The scoreboard at the Orange Bowl told a simple story. The reaction afterward did not.
As the Oregon Ducks methodically shut out the Texas Tech Red Raiders 23–0, the conversation around coach Joey McGuire turned from frustration to outright hostility in real time. This was not the slow burn of an offseason reckoning. It was immediate, loud, and personal.
Social media reaction hardened quickly. “Joey McGuire is an average coach that just happens to have a billionaire that buys him any player he wants,” one widely circulated post read. Another cut closer to the night itself: “Joey McGuire’s mouth wrote checks his actual football team couldn’t cash.” Others framed the loss as exposure rather than disappointment. “Joey McGuire feasted on inferior talent. The moment he faces a comparable roster, the coaching gap shows.”
That tone wasn’t confined to anonymous accounts. Yahoo Sports senior writer Dan Wolken poured fuel on the moment by calling the performance a legitimate candidate for the worst CFP showing relative to expectations. That qualifier mattered. This was not a mismatch on paper. It was widely viewed as a pick’em. Oregon didn’t need its best game to control it from start to finish.
This might be the worst performance in the history of the CFP. I realize there were larger blowouts but relative to expectations (this was essentially a pick em and Oregon didn’t play well) I think it’s a conversation.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 1, 2026
Much of the anger centered on the offense and the decision to stay with quarterback Behren Morton throughout the day. Morton finished 18-of-32 for 137 yards with two interceptions, averaging just 4.3 yards per attempt and producing a QBR of 17.8. Texas Tech never reached the end zone and rarely threatened it. To critics, the lack of any real pivot became symbolic.
“If Joey McGuire spent as much time preparing for the playoff game as he did worrying about Notre Dame, maybe they wouldn’t have scored zero points,” one post read, referencing comments McGuire made earlier in the postseason that were quickly replayed after the loss. In hindsight, nuance disappeared. Results took over.
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That criticism crystallized in a detailed post from journalist Sean Davis, who framed the night as a failure of leadership rather than effort.
“Joey McGuire’s personal loyalty to Morton is commendable,” Davis wrote, “but he allowed it to overshadow his loyalty to the whole team…at some point you have to take ownership of the whole thing and not just passively sit there while your OC and QB struggle over and over again.”
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The critique cut deeper than play-calling. Davis questioned the sustainability of McGuire’s CEO-style approach, one that empowers coordinators and emphasizes culture and relationships. That model helped build the roster and elevate the program. On this stage, critics argued, it left Texas Tech without answers once the game slipped away.
Inside the program, the response was notably different. Texas Tech Board of Regents chairman Cody Campbell, whose financial backing has been inseparable from the Red Raiders’ rise, publicly emphasized perspective over panic. Campbell praised the senior class, called the season special and historic, and framed the Orange Bowl as a starting point rather than a verdict.
That contrast now defines the moment.
Outside the program, the loss reset the narrative around Joey McGuire from builder to coach under scrutiny. Inside it, the season remains proof of concept. The Orange Bowl didn’t just end Texas Tech’s run. It clarified what comes next. Expectations have changed, and moving forward, the margin for sentiment will be much smaller.
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