Texas Tech football gets rolled and settles in for long wait | Williams

AUSTIN — The Texas Longhorns got the last laugh on the Texas Tech football program Friday night, at least for the time being.

In a 57-7 blowout, seventh-ranked Texas got five field goals from the kicker, four touchdowns from the offense, one touchdown from special teams and even a fluky TD from the defense. The Longhorns handed the Red Raiders their worst loss since a 66-10 setback seven years ago at Iowa State and held them to 184 yards, Tech's lowest since it had 108 yards in a 23-0 shutout by Oklahoma State two years ago.

No, Joey McGuire, the Big 12 doesn't, unfortunately, run through Lubbock. And Texas Tech didn't win the Big 12 before UT scoots off to the SEC, another preseason goal. The outcome Friday made the Longhorns 11-1, the Red Raiders 6-6.

To the victors go the spoils — and, in this case, the chance to dig up three-month-old sound bites to really rub it in. Who can forget when Brett Yormark came to Lubbock for the Red Raider Club kickoff luncheon in August and, in front of everybody, said: "Coach (McGuire), I'm not going to put any pressure on you, but I'm going to be in Austin for Thanksgiving, OK? And you'd better take care of business like you did right here in Lubbock last year."

As 100,000 or so Orangebloods were preparing to file out of Royal-Memorial Stadium, they showed that on the gigantic videoboard, the Big 12 commissioner as hard to miss as Big Brother from "1984".

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Steve Sarkisian understands. The Texas coach gives those sort of talks himself when he's in front of a friendly audience.

"I think that was a luncheon in Lubbock for the Red Raiders," Sarkisian said, "and he said some things that, I think, were out of play and having fun with the crowd. But man, we'll take anything we can get to kind of fire our guys up. And so I kind of thanked him for the video."

The last time the Longhorns beat the Red Raiders this soundly was 58-7 in 1999. Still, as bad as it was Friday night, Texas Tech will sign up for more chances if Kirby Hocutt and company can get the UT brass to come around at some point. They have to. As the power structure of college football condenses and focuses on the SEC and the Big Ten, it pulls attention away from the Big 12, making it harder for the Texas Techs in so many ways: exposure, revenue, recruiting, national conversation, credibility with pollsters, etc.

The Tech AD and university leaders have pressed Texas to continue the series as non-conference opponents after the Longhorns abandon the Big 12 at the end of the school year.

Nothing new on that front.

"Anything that makes me more optimistic? Not at this time," Hocutt said just before kickoff Friday. "I continue to talk to (UT AD) Chris Del Conte, and they continue to wait to see what's going to play out with an eight- or nine-game SEC schedule, and I understand that. I think once their league makes that decision, then the conversation has the potential to move to a different level, but we'll see.

"But Texas Tech is going to be just fine. We're going to continue to invest into our program within a competitive conference in the Big 12, and we've got great aspirations in front of us. The path to the College Football Playoff is going to continue to expand as we go to 12 teams, and from top to bottom I think the new Big 12 is going to be as interesting and competitive as any conference out there."

Some 30 years ago, when many members of the Southwest Conference were in danger of being relegated, Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock flexed his political muscle to make sure Texas Tech and Baylor — he had degrees from both — were included in the new Big 12.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said he's in favor of a Texas Tech-Texas football series continuing.

But do politicians have the power they had 30 years ago to influence this kind of thing?

"That's a good question," Hocutt said. "It seems like universities are independent in their thinking and decision making at the present time, but the influence and power that the governor of the state of Texas and lieutenant governor have is enormous. So the fact that Governor Abbott has continued to pledge his support to see this series happen in the future means something, has to mean something, in my opinion."

Barring a 180 from the Forty Acres, we've seen the last Texas Tech-Texas football game for years. Hocutt has said previously the early 2030s is probably the earliest possible renewal.

If so, Tech will take it. The exposure is worth it, even on nights such as Friday.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football gets rolled and settles in for long wait | Williams