Texas Tech did not win a single bowl game during Patrick Mahomes’ three seasons in the program from 2014-16.
Yet nine years after a legend’s departure, the No. 4 Red Raiders are playing for a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals when they face No. 5 Oregon on Thursday in the Orange Bowl at Miami Gardens, Fla.
Texas Tech (12-1) set a school record for victories and received a first-round playoff bye. The Red Raiders revamped their roster in the transfer portal last offseason but their best player could be former walk-on Jacob Rodriguez, the unanimous All-American linebacker who finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
Rodriguez is the national leader with seven forced fumbles and has 117 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and four interceptions. He has scored three touchdowns — two on direct snaps on offense and one on a fumble returned for a touchdown.
“I’m just proud of myself for putting in the work,” said Rodriguez, “but I’m more proud of the people I’ve been around and people I’ve gotten to experience in that time.”
Oregon (12-1) blasted James Madison 51-34 in the first round, coming out the gates fast with touchdowns on each of its first five possessions and leading 34-6 at halftime.
Star quarterback Dante Moore passed for 313 yards and four touchdowns and added a score on the ground.
Moore, often mentioned as a possible No. 1 overall draft pick should he enter the 2026 NFL Draft, is confident the Ducks will light up the scoreboard again.
This despite the Red Raiders holding high-powered BYU to seven points in each of their two meetings this season, including the Big 12 championship game.
“Of course Texas Tech has a great front-seven,” Moore said. “They’ve been working their tails off to make great plays. I’ve got to give them credit, but at practice I’ve been doing it for a while now, so it’s going to feel good that how you practice is how you play, and this week we’ve been pushing ourselves when it comes to O-Line and it comes to myself.”
Oregon’s exploits in the first round caught the attention of Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire.
“You look up and they’ve already scored 30-plus points,” McGuire said of the Ducks. “I think they had five touchdowns on five drives, so they’re really explosive. We’ve got to do a good job of making them drive the field.”
The Red Raiders’ unanimous All-American edge rusher David Bailey (second in FBS with 13.5 sacks) and cornerback Brice Pollock (team-high five interceptions) will lend Rodriguez a hand for a defense that leads the nation with 31 takeaways.
All of Texas Tech’s wins have come by 20 or more points and the lone loss occurred when quarterback Behren Morton was sidelined with a lower-leg injury. But that 26-22 loss to Arizona State also became a rallying point, according to Morton, a fifth-year senior who has passed for 2,643 yards and 22 touchdowns against four interceptions.
“We brought everyone up, and we kind of said, ‘Is this going to be another year for Texas Tech where we win eight games and go make a decent bowl game, or do we have something special?'” Morton said.
Oregon will look for a better showing than it put up in last season’s quarterfinals, when it trailed by 34 points in the second quarter and lost 41-21 to Ohio State.
This season’s lone loss still burns Moore, who threw two interceptions during a 30-20 loss to Indiana. However, he has been performing well of late with nine touchdown passes over the past four games.
“He understands how to solve problems within our offense,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “He can check to a lot of things himself, make every throw, and use all the weapons we have. Every route is alive on every play.”
Moore has passed for 3,046 yards and 28 touchdowns against eight interceptions.
A victory would give Oregon a school-record 13th victory for the third time (2014, 2024).
Oregon beat Texas Tech 38-30 on the road in 2023 with Bo Nix at quarterback. The Ducks have won all three meetings.
The winner of this game faces either No. 1 Indiana or No. 9 Alabama in the Peach Bowl semifinal on Jan. 9.
