Tech eyes Orange Bowl success despite bye week worries

Following Texas Tech's 34-7 rout of BYU on Dec. 6 for the Edward Jones Big 12 Championship, the Red Raiders were seeded fourth in the College Football Playoffs and selected to play in the Capital One Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Jan. 1.

The Orange Bowl appearance marks another milestone in what has been a historic season for Texas Tech. Not only is this the program’s first trip to the Orange Bowl, but it also represents the Red Raiders’ first appearance in the College Football Playoff since the system’s expansion.

With its three weeks off, Tech hopes to avoid a trend from last year's top four seeds. In the 2024 CFP, each team that received a first-round bye lost in its debut game.

Of the four teams, those being Boise State, Arizona State, Georgia and Oregon, ASU was the only team to keep the game within one score against the University of Texas in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The other three lost by at least two scores.

Joey McGuire, head coach of the Red Raiders, said the three weeks before the game provide plenty of time for the team to recover and to prepare for the potential opponent of the University of Oregon or James Madison University.

“If we did put the pads on, we’re kind of missing the point of the bye,” McGuire said. “We've got a chance to get some guys healthy.”

Despite this, McGuire has voiced his displeasure with the current college football calendar, specifically the postseason. He said he'd prefer if the postseason were every seven days and highlighted the current schedule as one of the reasons the top four seeds lost last year.

“This is really not natural, you know, I really think we should be playing the playoffs every seven days,” McGuire said.

Senior safety Cole Wisniewski, who transferred from North Dakota State University early this year, shared the same sentiment with McGuire, saying the current college football calendar can affect schooling as well.

As the schedule currently stands, the national championship is scheduled for Jan. 19th, a couple of weeks into the Spring Semester for many schools.

“College football is not supposed to be played in the second semester,” McGuire said,” College football is not supposed to be played Jan. 19th.”

McGuire suggested the season should start when week 0 begins in the last week of August and schedule the conference championship games on the week of Thanksgiving.

"All the stuff that you can fix makes the portal window easier on coaches and everything like that,” McGuire said,” if we want to get behind something and fix something, let's fix the calendar before we fix anything else.”

Regardless of the calendar concerns, Texas Tech turns its attention to the Orange Bowl, where it will face either Oregon or James Madison. With a chance to advance to the national semifinals, the Red Raiders aim to prove that rest can be an advantage rather than a setback. As McGuire continues to build the program, the upcoming postseason run could further solidify Texas Tech’s place among college football’s elite.

Stay up to date on Texas Tech Athletics by bookmarking Texas Tech On SI.