Texas Tech Coach Joey McGuire Reveals Keys to Beating Oregon

The last time the Oregon Ducks and Texas Tech Red Raiders faced off, it was a 38-30 Oregon win in Lubbock, Texas. The two sides are set to face off over two years later in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.

Both teams will have very different rosters from the last time they played. Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire spoke about those changes with the media ahead of the New Year’s Day Game, as well as his team’s keys to victory and his admiration for Ducks head coach Dan Lanning.

What Stands Out About Oregon:

oregon ducks dan lanning joey mcguire texas tech red raiders college football playoff transfer portal nil ben roberts big ten — Nov 29, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire speaks to the media after defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

“The effort they play with, which it doesn't surprise me. I'm a big fan of coach Lanning, and I think he's an effort-based guy with the people that he coached for and how he's grown up in this coaching world. But how hard they play, and then they're extremely athletic. They've got great team speed, and they've got really good big-time playmakers, so that really jumps off film.”

Keys to Victory:

“Yeah, we've got to do a great job of stopping the run. These guys run at such a high level, so we've got to do a good job of stopping the run. Whoever wins the turnover battle, you've got two explosive offenses, so who can give their offense an extra couple possessions.”

“And I think we've got to make plays on special teams. That's where we've been from really all of our victories this year, but especially Arizona State, after that loss, we've done a great job of stopping the run, creating turnovers.”

“I think Indiana and Texas Tech are the No. 1 team in the country in turnover margin. We're plus 17. And then playing really well on special teams. I think those are the keys to this game.”

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How the Red Raiders Have Grown Since the Last Matchup vs. Oregon:

“I'm really proud of our coaching staff. The one thing I'm really proud of, if you look, the players that we have on our team are playing their best football in their career. So I'm really proud of our coaching staff. I think we've grown as a coaching staff.”

“Then I think the guys that were in that game are older, and that was Ben Roberts, he was a redshirt freshman. I think our talent level on our roster is higher, but I think theirs is, too. It's really hard when you look at Oregon and you look at us, it's almost like you're looking in the mirror. We're very similar football teams.”

How Texas Tech is Different From That Game:

“Really whenever I look at that roster or look at that game, there was guys on the roster that were there but they weren't playing yet. Jacob Rodriguez didn't get to play in that game because he got hurt the week before. That was Ben Roberts' very first start.”

“But the roster between the guys that we have, they were young, and then the guys that -- kind of the turnover of the roster, it's very different. But I think it's very different for them, too. I don't look across the field and see a lot of guys that played in that game on their team, either.”