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Texas Tech football earns first preseason coaches poll ranking since 2008

nathan giese, lubbock avalanche-journal
·4 min read

For the first time since 2008, the Texas Tech football team finds itself ranked in a preseason poll.

The USA Today Sports AFCA preseason college football coaches poll, released Monday, sees the Red Raiders coming in ranked 24th in the country. Tech is one of six teams not placed in the final poll of the 2022 season to wind up in the 2023 preseason poll.

Tech is coming off an 8-5 campaign that included a win over Ole Miss (ranked 22nd in the preseason) in the Texas Bowl. Joey McGuire's second season as head coach begins with 17 returning starters from that team, which placed fourth in the Big 12 with a 5-4 record.

This marks the first time Tech has appeared in the coaches poll since 2013 when the Red Raiders reached the No. 15 position in the Nov. 3 rankings. This is also just the fourth time the Red Raiders have made it into the preseason coaches rankings.

The Associated Press preseason Top 25 is scheduled to be released Aug. 14. Texas Tech was last ranked in the AP poll in Sept. 2018 and last appeared in the preseason AP poll in 2008.

Texas Tech came in fourth in the preseason Big 12 poll earlier this summer, the team's highest ranking in the poll's current structure.

Another Texas Tech football recruit for 2024

Late Sunday night, the Texas Tech football team got another commitment to the 2024 recruiting class.

Jaxon Lee, a defensive end out of Frisco Lone Star, committed to the Red Raiders via social media. Lee held offers for Tulsa and Stephen F. Austin before committing to Tech.

Lee is listed as a 6-foot-3, 215-pounder had 39 total tackles, 3.5 for a loss of yards, and a pair of sacks during his junior season. He added two fumble recoveries as well.

USA TODAY SPORTS AFCA PRESEASON COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACHES POLL

The preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll Top 25 with team's records FROM LAST SEASON in parentheses, total points based on 25 for first place through one point for 25th, ranking in last year’s final poll and first-place votes received.

Rank

School (record)

Points

Last year’s final rank

First-place votes

1

Georgia (15-0)

1,643

1

61

2

Michigan (13-1)

1,510

3

0

3

Alabama (11-2)

1,489

5

4

4

Ohio State (11-2)

1,485

4

1

5

LSU (10-4)

1,294

15

0

6

Southern California (11-3)

1,228

13

0

7

Penn State (11-2)

1,181

7

0

8

Florida State (10-3)

1,145

10

0

9

Clemson (11-3)

1,078

12

0

10

Tennessee (11-2)

991

6

0

11

Washington (11-2)

941

8

0

12

Texas (8-5)

848

25

0

13

Notre Dame (9-4)

841

18

0

14

Utah (10-4)

839

11

0

15

Oregon (10-3)

820

16

0

16

TCU (13-2)

655

2

0

17

Kansas State (10-4)

440

14

0

18

Oregon State (10-3)

365

17

0

19

Oklahoma (6-7)

320

NR

0

20

North Carolina (9-5)

315

NR

0

21

Wisconsin (7-6)

309

NR

0

22

Mississippi (8-5)

303

NR

0

23

Tulane (12-2)

225

9

0

24

Texas Tech (8-5)

200

NR

0

25

Texas A&M (5-7)

196

NR

0

Dropped Out: No. 19 Mississippi State (9-4); No. 20 Troy (12-2); No. 21 UCLA (9-4); No. 22 Pittsburgh (9-4); No. 23 South Carolina (8-5); No. 24 Fresno State (10-4).Others Receiving Votes: Iowa (8-5) 169; South Carolina (8-5) 89; Florida (6-7) 63; Texas-San Antonio (11-3) 59; Pittsburgh (9-4) 52; UCLA (9-4) 42; Kentucky (7-6) 34; Baylor (6-7) 28; Troy (12-2) 25; Arkansas (7-6) 20; Fresno State (10-4) 19; North Carolina State (8-5) 19; Auburn (5-7) 18; Boise State (10-4) 18; Miami (Fla.) (5-7) 16; Minnesota (9-4) 16; Mississippi State (9-4) 13; Oklahoma State (7-6) 12; Missouri (6-7) 11; Maryland (8-5) 10; SMU (7-6) 8; South Alabama (10-3) 8; Illinois (8-5) 7; Air Force (10-3) 6; Wake Forest (8-5) 6; Toledo (9-5) 5; Washington State (7-6) 4; Houston (8-5) 3; Arizona (5-7) 2; Brigham Young (8-5) 2; Duke (9-4) 2; James Madison (8-3) 1; Kansas (6-7) 1; Memphis (7-6) 1.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football earns first preseason coaches poll ranking since 2008