Red Raiders Coach in Search for Answers After Disappointing End to Season
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LUBBOCK, Texas — The celebration after winning a conference championship can create momentum that carries a program forward for weeks. But the new postseason calendar in college football can just as easily erase it, according to Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire.
The Red Raiders head man spoke candidly about the issues surrounding the college football calendar during his opening spring press conference Thursday. He expressed frustrations about the most unusual challenges facing teams in the expanded playoff era.
Whether a team closes its regular season in late November or ends up playing in a league title game, there's still quite the long gap between those two weeks and a team's next meaningful game. That forces College Football Playoff teams to find ways to maintain rhythm, intensity and preparation despite a near month gap without competition.
That layoff has created a coaching puzzle that still lacks a clear answer, one that McGuire is at the forefront with several other coaches around the sport, are in search of moving forward.
“I think the biggest thing is just keep digging in to how you can practice with 25 days off," McGuire said. "You lose all momentum. Like we win the Big 12 and we were riding a lot of momentum. If you play that on a regular bye you carry some of that momentum. 25 days later you forget you played a game. its’ like figuring out how to almost start all over to an extent."
That extended break between games is a new reality in the modern postseason structure. Coaches across the country are adjusting to a format that gives teams significant rest but also introduces the risk of losing a competitive edge built during the regular season and conference championship week.
McGuire understands the challenge well now, considering his team was shutout by Oregon in the Orange Bowl. The loss has forced Texas Tech staff to reexamine how practices are structured during the break.
"The one team that’s done it [Indiana] is not giving away any secrets," McGuire said. "It’s really a process that you were trying to dig into and try to find answers to because in the last two years no one has done it except Indiana and Indiana is obviously the best team in the country.
"So it might not have mattered with their 25 days off one way or the other. That’s the biggest thing that we’re trying as a coaching staff."
Without a proven model, Texas Tech has begun exploring different ideas. One possibility involves increasing the physical intensity early in the layoff to maintain conditioning and toughness. Another option could be simulating game conditions through a mock scrimmage designed to replicate the tempo and pressure of the team's next opponent.
"Are we more physical early in that 25 days off?," McGuire continued. "Do we have a mock game? I saw Oregon did that and talked to Dan [Lanning] about that. Do we do something like that? Then you’re also how banged up are you coming out of the conference championship game? Do you lose somebody trying to get ready for a 25 day layoff.
"You talk to NFL guys and they have no answers either because they don’t have to do that. There’s not a lot of people you can lean on to figure that out I guess there’s one and that’s it, [Curt] Cignetti."
As a result of Indiana's success, McGuire's staff has approached the process with a mix of experimentation and evaluation when it comes to preparing for the playoff in 2026. Each potential postseason practice becomes an opportunity to measure how players respond to different workloads and structures as games are spaced out further next season.
The search for answers comes after a game in which McGuire felt his team produced uneven results despite strong defensive play.
"We played horrible [offensively] and played great on defense," McGuire said. "Some of these guys are saying we didn’t perform well. But it’s easy to throw stuff at Texas Tech because we don’t have the so called ‘blue blood label’ that everybody else does. They’re going to find out we’re not going anywhere.”
McGuire has sent a message that his program will continue to move forward although it fell short in 2025. His statement shows the deep cut of a broader culture the Red Raiders head man has tried to build since arriving in Lubbock ahead of the 2022 season.. His approach emphasizes a competitive nature, resilience and belief in Texas Tech's long term trajectory.
The end goal for the Red Raiders is a national championship.
Tech's coaching staff will continue searching for the exact formula that allows a championship team to stay sharp even after a month without stepping on the gridiorn
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Jacob is a contributor to Texas Tech and a seasoned journalist with over eight years of covering college football on digital platforms. He also contributes to Arkansas On SI and has previous writing experience at Saturday Down South and SB Nation. He is a graduate of Southern Arkansas University.
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