The 2018 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by Kliff Kingsbury in his sixth and final season as the program's 15th head coach. The Red Raiders played their home games on the university's campus in Lubbock, Texas at Jones AT&T Stadium, and competed as members of the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 5–7 overall, 3–6 in Big 12 play to finish in a 3-way tie for seventh place.
On November 25, head coach Kliff Kingsbury was fired after 6 seasons as head coach, finishing 35–40 overall. 4 days later, the school hired Utah State head coach Matt Wells for the head coaching job.
Coaching changes Former offensive coordinator/receivers coach Eric Morris was hired as the head coach of the Incarnate Word Cardinals on December 30, 2017. Western Michigan Broncos offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kevin Johns was hired as Texas Tech's new offensive coordinator/receivers coach on January 30, 2018.
Preseason
Award watch lists Listed in the order that they were released Rimington TrophyPaul StawarzCSRChuck Bednarik AwardDakota AllenLBSRDoak Walker AwardDaLeon WardRBSOJim Thorpe AwardJah'Shawn JohnsonDBSRBronko Nagurski TrophyDakota AllenLBSREarl Campbell Tyler Rose AwardT. J. Vasher WRJR
Big 12 media poll The Big 12 media poll was released on July 12, 2018, with the Red Raiders predicted to finish in eighth place.
Media poll 1 Oklahoma 509 (46) 2 West Virginia 432 (2) 3 TCU 390 (1) 4 Texas 370 (1) 5 Oklahoma State 300 6 Kansas State 283 (2) 7 Iowa State 250 8 Texas Tech 149 9 Baylor 125 10 Kansas 52
Schedule Texas Tech announced its 2018 schedule on October 27, 2017. The 2018 schedule will consist of six home games, four away games, and two neutral site games. The Red Raiders began the 2018 season on September 1 against the Ole Miss Rebels (from the SEC) at NRG Stadium in Houston for the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff and ended the season on November 24 against the Baylor Bears at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The Red Raiders hosted Big 12 foes West Virginia, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas and traveled to Oklahoma State, TCU, Iowa State, and Kansas State.
The Red Raiders hosted non-conference foes Houston from the AAC and Lamar from the Southland Conference.
Schedule source:
Personnel Roster 2018 Texas Tech Red Raiders FootballQuarterback 6 McLane Carter – junior (6'3, 225) 7 Jett Duffey – sophomore (6'1, 200) 10 Alan Bowman – freshman (6'3, 201) 12 Colt Garrett – sophomore (6'1, 195) 15 Nick Gerber – sophomore (6'1, 175) 16 Caleb Griffin – junior (6'3, 240)
Running back 2 Demarcus Felton – senior (5'10, 205) 21 Da'Leon Ward – sophomore (5'10, 180) 24 Tre King – senior (5'11, 190) 26 Ta'Zhawn Henry – freshman (5'7, 170) 28 SaRodorick Thompson – freshman (6'0, 200) 36 Jake Levrier – freshman (5'8, 185)
Fullback 29 Mason Reed – senior (6'2, 225) 40 Connor Killian – sophomore (6'2, 235) 41 Tyler Carr – sophomore (6'4, 260)
Wide receiver 3 Xavier Martin – freshman (6'0, 185) 4 Antoine Wesley – junior (6'5, 200) 8 De'Quan Bowman – senior (5'11, 190) 9 T. J. Vasher – sophomore (6'6, 190) 19 Zach Austin – senior (5'11, 195) 22 Seth Collins – junior (6'3, 190) 32 Kevin Terry – freshman (6,1, 185) 80 Brandt Schilling – sophomore (5,9, 175) 82 Kesean Carter – freshman (5,11, 165) 83 Myller Royals – freshman (6'5, 180) 84 Erik Ezukanma – freshman (6'3, 180) 85 Corey Fulcher – freshman (6'1, 185) 86 Dalton Rigdon – freshman (5'11, 170) 87 Sterling Galban – freshman (5'11, 170) 88 Ja'Deion High – senior (5'11, 190) 89 Caden Leggett – freshman (6'1, 185)
Tight end 11 Donta Thompson – junior (6'5, 225) 47 Mason McHorse – freshman (6'4, 230)
Long snapper 43 Noah Hess – junior (6'2, 200) 48 Kyle Heffron – senior (6'0, 215) 50 Landon O'Connor – freshman (6'2, 185) Offensive lineman
56 Jack Anderson – RG – sophomore (6'5, 320) 58 Madison Akamnonu – LT – junior (6'5, 320) 59 Demarcus Marshall – OG – freshman (6'3, 280) 61 Colin Yang – OL – senior (6'3, 280) 64 Clayton Franks – OG – freshman (6'4, 275) 65 Zach Adams – OT – sophomore (6'6, 320) 66 Hakeem White – OG – freshman (6'3, 285) 67 Troy Bradshaw – OL – freshman (6,6, 275) 68 Casey Verhulst – OT – freshman (6'6, 305) 70 Weston Wright – OT – freshman (6'6, 300) 71 Bailey Smith – RT – junior (6'5, 305) 72 Jack Reichel – OG – senior (6'5, 290) 73 Dawson Deaton – C – freshman (6'6, 305) 74 Will Farrar – OL – freshman (6'5, 320) 75 Giovanni Pancotti – OT – sophomore (6'6, 310) 76 Paul Stawarz – C – senior (6'6, 295) 77 Jacob Hines – OG – senior (6'5, 320) 78 Terence Steele – RT – junior (6'6, 320) 79 Travis Bruffy – LT – junior (6'6, 305)
Defensive lineman 50 Mark Brown – (6'3, 225) 53 Eli Howard – sophomore (6'4, 270) 57 Michael Mays – senior (6'1, 230) 59 Zackery Semrak – freshman (6'2, 290) 66 John Gerold – junior (6'4, 285) 89 Houston Miller – sophomore (6'4, 265) 90 Quentin Yontz – senior (6'2, 270) 91 Nelson Mbanasor – freshman (6'3, 280) 92 Noah Jones – sophomore (6'3, 260) 93 John Scott III – freshman (6'3, 275) 94 Lonzell Gilmore – junior (6'3, 280) 95 Jaylon Hutchings – freshman (6'0, 295) 96 Broderick Washington Jr. – junior (6'3, 305) 97 Joseph Wallace – sophomore (6'1, 315) 98 Nick McCann – sophomore (6'2, 310) 99 Preston Gordon – senior (6'1, 280) Linebacker 1 Jordyn Brooks – junior (6'1, 240) 6 Riko Jeffers – sophomore (6'2, 245) 9 Tony Jones – senior (6'2, 225) 13 Kolin Hill – senior (6'2, 245) 18 Christian Taylor – junior (6'2, 220) 34 Taven Christopher – sophomore (6'2, 185) 35 Patrick Curley – freshman (6'2, 215) 37 Xavier Benson – freshman (6'3, 200) 38 Jacob Schuster – freshman (5'11, 210) 39 Michael Nelson – freshman (5'11, 205) 40 Dakota Allen – senior (6'1, 235) 42 Case Gatlin – freshman (6'4, 230) 45 Aaron Calcote – freshman (6'0, 230) 52 Ja'Quay Pough – sophomore (6'1, 220)
Defensive back 3 Douglas Coleman – junior (6'1, 190) 4 Desmon Smith – junior (6'2, 190) 5 Octavius Morgan – senior (6'0, 205) 7 Jah'Shawn Johnson – senior (5'10, 185) 10 John Bonney – senior (6'1, 205) 12 Quincy Addison – freshman (6'1, 190) 15 Vaughnte Dorsey – senior (5'11, 200) 16 Thomas Leggett – sophomore (6'0, 185) 17 John Davis Jr. – freshman (6'1, 185) 20 Adrian Frye – freshman (6'1, 190) 21 Kisean Allen – senior (5'11, 180) 22 Trey Gentry – sophomore (5'11, 175) 23 DaMarcus Fields – sophomore (6'0, 200) 24 Adam Beck – freshman (6'2, 185) 27 Adrien Cross – junior (5'10, 195) 30 Jax Welch – sophomore (5'9, 180) 31 Justus Parker – junior (6'0, 205) 32 Jake Kirkpatrick – freshman (5'11, 190) 34 Lamont Jones Jr. – freshman (6'0, 185) 41 Andre Woods – senior (5'10, 175) 48 Adonis Brown – freshman (6'0, 175)
Placekicker 36 Trey Wolff – freshman (6'4, 185) 39 Matthew Cluck – senior (6'0, 210) 49 Michael Barden – senior (5'11, 180) 96 Clayton Hatfield – senior (5'10, 185)
Punter 46 Reed Bowman – sophomore (6'0, 205) 85 Dominic Panazzolo – senior (6'5, 210)
Coaching staff Texas Tech Red Raiders Name Position Consecutive season at Texas Tech in current position Previous position Kliff Kingsbury Head coach 6th Texas A&M offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2012) David Gibbs Defensive coordinator 4th Houston interim head coach and defensive coordinator (2014) Kevin Johns Offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach 1st Western Michigan offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2017) Brett Dewhurst Safeties coach 1st Southeastern Louisiana defensive backs coach (2017) Terrance Jamison Defensive line coach 2nd Florida Atlantic defensive line coach (2014–2016) Clay Jennings Defensive backs coach 1st Houston co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach (2017) Brandon Jones Offensive line coach 2ndCalifornia offensive line coach (2015–2016) Emmett Jones Outside receivers coach 3rd Texas Tech director of player development (2015) Clay McGuire Co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach 1st Washington State offensive line coach (2012–2017) Adam Scheier Special teams coordinator 1st Ohio State kicking coach (2017) Zac Spavital Co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach 3rd Texas Tech linebackers coach (2015) Rusty Whitt Head strength and conditioning coach 3rd Louisiana strength and conditioning coach (2015) Source:
Game summaries
Vs. Ole Miss
Statistics Ole MissTexas TechTotal yards546486Passing yards336322Rushing yards210164Penalties7-496-80Turnovers10Time of Possession23:3536:25 McLane Carter was named the Red Raiders' starting quarterback for the game. Carter exited the game in the 1st quarter with an ankle injury, with freshman Alan Bowman replacing him. Texas Tech lost its first season opener since the 2002 season, losing to Ole Miss by a score of 27–47.
Lamar
Statistics LamarTexas TechTotal yards182683Passing yards80419Rushing yards102264Penalties4-1514-139Turnovers41Time of Possession29:2030:40 Texas Tech defeated Lamar by a score of 77–0, the Red Raiders' first shutout victory since September 2006. The 77 points are the most points scored by Texas Tech since an 80–21 victory over Sam Houston State in September 2005 and the largest margin of victory since a 79–0 win over Trinity in November 1932.
Houston
Statistics HoustonTexas TechTotal yards635704Passing yards462605Rushing yards17399Penalties9-689-82Turnovers01Time of Possession24:2235:38 Receiver Antoine Wesley broke a school record for most receiving yards in a game with 261 yards. Quarterback Alan Bowman broke a Big 12 record for most passing yards in a game by a freshman with 605 yards.
At Oklahoma State
Statistics Texas TechOklahoma StateTotal yards 621 386Passing yards 397 258Rushing yards 224 128Penalties 3-20 8-73Turnovers 2 2Time of Possession 41:17 18:43 With the 41–17 victory, the Red Raiders got their first win in Stillwater since 2001, and their first win over the Cowboys since 2008. This is also Texas Tech's first win over a ranked opponent since the 2013 Holiday Bowl.
West Virginia
Statistics West VirginiaTexas TechTotal yards489463Passing yards370295Rushing yards119168Penalties12-1157-60Turnovers03Time of Possession30:2629:34 Starting quarterback Alan Bowman left the game late in the second quarter with an upper-body injury, with Jett Duffey finishing the game. Bowman finished the game 9/20 for 123 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Bowman was taken to a local hospital where it was revealed he had a partially collapsed lung.
At TCU
Statistics Texas TechTCUTotal yards353411Passing yards202290Rushing yards151121Penalties12–898–63Turnovers13Time of Possession30:4529:15 Jett Duffey started at quarterback for the Red Raiders, the third different starting quarterback in 2018 for Texas Tech.