Texas Tech is 1-0 to start the 2024 season, more than they could say in the 2023 season, but it was ugly. The Red Raiders squeaked out a 52-51 win over Abilene Christian in overtime, one that was much closer than anyone could've asked for.

"You honor a win, period," head coach Joey McGuire said. "Am I frustrated? I am. I mean, I'm extremely frustrated. You know, I did not expect to be in a game like that, but I was, and we found a way to win the game."

The Red Raiders have plenty ahead of them this season, but for Tech to reach the heights they anticipate reaching in 2024, lots must change on both sides of the ball, especially the defensive secondary for Tech.

While the Red Raiders were down lead corner Bralyn Lux, who McGuire anticpates being back for the trip to Washington State, it was not a good enough effort for Tech overall defensively.

"You could check off everything that could go wrong in the back end at different times," McGuire said. "I talked to their office coordinator afterwards. I thought he did a great job. You know, he comes from a great tree. They call it, you know, we talked about his air raid 2.0 and I thought he did a great job. They got some really good, skilled players. We know some of them, and you know, those guys made some big plays.

But it was a mixture, you know, a mixture of those guys making plays, it's a mixture of, I think four of the five guys that we started tonight in the secondary, that was their first college start...we definitely have got to improve in a hurry in the secondary, especially with the team that we're about to play."

The Red Raider defense will be the talk, giving up a career-high 506 passing yards to former Tech QB Maverick McIvor, but the Red Raider offense put enough points on the board to win the game, starting with Josh Kelly's 156 yards and lengthy touchdown catch.

"I think those guys have a chance to be really special. And Josh Kelly is the guy that gets everything going," McGuire said. "I mean, Behren will tell you, man, anytime we need kind of a spark, number three is that spark. I thought (Jalin Conyers) did a good job being that spark tonight, too. But, you know, that's what we expect on Josh Kelly, he's a dynamic receiver, and I think as we continue in this offense, they're all going to get better."

Getting better was something that McGuire hashed over and over in his post-game press conference, and it's something that the Red Raiders must do to find success against the Cougars in Pullman seven days from now.