Texas Tech football fans hoping for a final celebration at Jones AT&T Stadium received some disappointing news on Saturday night. It was announced that the Red Raiders’ regular season finale will begin at the undesirable time of 11 a.m. Central.
This marks the first time this season that Texas Tech has had a home Big 12 game scheduled during this early time slot, and only the second instance overall of an 11 a.m. Central kickoff for the team this year.
However, if this game resembles the Red Raiders’ first 11 a.m. kickoff of the season, it could still turn out to be an exciting day at Jones Stadium. Back on September 14, Texas Tech faced North Texas in an early game that resulted in a commanding 66-21 victory for the home team.
While teams often worry about a slow start during 11 a.m. Central kickoffs, Texas Tech delivered its best first half of the season against the Mean Green.
That day, the Red Raiders jumped out to a 52-7 halftime lead which included four Behren Morton touchdown passes and a pick-six by defensive back Bralyn Lux. That was encouraging to see given that the week prior, the team looked lifeless in a 37-16 loss at Washington State, a game that kicked off not at 11 a.m. but rather at 9 p.m. Central.
There is plenty for Tech to play for this weekend against the Mountaineers. Not only would a win give Tech eight victories on the season, the most for the program since 2009, but somehow, there remains a glimmer of hope that with a win, the Red Raiders could play in the Big 12 championship game (but for that to happen, a ton of games have to break the right way in the last weekend of the regular season).
Also, the Red Raiders will want to send their seniors out with one last home win. That group will include running back Tahj Brooks, offensive tackle Caleb Rogers, wide receiver Josh Kelly, and defensive back Bralyn Lux to name a few.
So though no one wanted an 11 a.m. kick and though there will be no light shows after touchdowns or drone shows at the end of the third quarter, Texas Tech fans need to show up for this early kick off on a holiday weekend. After all, it will be the last time we get to party at The Jones until next season.
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