The college football offseason has been dominated by debates surrounding conference realignment, the possibility of leagues breaking away from the NCAA, College Football Playoff expansion, and student-athlete eligibility concerns. As conferences begin their spring meetings, however, a new storyline has emerged.
After Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian appeared to take a shot at Texas Tech, the Red Raiders wasted no time responding. Not only did their head coach issue a bold challenge, but he also received support from a key university administrator.
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Earlier this month, Sarkisian generated plenty of bulletin-board material for several programs. His comments about Texas Tech, in particular, sparked a frenzy across the state’s college football landscape.
“There’s a team in our state in another conference with a schedule that I would argue, if I played with our twos and threes, we could go undefeated,” Sarkisian said. “They’ll probably make the CFP this year.”
Clear your schedule?
Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire quickly fired back, suggesting Texas scrap its Week 1 plans and face the Red Raiders instead.”We would love to play Texas,” McGuire said Thursday. McGuire offered to buy out both Texas and Texas Tech week one opponents. He was not alone in this offer.
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Cody Campbell, who serves as the Chairman of the Board of Regents of the Texas Tech University System, took to social media to back his head coach’s offer.
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“[Texas Tech] will pay the buyout for both the ACU and Texas State games. Let’s go!!!” Campbell wrote on X. If Texas accepted this offer, it could be unprecedented territory for college football.
If Texas were to accept the offer, it would create one of the most unusual scheduling developments in recent college football memory.
Texas Tech’s response sends a clear message: the Red Raiders want Sarkisian’s team to back up his comments on the field. More importantly, they appear willing to put significant resources behind that challenge.
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It’s not every day that a program offers to spend what could amount to more than $1 million in buyout costs simply to prove a point. Texas Tech clearly wants the opportunity to show it can compete with a team widely viewed as a College Football Playoff contender.
Now, the question is simple: Will Texas accept Texas Tech’s challenge?
