2018 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team


The 2018 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by Kliff Kingsbury in his sixth and final season as the program's 15th head coach. The Red Raiders played their home games on the university's campus in Lubbock, Texas at Jones AT&T Stadium, and competed as members of the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 5–7 overall, 3–6 in Big 12 play to finish in a 3-way tie for seventh place.
On November 25, head coach Kliff Kingsbury was fired after 6 seasons as head coach, finishing 35–40 overall. 4 days later, the school hired Utah State head coach Matt Wells for the head coaching job.

Previous season

The Red Raiders finished the 2017 season 6–7, 3–6 in Big 12 play to finish in eighth place. The team's conference wins were against Kansas, Baylor, and Texas. The season ended with a 34–38 loss against No. 23 South Florida in the Birmingham Bowl.

2018 NFL Draft

Receiver Keke Coutee was drafted in the 4th round by the Houston Texans. Receiver Dylan Cantrell was drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in the 6th round.

Coaching changes

Former offensive coordinator/receivers coach Eric Morris was hired as the head coach of the Incarnate Word Cardinals on December 30, 2017. Western Michigan Broncos offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kevin Johns was hired as Texas Tech's new offensive coordinator/receivers coach on January 30, 2018.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released
Rimington TrophyPaul StawarzCSR
Chuck Bednarik AwardDakota AllenLBSR
Doak Walker AwardDaLeon WardRBSO
Jim Thorpe AwardJah'Shawn JohnsonDBSR
Bronko Nagurski TrophyDakota AllenLBSR
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose AwardT.J. VasherWRJR

Big 12 media poll

The Big 12 media poll was released on July 12, 2018 with the Red Raiders predicted to finish in eighth place.
Media poll

Schedule

Texas Tech announced its 2018 schedule on October 27, 2017. The 2018 schedule will consist of six home games, four away games, and two neutral site games. The Red Raiders began the 2018 season on September 1 against the Ole Miss Rebels at NRG Stadium in Houston for the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff and ended the season on November 24 against the Baylor Bears at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The Red Raiders hosted Big 12 foes West Virginia, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas and traveled to Oklahoma State, TCU, Iowa State, and Kansas State.
The Red Raiders hosted non-conference foes Houston from the AAC and Lamar from the Southland Conference.

Roster

Game summaries

vs. Ole Miss

StatisticsOle MissTexas Tech
Total Yards546486
Passing Yards336322
Rushing Yards210164
Penalties7-496-80
Turnovers10
Time of Possession23:3536:25

McLane Carter was named the Red Raiders' starting quarterback for the game. Carter exited the game in the 1st quarter with an ankle injury, with freshman Alan Bowman replacing him. Texas Tech lost its first season opener since the 2002 season, losing to Ole Miss by a score of 27–47.

Lamar

StatisticsLamarTexas Tech
Total Yards182683
Passing Yards80419
Rushing Yards102264
Penalties4-1514-139
Turnovers41
Time of Possession29:2030:40

Texas Tech defeated Lamar by a score of 77–0, the Red Raiders' first shutout victory since September 2006. The 77 points are the most points scored by Texas Tech since an 80–21 victory over Sam Houston State in September 2005 and the largest margin of victory since a 79–0 win over Trinity in November 1932.

Houston

StatisticsHoustonTexas Tech
Total Yards635704
Passing Yards462605
Rushing Yards17399
Penalties9-689-82
Turnovers01
Time of Possession24:2235:38

Receiver Antoine Wesley broke a school record for most receiving yards in a game with 261 yards. Quarterback Alan Bowman broke a Big 12 record for most passing yards in a game by a freshman with 605 yards.

at Oklahoma State

StatisticsTexas TechOklahoma State
Total Yards621386
Passing Yards397258
Rushing Yards224128
Penalties3-208-73
Turnovers22
Time of Possession41:1718:43

With the 41–17 victory, the Red Raiders got their first win in Stillwater since 2001, and their first win over the Cowboys since 2008. This is also Texas Tech's first win over a ranked opponent since the 2013 Holiday Bowl.

West Virginia

StatisticsWest VirginiaTexas Tech
Total Yards489463
Passing Yards370295
Rushing Yards119168
Penalties12-1157-60
Turnovers03
Time of Possession30:2629:34

Starting quarterback Alan Bowman left the game late in the second quarter with an upper-body injury, with Jett Duffey finishing the game. Bowman finished the game 9/20 for 123 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Bowman was taken to a local hospital where it was revealed he had a partially collapsed lung.

at TCU

StatisticsTexas TechTCU
Total Yards353411
Passing Yards202290
Rushing Yards151121
Penalties12–898–63
Turnovers13
Time of Possession30:4529:15

Jett Duffey started at quarterback for the Red Raiders, the third different starting quarterback in 2018 for Texas Tech.
The Horned Frogs received the opening kickoff, starting at their own 8-yard line following an illegal block penalty. TCU had two more penalties on the drive and ended the drive with Andrew David punting from his own 22-yard line. Texas Tech made it to the TCU 5-yard line before the drive stalled, settling for a 22-yard field goal from Clayton Hatfield to take a 3–0 lead. On the next drive the Horned Frogs made it to the Texas Tech 8-yard line. The drive ended when a Shawn Robinson pass was intercepted in the endzone by Jordyn Brooks, who returned the interception to the Texas Tech 3-yard line. The Red Raiders only gained two yards following the interception, punting from their own 5-yard line. The Horned Frogs started their drive from the Texas Tech 40, ending the drive on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Shawn Robinson to Jalen Reagor. Texas Tech made it to the TCU 45-yard line, turning the ball over on downs. On the next drive, TCU went for it on 4th down and picked up the 1st down, but Sewo Olonilua fumbled the ball with it being recovered by Tony Jones for Texas Tech. The two teams traded punts on their next possessions. With less than a minute left in the half, a Duffey pass was intercepted by Julius Lewis at the Texas Tech 44-yard line. Following Duffey's interception, Jonathan Song attempted a 47-yard field goal for the Horned Frogs, with the kick going to the left of the goal posts. The Red Raiders took a knee to end the half.
McLane Carter came out at quarterback for Texas Tech to start the second half, playing in his first game since week 1 against Ole Miss. Carter was sacked twice on the first drive of the half, with the Red Raiders having to punt. Duffey returned to the game on Texas Tech's second drive of the half after Carter appeared to be limping off the field following the team's previous drive. Duffey's first drive of the second half ended with a 62-yard touchdown pass to Ja'Deion High. Duffey would also have a 38-yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter to help the Red Raiders edge out the Horned Frogs.

Kansas

StatisticsKansasTexas Tech
Total Yards308553
Passing Yards221441
Rushing Yards87112
Penalties6-627-61
Turnovers23
Time of Possession28:2731:33

Alan Bowman started his first game since suffering a partially collapsed lung three weeks earlier. Bowman left the game midway through the fourth quarter, finishing the game 36/46 for 408 yards and three touchdowns with an interception.

at Iowa State

StatisticsRed RaidersIowa State
Total Yards363422
Passing Yards333250
Rushing Yards30172
Penalties10–1054–25
Turnovers31
Time of Possession26:0034:00

Oklahoma

StatisticsOklahomaTexas Tech
Total Yards683473
Passing Yards360366
Rushing Yards323107
Penalties10–1137–69
Turnovers20
Time of Possession32:1127:49

Quarterback Alan Bowman left the game at halftime for an unknown reason. It was later revealed that Bowman might have re-aggravated his previous injury where he suffered a partially collapsed lung.

Texas

StatisticsTexasTexas Tech
Total Yards469595
Passing Yards312454
Rushing Yards157141
Penalties6–598–89
Turnovers03
Time of Possession33:0826:52

at Kansas State

StatisticsTexas TechKansas State
Total Yards181367
Passing Yards150213
Rushing Yards31154
Penalties4–372–20
Turnovers31
Time of Possession22:1137:49

The Red Raiders experienced their fourth consecutive loss when traveling to Manhattan. Tech was without starting quarterback Alan Bowman and offensive players Connor Killian and Mason Reed were also out. Tech ran the ball 26 times for 31 yards and has not had a ball carrier reach 65 yards in the past seven games. Tech's 181 yards of total offense was the lowest output since 2010 against the Texas Longhorns.
Kansas State kicker Blake Lynch had not completed a successful field goal in a game for nearly two months, but managed to match a career-high with four straight and added an extra point. A blocked punt by Kansas State's Brock Monty added to K-State's success with Texas Tech losing by a score of 21-6.

vs. Baylor

StatisticsBaylorTexas Tech
Total Yards478347
Passing Yards308247
Rushing Yards170100
Penalties12–808–85
Turnovers22
Time of Possession36:0423:56

Statistics

Scoring

;Scores against non-conference opponents
;Scores against the Big 12
;Scores against all opponents

Offense

Special teams

Weekly awards

Aftermath

Texas Tech failed to gain bowl eligibility. Upon the conclusion of the season, head coach Kliff Kingsbury was fired. Oregon defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt was reported to have interviewed for the position with Texas Tech's athletics director Kirby Hocut. The Red Raiders have their next game scheduled for the 2019 season as the program's home opener on August 31, 2019 against Montana State.

Players drafted into the NFL

RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL Club
7251Dakota AllenLBLos Angeles Rams