UCF opponent previews: Ascending Texas Tech sets sights on elusive Big 12 football crown

• Nickname: Red Raiders

• Location: Lubbock, Texas

• Enrollment: 37,481

• Home field: Jones AT&T Stadium (Capacity: 60,454)

• Conference: Big 12

• 2022 record: 8-5, 5-4 Big 12

• All-time series record vs. UCF: 0-0

• Last meeting: This will be the first meeting between the schools.

Editor's note: This is the 11th installment in a 12-part series highlighting UCF's 2023 football opponents.

Texas Tech celebrated an historic football season in 2022 by toppling both Texas and Oklahoma in the same year for the first time.

The sky could be the limit for Texas Tech as a new era is set to begin in the Big 12. Might it finally be the Red Raiders' opportunity to reach the league's summit?

Big 12 rebirth: UCF completes journey to Power Five in record time. Here's how.

Texas Tech joined the Big 12 back in 1996, and is still in search of an elusive first conference championship. Of the league's 10 holdovers, Texas Tech is one of just three — along with Kansas and West Virginia — that has yet to take part in the Big 12's title game.

For context, Colorado, Nebraska and Texas A&M — current members of the Pac-12, Big 10 and SEC, respectively —have all won the league in that time span.

Expectations are high in Lubbock, though; the Red Raiders were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 preseason media poll, garnering four of 67 first-place votes. Odds in Vegas range from +850 to +1200 on Texas Tech taking the league.

Here is a detailed look at why Texas Tech, UCF's final road opponent with a Nov. 18 date scheduled, might be this year's dark horse.

Joey McGuire inks lucrative 6-year contract after successful debut

An accomplished high school head coach who led Cedar Hill to three Texas state championships and 141 victories over 14 years, McGuire broke into the college ranks in 2017 as a tight ends coach at Baylor under Matt Rhule. He earned the associate head coach title and flipped over to the defensive staff two years later before getting the job at Texas Tech on Nov. 8, 2021.

McGuire, 51, oversaw Texas Tech's highest single-season win total since 2013, and the university rewarded him with a six-year, $26.6 million contract that runs through 2028.

The bar is not as high as it once was; Texas Tech has been ranked only twice in the AP poll the last nine seasons, and never higher than 24th. The Red Raiders have never appeared in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Texas Tech, however, can be a winner with the right person in charge. Mike Leach maintained a 66.1% win rate in his decade-long reign, Spike Dykes finished above .500 11 times in 13 years, Tommy Tuberville tallied a pair of eight-win campaigns and Kliff Kingsbury routinely hovered around .500 before bolting for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals.

QB Tyler Shough surrounded by talented skill-position group

Top Offensive Returners: WR Jerand Bradley, RB Tahj Brooks, OT Monroe Mills, IOL Landon Peterson, WR Myles Price, OT Caleb Rogers, QB Tyler Shough, TE Mason Tharp, WR Xavier White, IOL Dennis Wilburn

Top Defensive Returners: DL Joseph Adedire, DL Tony Bradford, DB Malik Dunlap, DL Jaylon Hutchings, DB Tyler Owens, LB Jesiah Pierre, DB Dadrion Taylor-Demberson, DB Rayshad Williams

Tyler Shough has an impressive 8-1 record as Texas Tech's starting quarterback, but availability has been a concern. He missed six games last season after suffering a shoulder injury in the opener against Murray State, and a broken collarbone limited Shough to four starts in 2021.

Redshirt sophomore Behren Morton, the school's highest-rated quarterback signee ever, is waiting in the wings.

Whoever calls the shots for the Red Raiders' offense will have a strong complement of weapons. Tahj Brooks ran for a team-high 691 yards and seven touchdowns, while the trio of Jerand Bradley, Myles Price and Xavier White each combined for 1,829 yards and 11 scores.

Texas Tech allowed the most sacks and tackles for loss in the Big 12, but four players who started at least six games up front return and McGuire will hope for growth among the group.

Tyree Wilson was selected eighth overall by the Las Vegas Raiders after an All-American senior year, so his absence on the edge is significant. But Tony Bradford and Jaylon Hutchings provide perhaps the league's best interior force, combining for 14.5 TFLs and 10 sacks last season.

Four starters are back in the secondary, including the cornerback tandem of Rayshad Williams and Malik Dunlap that broke up 12 passes and registered 33 tackles. Jesiah Pierre, a Mount Dora native, will see an expanded role at the second level after totaling 40 tackles, seven TFLs and 4.5 sacks.

Portal additions CJ Baskerville, Rusty Staats penciled in as starters

Transfer Portal Additions: DB CJ Baskerville (San Diego State), DL Quincy Ledet (Louisiana-Monroe), EDGE Steve Linton (Syracuse), DB Bralyn Lux (Fresno State), DB AJ McCarty (Baylor), WR Drae McCray (Austin Peay), IOL Rusty Staats (Western Kentucky), EDGE Terrell Tilmon (Oregon)

Transfer Portal Losses: EDGE Philip Blidi (Indiana), IOL Cade Briggs (Arizona State), OT Ethan Carde (Boise State), WR Trey Cleveland (North Texas), DB Hut Graham (Abilene Christian), IOL Erik Gray, DB Imari Jones, DL Syncere Massey (Abilene Christian), DB Kobee Minor (Indiana), LB Labyreous Moore, OT Larry Moore (North Texas), DB Reggie Pearson Jr. (Oklahoma), OT Trevor Roberson, IOL Michael Shanahan (Western Michigan), QB Donovan Smith (Houston), IOL Jack Tucker (Liberty), OT Kaden Weatherby, DB Cameron White

Texas Tech went for the quality-over-quantity approach in the portal ahead of 2023, and at least four new faces should become immediate contributors.

CJ Baskerville sits atop the depth chart at the nickel position, Rusty Staats should be a linchpin at center, Steve Linton shifts to outside linebacker in Tim DeRuyter's defensive scheme and Drae McCray twice earned all-conference honors at Austin Peay, totaling 129 catches for 1,888 yards and 17 touchdowns for the Governors.

Offensive line depth could be a bit of an issue considering eight players at the position jumped into the portal, with five finding new Division I homes. Donovan Smith is competing for the starting job at Houston, the Red Raiders' Sept. 30 opponent.

Texas Tech aiming for back-to-back top-30 national recruiting classes

Top Incoming Freshmen: EDGE Isaiah Crawford (Post, Texas), IOL Nick Fattig (League City, Texas), DB Brenden Jordan (Mansfield, Texas), DB Jordan Sanford (Arlington, Texas), DL Dylan Spencer (Houston, Texas), ATH Anquan Willis (Wichita Falls, Texas)

Texas Tech made waves on the recruiting trail in McGuire's first full cycle, hauling in four consensus four-star athletes and placing 28th overall in 247Sports' composite team scores (factoring in high school and JUCO signees) — the program's best showing since 2012.

Jordan Sanford and Isaiah Crawford are two of the Red Raiders' 20 highest-ranked signees in the modern era, per 247Sports' composite scores. Sanford is expected to be a key reserve at cornerback, and Brenden Jordan is already running with the second unit at the STAR position, according to 247Sports' Kevin Flaherty.

Texas Tech will push for another top-30 national class in 2024, already securing 18 verbal commits led by Sachse (Texas) edge rusher Cheta Ofili and Prosper (Texas) offensive tackle Ellis Davis. The Red Raiders are also currently favored to land consensus five-star wide receiver Micah Hudson out of Lake Belton High in Temple, Texas.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Joey McGuire looks to lead Texas Tech to first Big 12 championship