No. 12 Texas Tech fired up for kickoff, end of drama-filled offseason

Texas Tech dominated offseason headlines. For more reasons than he could count, Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire has never been more ready to turn the page.

McGuire leads No. 12 Texas Tech into its season opener in Lubbock on Saturday night with Abilene Christian walking into an amped environment.

"Y'all know I'm always fired up and I'm always optimistic. I've been saying we're going to win the Big 12 since the day I got here," McGuire said Monday.

Weeks and months of roster roulette moves to the backdrop on Saturday. Former Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby, viewed as one of the biggest catches in the transfer portal in January, was the player the Red Raiders envisioned leading the team out of the tunnel for the start of the season. But off-field entanglements followed Sorsby to Lubbock.

An investigation into gambling irregularity led to Sorsby's admission that he was addicted to sports betting, and the NCAA suspended him for betting on college football. Litigation to bring him back to the Red Raiders appeared to be successful before the Southeastern Conference stepped in to block that option. A direct route to the NFL was also detoured when the pro league declined to hold a supplemental draft.

McGuire openly labeled his own squad the "most hated team in college football" while continuing to fan the flames. He plans to start Will Hammond at quarterback on Saturday but unapologetically brought in Tommy Castellanos, who has started at Florida State and Boston College, even after he went to NFL rookie minicamp with the Miami Dolphins.

An underdog junior with a fiery on-field persona, Hammond, echoing McGuire, said the Red Raiders aren't out to make friends.

"We embrace that villain role. We run to that. We love that feeling," Hammond said. "We love having a target on our backs, because it means we have the opportunity to do something special. If you're a team that isn't a villain, that doesn't have a target on its back, there's no pressure. What's the fun in competing when no one's hating on you?"

Hammond has three career starts and is back in the lineup after suffering a knee injury that ended his 2025 season. He has the support of a defense that helped Texas Tech finish No. 7 in the final poll of the 2025 season thanks to a FBS-best 32 takeaways.

But Texas Tech has some big shoes to fill. Nine players were picked in the 2026 NFL Draft including No. 2 overall selection David Bailey. He had 14.5 sacks for the Red Raiders last season.

Into the fire steps FCS No. 20 Abilene Christian (0-1) and freshman quarterback John David Black. And while Texas Tech isn't looking back, the Wildcats would welcome a repeat of the 2024 season opener.

Texas Tech needed overtime to survive a heart-stopping 52-51 upset bid from Abilene Christian.

The Wildcats hit Galaxy Stadium on Saturday night with a few other noteworthy blasts from the past. Head coach Keith Patterson was defensive coordinator for the Red Raiders from 2019 to 2021. His playcaller on offense this season is former Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell. In 45 games for the Red Raiders from 2005-08, Harrell thew for 15,793 yards and 134 touchdowns.

The associate head coach/co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach came out of the opener, a 21-14 loss to Lamar, not knowing exactly what to expect from Black. Then Black ripped a completion on Abilene Christian's first third down, converting a third-and-15 situation to a first down.

"I was impressed with how composed he was," Harrell said. "He has a ton of talent. If he can gain that confidence and keep looking like he did for most of the time he was in there (Week 1), he can be a great player."

Tucker Parks started the game at quarterback and led the offense's first four drives, but he threw two interceptions and was 4-of-8 passing in the loss last week. Black had two TD passes and was 15 of 25 for 142 yards.

Wildcats co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Joel Filani was a two-time first-team All-Big 12 receiver in 2005 and '06. Filani is in the 2026 Texas Tech Athletics Hall of Fame class, joining Harrell (2021).

--Field Level Media