By most accounts, 2022 was a successful year for Texas Tech on the football field. Eight wins was the most in nearly 10 years, dating back to the 2013 season. A lot has changed in the Red Raider football program since then, and leading the charge into the next era of Tech football is head coach Joey McGuire. With the 2023 season looming in the distance, let’s take a look at the top five wins of the inaugural season of The Brand in Lubbock.

5. West Virginia

Homecoming in Lubbock spelled dominance for the Red Raiders and this game was never truly in question. What makes this game deserving of landing on the list is the dominance that was just mentioned. The big success of the contest boiled down to the four turnovers that Tech’s defense forced which humiliated Graham Harrell’s offense. The No. 5 spot in this list was between this game and the win against Kansas, but the annhilation over the Mountaineers held the advantage.

4. Ole Miss

Another game which never felt contested, the Red Raiders put on a show in Houston and the Rebels looked like they wanted no part of the game. The physicality displayed by the Tech side shows exactly what McGuire is hoping to build in terms of culture in West Texas. This game was one of the more satisfying wins that the Red Raiders had. There were big plays, turnovers, and the heartfelt tribute to the late Mike Leach on Tech’s opening drive.

3. Oklahoma

The final home game at night in The Jones was the perfect precursor to what eventually became one of the more exciting finishes for Tech in 2022. For as good of a team the Red Raiders were in starting games off, the opening of the contest with the Sooners could not have been scripted worse. Another come from behind victory capped off a regular season full of Tech battling past adversity. Oh, and beating Oklahoma for the first time since the miracle of 2011 was a welcome sight to all Red Raider faithful.

2. Houston

Some might have No. 2 and No. 3 on this list switched but the win over the Cougars is firm at the second spot in this one. This game was dead in the water but the heroics of Donovan Smith and Trey Wolff shone through. Wolff in particular, went on to make clutch kicks a regular part of his game, and Smith’s performance can not be forgotten. With the two sides having played four times in the last six seasons and slated to face off in 2023 as Big 12 foes, a fresh rivalry could be brewing in the new look conference.

1. Texas

What else could have been No. 1? In what turned out to be the Longhorns’ final time coming to Lubbock, McGuire and the Red Raiders picked up the first signature win of his tenure in dramatic fashion. On national TV, in front of a sold/red-out crowd, it took phenomenal performances from all three aspects of the ball for Tech to walk away from this one with a win. The first win over Texas in Lubbock since the epic 2008 clash, the Red Raiders sent the Longhorns home with a loss in their final duel at The Jones.

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