Commentary: Tech's goal? Be as good as K-State

When little kids grow up, most want to be a police officer or firefighter, maybe a cowboy. They never want to be an accountant. That’s much too dull.

When the Texas Tech football program grows up, the Red Raiders should aspire to be accountants. If football programs were job titles, the Kansas State Wildcats are the accountants of the Big 12. The Wildcats have long been organized, efficient, and detailed. They are substance over style, grit over glitter. In short, they have been almost everything Tech has not.

K-State gave Tech yet another lesson on Saturday on where they are and where the Raiders are yet to be. It was a 37-28 win up in Manhattan, Kan., a familiar script over the last 12 years when these teams play.

The Wildcats again won the turnover battle, again didn’t beat themselves, and again made the plays when they had to make them. They’ve been doing that for a while now while squeezing about every drop out of their good, but certainly not great talent.

For two programs that should be on an even playing field for the past decade, K-State has dominated. For those keeping score, Saturday’s win was the Wildcats’ 11th in the last 12 meetings between the two. No conference foe has dominated Tech more. Not Oklahoma, not Oklahoma State, not Baylor, not Texas.

Who could have forecast that when Tech rolled to its fifth consecutive win in the series, a 66-14 romp in 2009 behind backup quarterback Steven Sheffield’s seven touchdown passes, that the Raiders would get only more win?

But Kansas State and Tech would be like two programs passing on that October night – one headed toward upheaval and the tempting lure of the bright lights, and the other toward stability and a solid foundation.

Mike Leach was fired after that season. Unemployed Tommy Tuberville, more of a used car salesman than football coach, was hired based off one unbeaten season at Auburn in 2004. He was an ill fit from the start, and left Tech in the lurch when recruits were in Lubbock in December 2012.

Enter Kliff Kingsbury, he of the “our coach is hotter than your coach” campaign, one that he didn’t like. Though he is an innovative offensive mind, he was woefully short of experience and later it was discovered he had a distaste for recruiting.

But he was an admired former quarterback and resembled actor Ryan Gosling, and that had to count for something. Kliff was fired after six seasons and a 19-35 Big 12 record.

Then came Matt Wells. He wasn’t hired out of the blue, but out of Utah State, which is close. Wells took over a bad situation, improved it somewhat, but had too much of an uphill climb both to improve the program and fan acceptance. He was fired, maybe ironically, maybe not, after losing to K-State last year, 25-24.

Joey McGuire is now the latest to give it a shot. There’s some founded optimism that he can turn around the program. Time will have to tell on that.

Meanwhile, Kansas State brought back the wizard Bill Snyder in 2009, the second term for one of the most underrated coaches in college history. After he retired again at age 79 in 2018, the job went to Chris Klieman, who won four FCS national titles in five years at North Dakota State. Both of them are as Midwestern as Post Toasties.

There is an established template of success at K-State – a balanced offense that minimizes mistakes, a gritty defense and strong special teams. That may get a yawn or two from the football video crowd, but it has won games at a far higher rate than Tech has.

In 12 years of dominance over Tech, the Wildcats have won eight games three times, nine games twice, and had a season of 10 wins and another of 11. They’ve gone to 10 bowls in that period. As for the Raiders, it’s two eight-wins seasons to go along with seven losing seasons. Yahoo, strike up the band.

Kansas State’s recruiting belies its success. In 12 years, its average recruiting ranking according to rivals.com is No. 56 in the country. But K-State looks for specific players to fit its system, and they get coached up to a high degree.

In the last 12 games against Tech, the Wildcats have averaged 38.6 points. The most telling statistic in the differences in the program is turnovers. In this period, K-State has committed just nine, with Tech at 28. That’s 28, three times as much.

All of this does not fall on the lap of McGuire. He’s been at Tech for just 11 months and five games. But this does show how far to the next level for his program.

Shouldn’t Tech try to reach the status of Oklahoma State and Baylor, two teams that once upon a time it dominated? Better to learn to walk before running.

Under Mike Gundy, OSU has seven double-digit winning seasons since 2010. Tech has five in its history. Baylor has won three Big 12 titles in nine years. Tech’s last outright conference title? The Border Conference -- in 1955.

K-State is a school of 19,000 in a below-average football state, but has figured out how to maximize its situation. Can Tech, with seemingly more advantages? Three coaches have failed. McGuire got an up-close view Saturday. We shall see.

Jon Mark Beilue is a 1981 graduate of Texas Tech. He has been writing about Red Raiders sports for five decades.