Texas Tech is through with another campaign on the gridiron and now look to the new year for the next time head coach Joey McGuire will lead his team onto the field.

What were the top five games of the 2023 season for the Red Raiders? We answer that question today as the new year begins to grow closer.

The Red Raiders first win in the Big 12 in 2023 came in dominating fashion as Tech defeated former quarterback Donovan Smith in his return to Lubbock with the Cougars.

Tech survived one of the best halves of football a Big 12 quarterback threw all season where Smith had thrown three touchdown passes enroute to a 28-28 tie at the half.

The Red Raiders took off in the second half and won with special teams in the matchup with a blocked punt returned for a touchdown from Loic Fouonji and a 100-yard touchdown kick return from Drae McCray.

Tahj Brooks and Cam’ron Valdez both carried the ball for 106 yards while Behren Morton threw for 161 yards, freshly coming off the AC sprain in his throwing shoulder in the loss to West Virginia.

The win that secured bowl eligibility for the Red Raiders came on a night where both teams generated more than 400 yards of offense, but it was a timely special teams play where Dooda Banks blocked the extra point that would’ve tied the game at 24 with 5:30 left on the clock that sealed the deal for the Red Raiders.

The Red Raiders were able to pick up four first downs and run out the clock on the back of Brooks and a timely completion from Morton to Coy Eakin which improved Tech to 6-5, earning bowl eligibility.

The night that the Red Raiders reclaimed the saddle and the first of a three-game winning streak in November.

Tech took a 20-7 lead into halftime after the Red Raider defense forced four punts from the Horned Frogs and got a missed field goal from 43 yards out off the leg of TCU kicker Griffen Keel.

Morton would hit McCray for a 44-yard touchdown up the seam early in the fourth quarter that proved to be the dagger for the Red Raiders to knock off the Horned Frogs.

An offensive struggle for both teams where the bulk of the load fell onto the running backs as Brooks carried for 133 yards on 33 touches compared to Kansas’ Devin Neal who carried for 137 yards on 19 carries.

Carrying a 13-0 lead into the fourth quarter, the Red Raiders looked to extend their lead with a 48-yard field goal from kicker Gino Garcia, that was no good. After the miss, the Jayhawks roared back and tied the game with a 22-yard field goal with just 28 seconds left on the clock.

Morton put together his best drive of the season to lead the Red Raiders to a win as Garcia knocked down a 30-yard field goal with just four seconds left in the game.

An excellent win against the Bears where the Red Raiders put together their most complete performance of the season in McGuire’s return to Waco. After getting thumped by Baylor on their home turf in 2022, the Red Raiders got revenge and returned the favor in McLane Stadium.

Brooks toted the ball for 170 yards in the win while tight end Baylor Cupp caught two touchdowns against his namesake school.

Baylor turned the ball over on downs five times in the loss, fumbled once and punted three times in a very dominant performance from the Red Raiders.