2023 Texas Tech
7–6 (5–4 Big 12), coached by Joey McGuire. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 19 Kansas 16–13Nov 11
Kansas was ranked No. 19 and favored to win.
- Most excitingLost to Wyoming 33–35Sep 2
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | at Wyoming | L 33–35 | 53% |
| Sep 9 | vs 13Oregon | L 30–38 | 47% |
| Sep 16 | vs Tarleton State | W 41–3 | 81% |
| Sep 23 | at West Virginia | L 13–20 | 46% |
| Sep 30 | vs Houston | W 49–28 | 56% |
| Oct 7 | at Baylor | W 39–14 | 51% |
| Oct 14 | vs Kansas State | L 21–38 | 52% |
| Oct 21 | at BYU | L 14–27 | 41% |
| Nov 2 | vs TCU | W 35–28 | 47% |
| Nov 11 | at 19Kansas | W 16–13 | 37% |
| Nov 18 | vs UCF | W 24–23 | 60% |
| Nov 24 | at 7Texas | L 7–57 | 21% |
| Dec 16Bowls & playoff | vs CaliforniaIndependence Bowl | W 34–14 | 54% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat California 34–14 in the Independence Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Big 12.
In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 101 on file).
- Record
- 7–6
- Conference
- 5–4 tied for 7th in Big 12
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 356–338
- Coach
- Joey McGuire
- Elo
- 1590 +28 this season
- SP+ rating
- 6.1 No. 43 of 133; offense No. 47, defense No. 49, special teams No. 31
- SRS
- 8.5 No. 28 of 133 in FBS
- Returning
- 76% of last season’s EPA, No. 22 of 131
- Recruiting class
- No. 28 roster talent No. 40 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Zach Kittley
- Defensive coordinator
- Tim DeRuyter
- Offense
- Air raid
- Defense
- 3–4/3–3–5 hybrid
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.06 | 42% | 1.19 | 83rd of 133 |
| Defense | 0.12 | 42% | 1.24 | 72nd of 133 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.08 off 0.07 def | 43% off 39% def | — | 74th off 48th def |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.9 | own 30 | 15% allowed |
| Defense | 3.5 | own 27 | 15% caused |
CORE rating 3.3, 45th of 133 (offense -1.5, defense -4.8).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Behren Morton QB | 1,754 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Behren Morton QB | 15 TD |
| Rushing yards | Tahj Brooks RB | 1,545 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Tahj Brooks RB | 10 TD |
| Receiving yards | Xavier White WR | 556 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Myles Price WR | 5 TD |
| Tackles | Ben Roberts LB | 105 tkl |
| Sacks | Tony Bradford Jr. DL | 4 sacks |
| Interceptions | Dadrion Taylor DB | 4 INT |
Top recruits in the 2023 class
| Jordan Sanford S | ★★★★ | No. 253 |
| Isaiah Crawford DE | ★★★★ | No. 273 |
| Brenden Jordan S | ★★★★ | No. 329 |
| Dylan Spencer DL | ★★★★ | No. 341 |
| Nick Fattig OL | ★★★★ | No. 412 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2023 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.874 |
| Receivers | 5 | 3.0 | 0.871 |
| Offensive line | 5 | 3.2 | 0.873 |
| Defensive line | 6 | 3.3 | 0.883 |
| Linebackers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.865 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 3.7 | 0.895 |
| Athletes and specialists | 4 | 3.0 | 0.867 |
| Whole class | 27 | 3.2 | 0.876 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Drafted in 2024
The 2024 draft| Rd 4 | Dadrion Taylor-Demerson S | Arizona Cardinals |
| Rd 7 | Myles Cole DE | Jacksonville Jaguars |
Roster 121
The 2023 roster121 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 70 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 7
The 2023 portal Steve Linton DE | ★★★★ | from  Syracuse |
 C.J. Baskerville S | ★★★ | from  San Diego State |
 Deandrae McCray WR | ★★★ | from  Austin Peay |
 Rusty Staats OT | ★★★ | from  Western Kentucky |
 Quincy Ledet DL | ★★★ | from  UL Monroe |
| Terrell Tilmon DE | ★★★ | from  Oregon |
 Bralyn Lux CB | ★★ | from  Fresno State |
Transfers out 18
 Philip Blidi DL | ★★★ | to  Indiana |
| Reggie Pearson S | ★★★ | to  Oklahoma |
| Donovan Smith QB | ★★★ | to  Houston |
| Kobee Minor S | ★★★ | to Indiana |
| Cade Briggs OL | ★★★ | to  Arizona State |
| Derrick Lewis II LB | ★★★ | to  Incarnate Word |
| Erik Gray OL | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Ethan Carde OT | ★★★ | to  Boise State |
| Hut Graham CB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Imari Jones CB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Jack Tucker OT | ★★★ | to  Liberty |
| Kaden Weatherby OT | ★★★ | no new school on file |
And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.
All-Big 12
2 first team, 2 second teamFirst team
- Tahj BrooksRBCoaches-1; Media-1
- Austin McNamaraPCoaches-1; Media-2
Second team
- Ben RobertsLBMedia-2
- Dadrion Taylor-DemersonDBCoaches-2; Media-2
From Wikipedia’s 2023 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2023 Big 12 standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 8–1 | 12–2 | 3 |
 Oklahoma | 7–2 | 10–3 | 15 |
 Oklahoma State | 7–2 | 10–4 | 16 |
| West Virginia | 6–3 | 9–4 | |
| Kansas State | 6–3 | 9–4 | 18 |
 Iowa State | 6–3 | 7–6 | |
| Kansas | 5–4 | 9–4 | 23 |
| Texas Tech | 5–4 | 7–6 | |
| UCF | 3–6 | 6–7 | |
| TCU | 3–6 | 5–7 | |
| BYU | 2–7 | 5–7 | |
| Houston | 2–7 | 4–8 | |
| Baylor | 2–7 | 3–9 | |
 Cincinnati | 1–8 | 3–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.