Texas Tech can still win the Big 12 and reach the College Football Playoff without quarterback transfer Brendan Sorsby, whose availability this season is in doubt amid an NCAA investigation into a report thousands of bets the senior placed on an online app, including on games involving Indiana when he was a freshman reserve for the Hoosiers.
The Red Raiders did just that last season, rolling through the conference with just one loss despite missing former starting quarterback Behren Morton for all or parts of three games.
Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby runs with the ball during the team’s spring game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium.
But Sorsby was acquired from Cincinnati to help Tech reach the next level after being bullied by Oregon in last season’s playoff quarterfinals at the Orange Bowl. Any extended absence dramatically weakens the Red Raiders’ chances of being more than the best team in what could be the weakest conference in the Power Four.
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Sorsby will be out indefinitely after checking himself into a treatment program for gambling addiction, according to an ESPN report.
His availability for this season may come down to how the NCAA interprets guidelines that went into place in 2023 and raise the possibility of a permanent loss of eligibility for “student-athletes who wager on their own games or on other sports at their own schools.”
Texas Tech is already short sophomore backup Will Hammond, who tore his ACL last season and is expected to be out until the start of league play, coach Joey McGuire said earlier this month.
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Hammond was a key piece behind last year’s conference championship, starting twice in place of Morton and throwing for seven touchdowns against three interceptions. Sorsby developed into a top-level NFL draft prospect during a 2025 season that saw him throw for 2,800 yards and run for another 580 yards with 36 total touchdowns.
With Sorsby facing the possibility of a season-long suspension or permanent loss of eligibility and Hammond expected to be sidelined through most of September, the Red Raiders will lean on one of a handful of mostly young and unproven options.
The one exception is junior Kirk Francis, who transferred from Tulsa this offseason after starting 10 games for the Golden Hurricanes and throwing for 3,045 yards and 18 touchdowns. A former walk-on, Francis has enough experience to separate himself from true freshman Stephen Cannon and redshirt freshmen Lloyd Jones III and Holden Phillips.
Francis may give the Red Raiders enough to get through non-conference games against Abilene Christian and Oregon State. But the season kicks into high gear with the conference opener at home against Houston on Sept. 19, with a loss to the up-and-coming Cougars potentially serving as the tiebreaker that keeps the Red Raiders out of the Big 12 championship game.
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By that point, Hammond might be back at enough strength to slide back into the starting lineup. Should the Red Raiders get past Houston and then gather steam against Sam Houston State and Colorado, this big-money roster is talented enough to once again out-talent the rest of the Big 12 and book an automatic playoff berth, potentially as one of the top four seeds.
But Sorsby wasn’t acquired to get Tech into the playoff; he was brought to Lubbock to get the Red Raiders over the hump and deeper into the bracket, if not all the way to the national championship. His potential unavailability alters the landscape for Tech, the Big 12 and the entire Power Four.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brendan Sorsby gambling looms over Texas Tech’s Big 12, Playoff push
