The 2018 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

in the

2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2018. The regular season began on August 25, 2018, and ended ...

. They were led by

Kliff Kingsbury Kliff Timothy Kingsbury (born August 9, 1979) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously a collegiate football coach from 2008 to ...

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 Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

Jones AT&T Stadium Jones AT&T Stadium and Cody Campbell Field, previously known as Clifford B. and Audrey Jones Stadium, Jones SBC Stadium and Jones AT&T Stadium, is an outdoor athletic stadium in the southwestern United States, located on the campus of Texas Tec ...

, and competed as members of the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

. 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

was fired after 6 seasons as head coach, finishing 35–40 overall. 4 days later, the school hired

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

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 Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, Baylor, and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The season ended with a 34–38 loss against No. 23

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

in the

Birmingham Bowl The Birmingham Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game played annually in Birmingham, Alabama. First held in 2006, the game is owned and operated by ESPN Events. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UA ...

2018 NFL Draft

Receiver

Keke Coutee Key’vantanie "Keke" Coutee (born January 14, 1997) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Texas Tech Red Raiders football, Texas Tech. Early years Coutee attended Lufkin High School in Lufkin, ...

was drafted in the 4th round (103rd overall) by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

. Receiver

Dylan Cantrell Dylan Cantrell (born June 29, 1994) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He played college football at Texas Tech and was drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers as a wide receiver in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Colleg ...

was drafted by the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

in the 6th round (191st overall).

Coaching changes

Former offensive coordinator/receivers coach Eric Morris was hired as the head coach of the

Incarnate Word Cardinals The Incarnate Word Cardinals, also known as UIW Cardinals, are composed of 23 teams representing the University of the Incarnate Word in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming & div ...

on December 30, 2017.

Western Michigan Broncos The Western Michigan Broncos are a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I program representing Western Michigan University (WMU) in college athletics. They compete in the Mid-American Conference in men's baseball, basketball ...

offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach

Kevin Johns Kevin Johns (born December 4, 1975) is an American football coach. He is the offensive coordinator at Duke University, a position he has held since January 2022. Previously, Johns served in the same role at Indiana University Bloomington, Weste ...

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

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.

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 The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford. The first was the football team, which began play in 1893. Originally known as th ...

(from the SEC) at

NRG Stadium NRG Stadium, formerly Reliant Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to have a retrac ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

for the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff and ended the season on November 24 against the

Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only two private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior to j ...

AT&T Stadium AT&T Stadium, formerly Cowboys Stadium, is a retractable roof, retractable-roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. I ...

in Arlington. The Red Raiders hosted Big 12 foes

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, and

and traveled to

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

, TCU,

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

, and

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

. The Red Raiders hosted non-conference foes

from the

AAC AAC may refer to: Aviation * Advanced Aircraft, a company from Carlsbad, California * Alaskan Air Command, a radar network * American Aeronautical Corporation, a company from Port Washington, New York * American Aviation, a company from Cleveland, ...

and Lamar from the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it pa ...

. :Schedule Source:

Roster

Game summaries

vs. Ole Miss

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

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 The following events occurred in November 1932: November 1, 1932 (Tuesday) *The Liberal Party won mid-term parliamentary elections in Cuba. *Police in London clashed with National Hunger Marchers trying to present a petition to parliament aga ...

Houston

Receiver

Antoine Wesley Antoine Wesley (born October 22, 1997) is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas Tech. Early years Wesley attended Cibolo Steele in Cibolo, Texas. ...

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

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

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 A pneumothorax is an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp, one-sided chest pain and shortness of breath. In a minority of cases, a one-way valve is ...

at TCU

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 (both for a false start) 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

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

Oklahoma

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

at Kansas State

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

Statistics

Scoring

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

Offense

Special teams

Weekly awards

* Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week : Dakota Allen (week 8 vs. Kansas) * Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week :Dominic Pannazzolo (week 7 vs. TCU) :Clayton Hatfield (week 8 vs. Kansas) * Big 12 Newcomer of the Week : Alan Bowman (week 3 vs. Houston) * CBS Sports Freshman of the Week :Alan Bowman (week 3 vs. Houston) * Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Player of the Week :Alan Bowman (week 3 vs. Houston) * Manning Award Quarterback of the Week :Alan Bowman (Week 3 vs. Houston)

Rankings

Aftermath

Texas Tech failed to gain bowl eligibility. Upon the conclusion of the season (after the loss to Baylor), head coach Kliff Kingsbury was fired.

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

defensive coordinator

Jim Leavitt James Pierce Leavitt (born December 5, 1956) is an American football coach and former player. He served as the head coach at the University of South Florida from the football program's inception in 1997 until 2009, compiling a record of 95–57. ...

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 Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 68 fields, and doctoral degrees in 35 fiel ...

Players drafted into the NFL

References

{{Texas Tech Red Raiders football navbox

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

Texas Tech Red Raiders football seasons

Texas Tech Red Raiders football The Texas Tech Red Raiders football program is a college football team that represents Texas Tech University (variously "Texas Tech" or "TTU"). The team competes as a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a NCAA Division I, Division I NCAA D ...