Why beating K-State felt like a breakthrough win for Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Texas Tech ended a long losing streak versus Kansas State with a 43-20 win.
- Joey McGuire praised team toughness and defense after forcing five turnovers.
- Victory boosts Texas Tech to 8-1 and positions them to control Big 12 title race.
For years, the Kansas State football team has been a nemesis for Texas Tech.
The Wildcats entered the weekend with eight straight wins over the Red Raiders and 12 victories in their last 13 meetings. Patrick Mahomes led Texas Tech to a 59-44 triumph over K-State in 2015. Otherwise, this series has been dominated by purple.
That clearly irked Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt, who used to play linebacker for the Wildcats under former head coach Bill Snyder. Remember, he decided to part ways with Matt Wells in 2021 and Kliff Kingsbury in 2018 within 10 days of losing to his alma mater.
So the Red Raiders were understandably in a celebratory mood after they ended their losing skid to the Wildcats with a 43-20 victory on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
“No disrespect to K-State, it’s a tip of the hat to my athletic director, who played linebacker here,” Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire said afterward. “It’s been a long time since we’ve beaten Kansas State. I don’t know if we’ve done it since (Hocutt) has been the athletic director. I know it was a big win for him, and I know it’s a huge win for this team.”
McGuire went on to say he has admired K-State ever since he coached his first game against the Wildcats in 2022. K-State won that game 37-28 in front of a sellout crowd in Manhattan.
He still remembers what he told K-State coach Chris Klieman after that contest.
“I think Coach Klieman is in the top five to 10 coaches in the country, and that was a huge win,” McGuire said. “I remember our first year when they beat us here. I told him after the game, ‘You know, I’m trying to create a culture that you have here at K-State, of a tough football team that plays at a high level.’ Four years later, we did a great job today of being a tough football team that played at a really high level.”
It feels appropriate that Texas Tech was finally able to defeat K-State this season.
The No. 13 Red Raiders are one of the best teams in the country with a stingy defense that plays like it belongs in the SEC. Texas Tech forced K-State into five turnovers and made the Wildcats work for every yard that they gained.
At 8-1 overall and 5-1 in conference play, Texas Tech can take a stranglehold on the Big 12 championship race by beating BYU in front of “College GameDay” next week in Lubbock.
Texas Tech has never played in a conference championship game before. Perhaps that will change after it got a rare win over K-State.
“That is a good football team that came in here today,” Klieman said. “We knew they were going to be a good team. That’s an exceptional defense. They play the game the right way, really physical. They play to their strengths.”
This story was originally published November 2, 2025 at 10:59 AM.