Joey McGuire can sell Texas Tech's vision better than most college football coaches. Right now, the difficult part is finding future non-conference opponents willing to join the party as a potential punching bag for what he's selling.
The Red Raiders have encountered scheduling challenges this offseason while pursuing potential series with various programs, including Texas A&M and USC. There were others coming out of the Brendan Sorsby fallout who vowed to boycott future games with Texas Tech, too.
The Red Raiders' home-and-home with Mississippi State, scheduled for the 2028 and 2029 seasons, was wiped after the SEC moved to a nine-game schedule, while NC State pulled out of the pair's planned one-off for 2027 in April.
The easy conclusion is that nobody wants Texas Tech smoke. There is some truth there.
"That's why we have those dates open, we're open to playing anyone," McGuire told CBS Sports on Wednesday.
McGuire even publicly challenged Texas to open the season against Texas Tech, an invitation the Longhorns quickly dismissed. That would have been a television blockbuster and an instant revival of an in-state rivalry that disappeared when Texas departed for the SEC. It also would have required Texas to accept a dangerous game with limited upside.
That last part is the problem.
Texas Tech is no longer viewed as a manageable Power Four opponent capable of strengthening a contender's schedule. The Red Raiders are becoming the type of opponent national powers would rather avoid.
Toss in the Sorsby controversy, which turned scheduling challenges into something more complicated, and willing partners are scarce. And with various Power Four programs -- most of them from the SEC -- canceling other upcoming series to protect their schedules, Texas Tech's running out of options.
"Not many people have openings," McGuire said. "Very limited."
McGuire's program has been revitalized by substantial investment, aggressive transfer-portal recruiting, and a revenue-sharing era that allows Texas Tech to compete for proven talent without apologizing for its ambitions.
When the Red Raiders call, potential opponents understand what could be waiting: an energized program with an expensive roster, legitimate College Football Playoff expectations and one of the Big 12's most difficult road environments.
Why volunteer for that?
Texas Tech's scheduling frustration is the strongest compliment McGuire's program can receive. The Red Raiders have invested, recruited well enough and have enough juice in their respective reservoir to make prospective opponents think twice about an agreement.
Further playoff expansion would help
The expanded playoff was supposed to encourage teams to schedule aggressively with the promise that a potential non-conference loss would no longer be fatal. Instead, many programs have reached the opposite conclusion.
Steve Sarkisian harped on Texas' loss to Ohio State last fall as defining, while Michigan's stumble at Oklahoma threatened CFP hopes before Big Ten play began. Notre Dame's high-end gambles last fall to play its first two games against Miami and Texas A&M were two losses the Fighting Irish could not overcome.
With greater access, athletic directors are increasingly protective of the sport's most valuable currency: wins. There is little incentive to schedule another Power Four opponent when a softer path can produce the same playoff invitation.
Indiana recently pulled out of a future series with Notre Dame. The Hoosiers currently have no Power Four opponent from outside the Big Ten on their future regular-season schedules.
"We figured we would just adopt SEC scheduling philosophy," Cignetti said last summer after riding a soft slate to a playoff berth in his first season before winning last year's national title. "Some people don't like it. I'm more focused in on those nine conference games."
This is why McGuire, SMU's Rhett Lashlee, and others have expressed that further playoff expansion would increase the likelihood of more high-quality non-conference matchups during the regular season.
"The sooner we get to a format where either more teams are in the playoff, or more teams are rewarded for a challenging schedule, I think that'll take care of itself," Georgia's Kirby Smart said last week. "I think you'll get people playing more competitive schedules and more competitive environments."
Until playoff expansion happens, future non-conference scheduling is problematic for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders want marquee games to continue elevating their national profile, strengthen their résumé, and prove that the program's roster-building surge is sustainable.
Established brands -- or teams that do not spend at the same level -- do not necessarily share that urgency. Adding Texas Tech introduces risk without guaranteeing a meaningful reward, and the Red Raiders are dangerous enough that contenders have little incentive to schedule them.
McGuire should continue making calls and issuing the challenges. College football needs more games between ambitious programs, particularly regional matchups and good-on-good possibilities that generate buzz before kickoff.
Texas Tech has accomplished its goal of becoming nationally relevant after winning the Big 12 and finishing inside the top 10. One consequence of getting there is discovering that fewer teams want to play you, and the Sorsby situation supplies another reason to say no.
