A week ago there were a number of sports pundits that had written off Texas Tech being in the bowl conversation. Instead, they chose the Longhorns to overcome a stumbling group of Red Raiders. With a thrilling victory over their in-state rival last Friday, Texas Tech threw a wrench into those predictions and became bowl eligible. Despite the clamor and celebration surrounding all of the news about new recruits and solidifying the status at head coach, the Red Raiders are still left with one big question in the post-season.

WHO COULD WE BE MATCHED UP AGAINST?

Since Tech was able to sneak into the land of bowl games, projections have gone wild with speculation on where the Red Raiders will end up in December. A quick check this morning has listed the following as the most possible bowls (in no particular order of probability or importance):

Cactus Bowl (Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ) - against Oregon.

Heart of Dallas Bowl (Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX) - against UNT, Utah or UCLA however @Brett_McMurphy (college football insider) believes Utah has locked in a spot at this bowl so if the Red Raiders go, that is likely their opponent.

Texas Bowl (NRG Stadium, Houston, TX) - against A&M, Ole Miss, Missouri

Beyond these, there are discussions about Texas Tech ending up in the Independence Bowl or the Liberty Bowl, but there are far less predictions including these so we won’t even bother.

WHO DO WE WANT?

I would take a wild guess that most of the Red Raider fan base is hoping that the Texas Bowl invites both Texas Tech and Texas A&M to get down in Houston on December 27. For all intents and purposes it would create the chaotic atmosphere (and all that money) that bowl committees are looking for when considering post-game match ups. On top of that, Houston is a prime location for recruiting as well as not being too ridiculous of a drive for most of the in-state fan bases.

WHY IT PROBABLY WONT HAPPEN

If you remember the 2015 Texas Bowl, then really I need not say more. Texas A&M has had some history regarding not wanting to be matched up with old Big-12 rivals. This is most recently accounted by @ChrisLevel at @RedRaiderSports ,

There is a probability that this information is valid, and if Texas Tech doesn’t end up in Houston facing off against Texas A&M we shouldn’t act surprised. It’s hard to tell why the Aggies are so reluctant to play the Red Raiders, but I’ll just chalk it up to the fear that they would get handled. Bowl game lineups will be announced next Sunday, December 3rd after the final College Football Playoff standings are released.