Joey McGuire Directly Calls Out Steve Sarkisian After Schedule Comments

Steve Sarkisian has never been one to mince words during his time as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns.

That has been evident this offseason alone, with his comments directed at Ole Miss about academic standards, as well as the overt shot he took at Texas Tech regarding their scheduling practices.

He even went as far as to say that Texas' second and third string players could win the Big 12 with the schedule of 'another team' in the state of Texas - obviously referring to Texas Tech.

Now, the coach of that team, Joey McGuire, who has also never been one to mince words, has addressed Sarkisian's comments directly during Big 12 Spring Meetings.

Joey McGuire calls out Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns

Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire on the sidelines against the Oregon Ducks | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

And he did not hold back.

"I said there's no way they're talking about us, because Sark's a pretty tough guy," McGuire said, via Cole Banker of KLBK Sports. "His teams are pretty tough. I would think if he were talking about us, he'd call us out. He wouldn't just say kind of this comment of, Well, there is another team in our state.'"

He even said Texas Tech would be willing to buy out their game with Abilene Christian for Texas to come play them Week 1 in either Lubbock or AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

"We're willing to take our games, and Abeline will go to Texas State, we'll buy our contract out," McGuire boasted. "I'm sure, because Texas has got a lot of money, they can buy their contract out. But I do know there are a lot of Red Raiders that will help them buy that contract out if they don't want to, and they can come to Lubbock Week 1, and we can figure out if their 2's and 3's can win this conference."

Of course, Texas has never shyed away from playing Texas Tech. They lead the all-time series 55-18 and are 19-5 against the Red Raiders since the turn of the century.

Befroe leaving the Big 12 following the 2023 season, the Longhorns also throttled Texas Tech 57-7 in Lubbock - a game in which Arch Manning saw his first action as a college quarterback.

McGuire admits that himself.

But Texas Tech has changed a lot since that 2023 meeting, and is coming off of its first-ever College Football Playoff berth. They also became the first team in the history of the playoff to get shut out by their opponent, but the growth of the program is still undeniable.

"I know a lot of people are gonna say a lot of stuff about me or about us... We didn't score in the playoff," McGuire said. That's obvious; you can take a shot at us for that. The last time we played Texas, we got beat 57-7, and he played some of his 2s and 3s and they kicked the crap out of us."

"I know he feels really good about his team if he's making those comments, and we would love to play the University of Texas Week 1 in Lubbock. I know Cody Campbell reached out to Stephen Jones, and if they don't want to come to Lubbock, then we're gonna work on trying to get AT&T Week 1. So, if they want to play Week 1, then we're ready. We would love to play the University of Texas."

A Parting Shot from McGuire

Texas tech head coach Joey McGuire looks on during spring football practice | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

He wasn't done there, either. He also took at pop shot at Texas directly, after the Horns were left out of the playoff with a 9-3 record.

“We were in the CFP last year," McGuire said, via Chris Vannini. "I forget who Texas had in the first round last year.”

So what will all of this fanfare and grandstanding get McGuire? Likely nothing.

The odds that something of this scale could happen this late in the spring are likely slim to none.

Then again, it could provide Texas with an opportunity to stop the Texas Tech PR campaign right in its tracks.

Which of course begs the question: Texas will bite? The answer is almost assuredly no. Even if Tech sweetened the pot and offered to come play in Austin - which they would never do.

Texas already plays the arguably toughest schedule in all of college football, with matchups against Ohio State in Week 2, and SEC tilts against Ole Miss, Tennessee in Knoxville, Oklahoma in Dallas, LSU in Baton Rouge, and Texas A&M in College Station.

Besides that, playing Texas Tech does absolutely nothing to benefit them, other than satiating the egos of McGuire, Cody Campbell, and other Red Raider fans.

In other words, McGuire can granstand and puff his chest all he wants, but Texas doesn't need to play Texas Tech nearly as much Texas Tech - it would seem - needs to play Texas.

The Longhorns can stick to their out-of-conference matchups against Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame and be just fine.

Meanwhile, the Red Raiders will have to continue to search for someone outside of Abilene Christian, Oregon State and Sam Houston, while hoping the Big 12 can produce enough strength of schedule the rest of the way to make a difference.

After all, Texas did that during their days in the Big 12, scheduling the likes of LSU, Alabama, USC and Notre Dame.

Why can't Texas Tech do the same?

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