Is Texas Tech Goin’ Bowlin’?

Alright, who’s ready for another dose of an overly-optimistic Tech fan? Assuming you said yes, I’m glad to hear it!

So, we are sitting here at 4-6 getting ready to head into yet another tough road game against Iowa State. I think we can all agree that Ames isn’t an easy place to play. However, if you think that our beloved Red Raider’s can’t go on the road and beat a 2-8 Cyclone team then you’re nuts! Now, it’s not gonna be a walk in the park, but it is a VERY winnable game!

4-6 looks pretty bleak, but let’s stop and take a second to think about how our season has unfolded thus far. We have four losses within one score. Those being against Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas, and Oklahoma State. We are literally a few bad bounces, bad calls, or busted plays away from being 8-2 going into a pretty bad Iowa State team. Think I’m wrong? Well too bad, because I’m right.

I think there is still a good chance that we will be going bowling, but again I also thought we were going 10-2 this year, so what do I know? I wrote a piece last week about why I thought Mahomes was going to stay for his Senior season, and here’s another reason. Like I stated above we are so close to breaking into the next level. I am hoping Mahomes will see that and choose to stay to help propel this program forward.

Football truly is a game of inches. Whether you were watching the Broncos vs. Saints game this past Sunday with the wacky blocked PAT returned for two points, or you were watching Clayton Hatfield miss a game-tying extra point, you know that things can turn on a dime. I believe that when this season is over it too will have turned on a dime. Instead of people calling for Kliff and/or Gibbs to be fired we will be talking about how much Tech has improved on both sides of the ball, and who we may or may not be matched up against for our upcoming bowl game.

Now hear me out, if we go into Ames and come out with the W the hardest part of the battle will still be to come. I’m not telling you anything that you don’t already know, but what I am telling you is that Baylor is suddenly very beatable. It comes due to a very unfortunate event in Baylor’s QB Seth Russell suffering a horrible leg injury, but it is what it is. Granted, Baylor is probably going to just run the ball down our throat until we can figure out a way to stop them, but having a backup QB behind center does help.

If I had to put a percentage on Tech’s chances to play 13 games this season it would be 75%. Sounds crazy, right? Well, I have been called crazy a lot, but I have been called right a lot as well. Obviously I would love for that percentage to be 100%, because I would like to already have six wins right now. Nonetheless, I have faith that we will get there. We are just taking the much more scenic route. I am not going to go as far as predicting who or where we might be playing, I just have a good feeling about these last two games.

Even if the worst case scenario comes along with Mahomes leaving, Tech losing out, Hocutt cleaning house, and the Big 12 dissolving, I am going to enjoy every second of whatever these last two games may bring. So here’s to Mahomes, here’s to Kliff, and here’s to the future.