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Who is Texas Tech's Mysterious Pac-12 Opponent?

According to several reports, Tech has scheduled a game against another Pac-12 squad. Who could it be?

By MikeTTU
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

According to Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News, Tech has scheduled a new home-and-home with a Pac-12 squad. Here's the tweet he sent out yesterday.

Now it's our job to figure out who is opponent is. There are 12 possible schools that Tech could've matched-up with. However, Ben Peck of Fox34 (Lubbock's local station) sent out a tweet that removed Washington State, Oregon State and Colorado from the mix.

Washington State had former Tech coach Mike Leach, while Colorado was a former Big XII opponent of Texas Tech. Oregon State is in a similar position as Tech in their conference, so that match-up also seemed plausible. It appears none of those schools will face Tech though. They also could've been taking about Arizona State, but Tech has a home-and-home already scheduled with the Sun Devils. Here are the remaining 8 schools and who Tech could've scheduled a home-and-home with.

Arizona Wildcats

The Wildcats would be an interesting match-up for the Red Raiders. They basically had the same record as the Red Raiders from 2011-2013, but instead of falling down in 2014 like Texas Tech, Rich Rodriguez took the Wildcats to a Top 10 ranking and a 10-2 record before a beatdown by Oregon in the Pac-12 championship and a loss to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.

This could be the match-up because the two are the closest geographically among the remaining Pac-12 schools and both schools are similar. It would be a battle of the southwest. It also may not be the match-up because of the difference of record. I think this is a very plausible match-up

California Golden Bears

When I asked this question on twitter yesterday, the majority thought this was the match-up. And when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. First off, the coach of the Golden Bears is none other than Sonny Dykes, son of Tech coaching legend Spike Dykes. Dykes may want to go to his dad's territory and challenge his ole man's team. Secondly, Cal has not been a threat in the Pac-12 recently, and are a similar position with Tech. Except  insteadof winning seasons, they've been rock bottom. It could give the Golden Bears a quality win against a Big-12 team that could look good on their resume (same for Tech in facing a Pac-12 schools). Finally, both are offense based teams. It would be a match-up of who would have the best offense. This match-up, to me, seems the most likely.

Stanford Cardinal

This one would be a head scratcher to me. Stanford is a private school on the west coast while Tech is a public schools in the middle of the South Plains. I can't make any comparisons in the coaches, other than the fact that Chiaverini has coached on the west coast.

Stanford faces Norte Dame every year, but has 2 free spots in their out-of-conference schedule. They could want a match-up against Tech to provide a challenge for their team. Stanford has an 8-5 record last year, and a match-up with Tech could be an interesting match-up for the fans of both teams and across college football.

Oregon Ducks

This would be an explosive match-up for Tech. You have two of the fastest offense in the country going head to head in an offensive slugfest. It would provide good ratings and a lot of money for both schools. This would be a match-up fans of college football would like to see. The problem I see with this is the fact that Oregon has been national contenders the past few years while Tech is trying to get back to 10 win seasons. Not sure if Tech would want a match-up with Oregon on the schedule right now, even if it's down the line. That reason alone could mean Tech doesn't play the Ducks.

UCLA Bruins

The only reason why I think this match-up could look it because UCLA is obviously trying to get into Texas to recruit. It was evident when they played Texas last year in the other Jones' Stadium and were connection for many Texas recruits down the line. While that series with Texas is about to run out, they may want to keep a match-up in the state on Texas. Insert Texas Tech. Tech has been trying to recruit in California with Darrin Chiaverini, so having a watch-up with a team in California could tremendously help Tech on the West Coast.

USC Trojans

This match-up wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I just don't see the connection with Tech at all, especially with the fact that USC plays Norte Dame every year and have faced Boston College in recent years. The only reason I think this match-up would be plausible is if Tech's trying to spread it's name on the West Coast. Other than that, I simply don't see it.

Utah Utes

Utah had an impressive season last year, but they've been on a similar level with the Red Raiders in recent years. It's closer than some schools in the Pac-12 and could allow for fans to travel to the other stadium. Other than those two reasons, there are no other connection I see between the schools. Utah has a match-up with Michigan currently, but that ends in 2015 and Utah doesn't have a Power 5 non-conference opponent after the 2015 season

Washington Huskies

Finally we have Washington. The locations are far apart and the teams haven't had any history together recently. Washington is in the middle of the pack when it comes to the Pac-12, and they could want a match-up with Texas Tech to strengthen their schedule and test their ability early the season. However, it appear that they don't really have room to fit Texas Tech in their schedule, so I doubt it will be the Huskies.

What do you think? You can cast your vote below

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