SALT LAKE CITY — All offseason, Texas Tech was a headline-generating machine long before even taking a snap in the 2025 season.
The Red Raiders were the program every opposing coach grumbled about, the sport’s true portal kings who went on a wild splurge to land one of the best transfer classes in the country. They swiped starters, overpaid to nab depth pieces and turned over every collection plate they could, far beyond the plains of Lubbock, to assemble a roster which rivaled that of the sport’s bluebloods in overall price tag and, they hoped, talent.
Those funds appear to be well spent in the wake of a 34–10 victory over No. 16 Utah on Saturday, a convincing opening statement to conference play that proclaims the No. 17 Red Raiders as a threat to win the Big 12 and snag a College Football Playoff berth.
“We’ve got a good football team, and they care about each other,” coach Joey McGuire said. “You know, there’s a lot of things that are said about our team, and there’s a lot of things written about the cost of the roster. I would challenge anybody to have a closer locker room of guys that care more about wearing the double T, that cares about more than theirselves. That shows up in tight games, and they definitely hung together and fought their tails off.”
Three fourth-quarter touchdowns turned a tepid one-score affair into a rout at Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium, one of the most hostile environments in the country, for the Red Raiders’ first road trip of the season.
Tech came into Saturday as the nation’s leading offense, blowing out its three previous opponents with an average of 58 points per game. Against the Utes’ fast and physical defense in its first true test, it mostly labored. However, a 73-yard catch and run by J’Koby Williams set up the game’s opening touchdown and was the only play beyond 15 yards either side had in the first half.
It didn’t help that the Red Raiders’ offensive line committed seven false starts to the delight of the 52,236 on hand, who were at full volume from the start despite a 10 a.m. local kickoff. Such a deafening sound helped contribute to the most ever penalties under McGuire, 14 total flags and 122 yards for the game.
The biggest flaw in the red-and-black NIL Death Star was apparent early in the third quarter.
Quarterback Behren Morton was a big question mark coming into the season and a notable one amid the school’s spending spree this offseason. The position was one of the few places where general manager James Blanchard didn’t opt to bring in a high-priced portal addition. The coaching staff believed the strong-armed veteran had shown enough to lead the team to the promised land in two seasons as a starter.
But both Morton’s sophomore and junior seasons ended early with shoulder injuries, including missing last season’s Liberty Bowl against Arkansas after he opted to have surgery. The senior had been on a pitch count of sorts through fall camp and was even taken out in a game earlier this year after getting banged up.
On Saturday, Morton scrambled to pick up a first down but took a nasty hit from linebacker Johnathan Hall and was left sprawled out on the turf. The targeting call was later overturned.
To add an insult to a literal injury though, Morton left the game with more questions than answers about that faith from the coaches. He went deep just four times before exiting and threw two interceptions to keep the hosts alive—one a straight theft of a pick by Utah safety Jackson Bennee who wrestled an underthrown ball away from wideout Coy Eakin in the end zone.
McGuire said Morton attempted to return to the game but was told to get checked out by the medical staff. Morton should be fine for the team’s next game after an off week, according to the coach.
That time off might not be quite the blessing the coaching staff thanks it will be with their fan base perhaps wanting to see more of backup Will Hammond.
The sophomore is no stranger to stepping in for Morton and completed his first seven passes on his way to a 13-of-16 outing for 169 yards and two touchdowns. He zipped in several third-down conversions and was all but fearless when seeing an opening down the field, finding Terrance Carter Jr. for a wide-open touchdown that put the game away on a beautiful fake screen play.
“[Morton] trusts me. We watch film together, that’s my guy,” said Hammond, who had 35 family members in attendance but did his best to downplay any quarterback competition.
Hammond also gives the Red Raiders offense a bit more of a threat on the ground. He finished as the game’s second-leading rusher on just eight carries and nearly outran the Utes’ normally reliable offense, which managed only 101 yards on the ground.
Having such quarterback depth is a rarity and could be a positive factor for Tech’s long-term ambitions, considering it might not matter who’s behind center given how stacked the rest of the roster looks.
“The truth is that we have a great team. A great offense, a great defense, great special teams. That’s the truth,” said linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who led the team with 11 tackles while pulling in an interception and forcing a fumble.
“We showed the world what we were capable of,” added senior defensive lineman Lee Hunter.
The Red Raiders have tricky road trips left at Houston and reigning conference champion Arizona State, plus an intriguing matchup with Kansas, throughout a packed October. But it’s also possible they won’t play another ranked team and will likely be favored to reach their first conference title game in school history when factoring in they don’t have Iowa State on the docket this season.
“We’ve got some incredible boosters, guys that went all in,” summed up a euphoric McGuire postgame while shouting out as many names as he could conjure. “We will continue to use what everybody else is saying about us to succeed and prove everybody wrong.”
Guns up, hats off on that after a trip to the Wasatch Front on Saturday.
They say money doesn’t buy happiness, but it sure looks like it buys the Big 12 favorite and a team capable of thinking about so much more than what that final price tag was this summer.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Texas Tech Rises to Big 12 Favorite Behind Big-Money Roster, Backup QB Depth.