Texas Tech football enters the 2026 season ranked No. 12 in the preseason Coaches Poll after winning the Big 12 Championship and reaching the College Football Playoff. Now the pressure is on Joey McGuire, Will Hammond and the Red Raiders to prove last season wasn’t a one-year breakthrough.

Is Texas Tech officially past the “happy to be here” stage? IndyCarTim breaks down the massive expectations in Lubbock, the questions facing the Red Raiders and why anything short of another Big 12 title and CFP run could feel like a disappointment.

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Wreck ’Em!