Commentary: A hollow march to a bowl berth

Considering just a few years ago Texas Tech was in the middle of one bowl berth over five seasons, that these Red Raiders are going to their third bowl in a row could be viewed as a significant achievement.

Could be.

TCU went from the national championship game to not being bowl eligible in one year. Nebraska, once one of the traditional powers in college football, a program that owned an NCAA-record 35 straight bowl appearances, missed a bowl for the unfathomable seventh straight season. Arkansas, after 16 wins the previous two seasons, is staying at home with a 4-8 record. Ditto Florida.

Plenty of teams would like to trade seasons with Tech this week. Yet this season seems more hollow and empty than fulfilling. While it’s a season that saw Tech have consecutive winning Big 12 records for the first time in 14 years, it’s still a season that raises more questions on the future than it does assurances of the present.

Tech finished with a 6-6 record, the minimum distribution for a postseason bowl. The Raiders will learn their bowl destination in a few days. The Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth on Dec. 23 seems a likely landing.

The lead up to the season began with big-time bluster and hype, all of it false based on an unsustainable 2022 season. This season was book-ended with embarrassments – as a 12-point favorite losing at Wyoming in double OT after having a 17-0 lead in the opener, and then getting curb stomped on national television by Texas, 57-7, on Black Friday in the last meeting between the two for a long time.

In the middle were matching ups and downs that symbolize a .500 season, the quarterback injuries that have come to mark any Tech season, and an offense that should give any Tech follower some pause as to what the future holds.

As has been mentioned more than a few times, last year’s 8-5 season was more mirage than actual reflection of where coach Joey McGuire had the Raiders after his first season. They were 3-0 in overtime games, including wins over Texas and Oklahoma, the first time that’s happened in one season. There was a 4-point win at Iowa State because of two goal line stands.

That led to a 7-5 regular season and then a Texas Bowl win over Ole Miss. It also led to unrealistic expectations. McGuire and others puffed out their chests all summer of how Tech was putting the Big 12 on notice. Many others, from fans to media, chugged the Kool-Aid this could be a 10-win team.

But instead of 4-0 in those four close games, say Tech went a more reasonable 2-2. Then last year would have been a more accurate 5-7 record, not making this 6-6 year that included a 1-3 start so disappointing to so many.

Then there were the requisite quarterback injuries that have plagued the program seemingly since the advent of the facemask. For the third year in a row, Tyler Shough’s season was decimated by injuries. This time it was a season-ending broken leg in the fourth game at West Virginia.

Enter Behren Morton, who was never that close to 100% with a nagging shoulder sprain. He missed 1 ½ games and the reins were taken over by true freshman Jake Strong, who threw six interceptions in six quarters in two defeats. Healthy quarterbacks likely make the difference in two losses.

Of bigger concern, however, is a seeming talent and coaching drain on offense. Productive offenses have been a given for more than two decades. Top 20 offenses in yards and points have been a given. Not this year.

The Raiders are a pedestrian 61st nationally in total offense at 386.9 yards a game. They are 69th in scoring at 26.8 points, a 20-year low. They have looked disjointed, inconsistent and overmatched at times.

Offensive coordinator Zach Kittley came with McGuire with much fanfare. The former graduate assistant at Tech put up big numbers with offenses at Houston Christian and Western Kentucky. He has not come close to that production in two years.

It’s been a team effort with a puzzling scheme from Kittley and lack of playmakers. Talent, either not much of it or not developed, is an issue. Only running back Tahj Brooks has stood out. He’s second in the country with 1,443 yards. He has another year of eligibility, but will likely leave for a shot at the NFL.

The offensive line is a mish-mash of mid-major transfers and moderately recruited high schoolers. The wide receivers have been a disappointing mystery – the poorest group at Tech in a quarter century. They can’t separate from defensive backs, have average hands and don’t fight for the ball.

Questions abound on that side of the ball. Either transfers or young redshirt freshmen will have to step up in the line. Wide receiver Micah Hudson, Tech’s first five-star recruit, will be on campus next semester. He will help, but he can’t do it all.

Tech would love for McGuire to be the school’s version of Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy, whose team is in the Big 12 title game Saturday. He’s 165-78 in 19 seasons. His first two years were 4-7 and 7-6.

McGuire is 14-11. Realistically, Tech is about where the program should be. Even with a bowl game, this year was a dose of reality. Even with a bowl game, much rebuilding remains.

Jon Mark Beilue writes about regional sports for The Eastern New Mexico News.