LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — This might not be the last game No. 8 Texas Tech plays at home this year, even though for now it is the last one on the schedule.
The Red Raiders (9-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 6 CFP) play their regular-season home finale Saturday, a week after easily getting past BYU there in the Big 12's first conference matchup of top-10 teams in four years. They have given coach Joey McGuire no reason to be concerned about a potential letdown as an overwhelming favorite against UCF (4-5, 1-5).
Just moments after the 29-7 win over BYU, one of the first players McGuire saw in the locker room was Jacob Rodriguez after his 14 tackles and two takeaways stirred up some Heisman Trophy buzz for the senior linebacker.
“I go over there and give him a hug and he goes, ‘Coach, this wasn’t our goal, other than to go 1-0. It wasn’t about beating BYU, it was about what we have in front of us’,” McGuire said, relaying the conversation. “That's why you preach and preach and preach that 1-0, and what’s next, and you hope that holds up.”
At No. 6 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, the Red Raiders would be in line to host a first-round CFP game on campus — those games go to the Nos. 5-8 teams in the final CFP rankings on Dec. 7, the day after the Big 12 championship game. They could get a first-round bye and move directly to a New Year's Six game if they finish in the top four.
Tech has an open date after playing the Knights, then finishes the regular season at West Virginia on Nov. 29.
Rodriguez struck a Heisman Trophy pose after a highlight interception against BYU, when he reached out and tipped the ball to himself. He later added a fumble recovery.
While maybe coerced by teammates to do that pose, Rodriguez does deserve to at least be in the conversation for college football's highest individual award.
He has a national-leading seven forced fumbles to go with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. The only other FBS player since 2005 with at least five forced fumbles, three interceptions and two recoveries in the same season was Khalil Mack for Buffalo in 2013. Mack is now a three-time Pro Bowl linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers.
Rodriguez and banged-up quarterback Behren Morton will be among more than 20 seniors recognized before kickoff Saturday.
The Knights have lost five of six games since a 3-0 start. They are 0-3 on the road, including a 30-3 loss at Baylor two weeks ago, and in coach Scott Frost's return are far from the 13-0 season they had in 2017 before he left for Nebraska.
“You’ve got to go through the hard to get to the good. We’re having fun, even though we’re going through the hard,” Frost said. “To think it’s just going to be easy, I don’t think it’d be worth it when we got there. It isn’t like I was going to show up and we were going to go undefeated."
Lee Hunter is the 6-foot-4, 330-pound starting nose guard in the middle of the Texas Tech defensive front that leads the nation allowing only 73.7 yards rushing per game, and has given up only five touchdowns on the ground. He played for UCF the past three seasons.
Phillip Dunnam last week became the first UCF player in school history with three interceptions in the same game, and returned one for a touchdown in the loss to Houston. The senior cornerback's first picks this year matched his season totals for both 2023 and 2024. The Big 12 leader has four.
All nine of Tech's wins are by at least 20 points, already matching the most in school history. The wins have been by an average margin of 33.2 points.
The Red Raiders are seeking their first 10-win season since 11-2 with coach Mike Leach in 2008. The other 10-win seasons were in 1932, 1937, 1953, 1973 and 1976.
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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