No. 8 Texas Tech hopes UCF isn't final home game in 2025

Jeff Hauser

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No. 8 Texas Tech hopes UCF isn't final home game in 2025 image

No. 6 Texas Tech returns to Jones AT&T Stadium on Saturday with College Football Playoff positioning on the line, hosting a UCF team still clinging to its postseason hopes.

The Red Raiders (9-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 6 CFP) enter their home finale riding one of the nation’s most dominant stretches. Joey McGuire’s team has won all nine of its victories by at least 20 points and leads the Big 12 in scoring offense, scoring defense, total offense and total defense. 

Last week’s 29-7 win over BYU marked the league’s first top-10 conference matchup in four years and reaffirmed Tech’s claim as a potential CFP host site if everything holds in December.

Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez continues to prove he's the nation’s top defender. The former walk-on leads his team with 88 tackles and has emerged as a dark-horse Heisman candidate. He also becoming the first FBS player since Buffalo's Khalil Mack in 2013 to record at least five forced fumbles, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries in a season. 

“It wasn’t about beating BYU, it was about what we have in front of us,” McGuire said of Rodriguez’s message after last week’s win.

UCF (4-5, 1-5) travels west after a heartbreaking 30-27 loss to Houston in the Space Game. First-year coach Scott Frost said his team is embracing the rebuild. “You’ve got to go through the hard to get to the good,” Frost said. 

This is Frost's second stint with the Knights after leading them to success before dumping out for a failed tenure at Nebraska. 

Texas Tech has bye week after UCF before closing the regular season at West Virginia on Nov. 29. Win two and a Big 12 title they'll be hosting their first-ever Playoff game. That's the goal for McGuire's team 

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Editorial Team