Rodriguez said. “It really doesn't matter what it is because now it's about love. Everybody in that locker room loves everybody.”
No time to rest
No. 2 Miami (4-0) has its highest ranking since 2017 and has an open date before a top-10 matchup at No. 7 Florida State on Oct. 4. The Hurricanes are rolling with a resume that includes wins over two ranked opponents to go with Saturday's 26-7 victory over Florida.
There's no time to rest, quarterback Carson Beck said.
“We’re going to work this week,” he said. "This is not a week off. This is not time to play games. This is not time to take a step back. It’s time to work. Let’s work, let’s get better at the things we need to get better at, so that when we head to Tallahassee we’re ready physically and mentally.”
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Aggies one up on Texas
This won't sit well in Austin.
No. 9 Texas A&M is ranked ahead of No. 10 Texas for the first time since Sept. 25, 2022, and the Aggies climbed a spot in the poll while idle and the Longhorns dropped two spots despite a 55-0 win over the weekend.
As for the rival to the north, No. 7 Oklahoma is ranked ahead of the Longhorns for the first time since Oct. 22, 2023.
Not including the 2020 pandemic season, the last time all three teams were in the top 10 was Oct. 2, 1978.
Extra points
It's been a long time since Indiana and Vanderbilt were ranked so high so early. The No. 11 Hoosiers have their highest September ranking since they were No. 10 in 1969. The No. 18 Commodores' previous high September ranking was No. 15 in 1956. ... No. 6 Oregon has won eight straight road games heading into Saturday's visit to No. 3 Penn State, the longest active streak in the nation. ... No. 4 LSU's blowout of Southeastern Louisiana extended the Tigers' win streak against in-state opponents to 39. They haven't lost to a team from the Bayou State since Tulane beat them in 1982.
This story has been corrected to show that LSU is now No. 4, not No. 3, in the AP Top 25.
AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
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