Texas Tech’s national title dream met a heartbreaking end after losing against Oregon in the Orange Bowl. The Red Raiders’ offense turned into their worst nightmare, failing to score a single point and resulting in a 23-0 loss. After the loss, Joey McGuire didn’t hold back on what went wrong during the game.

“It’s one of the top defenses in the country,” Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire said during a post-game interview. “We knew that coming in. I want to give them all the credit. They did a great job defending us. I thought they did a good job of keeping the ball in front of them, not giving up many big plays. We’ve been a big-play offense, explosive offense. They kept the ball in front of them.”

Texas Tech’s offense flinched big time against Oregon’s defense, which forced four turnovers and held the Red Raiders to less than four yards per play. Despite entering the game as one of the nation’s best offenses, averaging 42.5 points and over 480 yards per game, the Red Raiders finished with nothing.

“But you can’t turn the ball over four times. I think that led to 13 points,” McGuire continued. “Then the other part of that was we were not good on 2nd down. I didn’t think we were horrible on 1st down, but on 2nd down, we were not efficient at all, so it put us in some really tough 3rd downs, and man, they played really well on defense.”

They even failed on three fourth-down attempts. Every Oregon player was in their best form. Freshman defensive back Brandon Finney Jr. delivered two interceptions and a fumble recovery, giving Oregon three takeaways by himself.

Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton struggled badly, throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble. The Oregon defense limited him to just 137 passing yards on 32 attempts and never allowed him to score a touchdown. This poor showing marked a rare low point for the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech fails to score in the first half for the first time since November 20, 2021, when it lost 23-0 against Oklahoma State. That game was also the last time the Red Raiders were shut out for an entire contest, marking this performance as one of the worst offensive halves in years.

Oregon also controlled the tempo and the game clock by wearing down Texas Tech’s defense inch by inch. By halftime, Oregon had run 49 plays, whereas Texas Tech had run just 23.

What intensifies Joey McGuire’s plea even more is that, despite spending a hefty $28 million on the roster, his players struggled significantly. Morton could rarely find his footing in the entire game, and even running back J’Koby Williams and tight end Terrance Cater Jr. couldn’t do much on the field.

The problem just intensified when running back Cameron Dickey lost a fumble and kicker Stone Harrington missed a long 54-yard field goal attempt, which ended one of their few scoring opportunities.

All of this happened when Texas Tech didn’t play from December 6, enjoying a first-round bye, whereas Oregon played on December 20. Even with the win, that uneven format is now becoming a significant concern for Dan Lanning.

Dan Lanning calls out the Big 12 format for uneven structure

As part of the New Year’s tradition, college football features four high-profile bowl games, all of which serve as quarterfinals in a 12-team format. Oregon vs. Texas Tech, Ohio State vs. Miami, Alabama vs. Indiana, and Georgia vs. Ole Miss. Now, ahead of their remarkable win against Texas Tech, Dan Lanning emphasized the current structure format, which has led to unwanted layoffs and NFL conflicts.

Lanning pushed for the college football season to end on January 1 instead of January 19, when the national championship is currently scheduled. He explains that finishing earlier will allow teams competing in the title run to focus on the transfer portal, which opens from January 2 to January 16.

“Ideally, the season, even if it means we start Week 0 or you eliminate a bye, the season ends January 1,” Lanning said. “This should be the last game. This should be the championship game. Then, the portal opens, and coaches who have to move on to their following opportunities get the opportunity to move to their following opportunities.”

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What’s even more concerning is their broadcasting clash with NFL games. The first-round playoff games now compete directly with NFL Saturday broadcasts, which draw larger audiences. Ole Miss’s win over Tulane averaged 6.2 million viewers, while Oregon’s prime-time win over James Madison averaged 4.4 million.

But those games air opposite NFL contests that average 15.5 million and 21.3 million viewers. In comparison, Alabama’s win against Oklahoma drew 14.9 million without an NFL clash.

So, Dan Lanning’s plea makes sense, knowing the problems teams are facing. Let’s wait and see if his words can make any impact next season.