Does the National Media Think Texas Tech Football Can Win it All This Season?

Hope and possibility is different that likely and probable, but depending on what national publication or college football media personality

Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire speaks to reporters. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The national media and well-known college football media personalities generally view the Red Raiders as the consensus favorite to win the Big 12 and to make a strong run in the College Football Playoff.

Here’s what the national media and major outlets are saying about the Red Raiders entering this season.

ESPN's college football power index ranking has the Red Raiders ranked No. 10 ahead of teams like Texas A&M, USC, and Oklahoma. However, they have similar teams like LSU and Alabama ranked slightly ahead of them in their preseason rankings.

The irony is that ESPN's Top 25 preseason rankings have Texas Tech ranked one spot lower at No. 11.

CBS Sports has the Red Raiders ranked ninth in the country for college football teams before the season starts, which is a higher ranking than ESPN has them.

The NY Times/The Athlete have Texas Tech ranked No. 10, and this ranking is based on Sam Khan Jr., who writes about college football roster development and the transfer portal, and Austin Mock, who is an analytics expert; each chose their own top 25. One is based on an evaluation and informational list, and the other is a statistical projection model. Then they compared both of their top 25 rankings and determined the Red Raiders would be ranked No. 10 in their preseason poll.

The vast majority of national publications and outlets listed above rank Texas Tech higher than Athlon Sports does in its preseason rankings. The Red Raiders are likely to win the Big 12 again, but they are outside the top 10 because they felt the impact of Sorsby leaving this offseason, and Jacob Rodriguez and David Bailey going in the NFL draft makes them not a preseason top 10 team.

Since 1995, Phil Steele has published his preseason college football magazine and currently ranks Texas Tech No. 13.

Texas Tech is a favorite to win or defend the Big 12 title as the season begins. The most preseason All-Big 12 selections in the conference, a defense loaded with talent that should be a top five unit nationally, and a running game that has the potential to be very dominant.

They have been predicted by many national and well-known publications as a near lock to make the college football playoffs but not necessarily to win the national championship. National analysts generally see Joey McGuire’s bunch as a team built for the expanded 12-team playoff.

They are in a tier with elite programs because they have a roster loaded with elite depth and massive spend compared to their conference peers. Analytic models, such as ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI), and national analysts overwhelmingly favor power four programs like Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas, and Oregon to win the actual national title.

The key reason national pundits are reluctant to pick Texas Tech to win it all is the quarterback situation, although it appears Will Hammond, if he is fully healthy, will start in the season opener. National analysts say the run game and defense give this team a high floor, but with quarterback Hammond coming back from an ACL injury, their ceiling will be entirely dependent on getting elite, healthy quarterback play in the postseason.

Texas Tech: Big 12 powerhouse and very likely playoff team. That’s what national media members respect, but they want to see Texas Tech take that step to winning games against ranked teams in other Power Four conferences before putting them in the true national championship conversation.

Stay up-to-date on Texas Tech athletics by bookmarking Texas Tech On SI and following us onX/Twitter.