The college football world has spoken, and Texas Tech has emerged as its ultimate winner. With the release of preseason polls, Tech has a workable path to the No. 1 seed and college football’s easiest path to the playoffs.
Both the US LBM coaches poll and the AP Top 25 preseason poll ranked Tech at 12th, creating a shared opinion on where the Red Raiders reside in people’s minds.
The rankings are perfect for Tech as it accurately reflects how they stack up against the country. At 12, Tech is the highest-ranked Big 12 program, and while there are an astounding seven SEC teams in the top 15 and six ahead of the Red Raiders, those programs’ actual rankings paint an advantageous narrative for the defending conference champions.
The Alabama Crimson Tide at 13 is the bookend, with Tech flanked by five SEC programs ahead of them. Beyond those programs, from the seventh-ranked Miami Hurricanes all the way to the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, they align with the common opinion on the current state of college football.
That places Tech a level below the sport’s elite, side-by-side with the second tier of the SEC, and ahead of the second tier of the Big Ten. That’s exactly where Tech is as a program, and until we see what the Red Raiders really have on offense, there’s no reason to believe they’re more than that. However, that could and should change quickly if Will Hammond is as good as advertised.
What the ranking also does is set Tech up to end the season as the No. 1 team in the country. They’ll need to go undefeated, especially with the schedule they have, but they benefit by having the easiest schedule in the top 12 by several miles, and the rest of the teams above them have at least one matchup against a fellow top 12 opponent, if not more. Tech doesn’t. In fact, the only ranked team Tech is scheduled to play is the Houston Cougars at No. 24.
The schedule makes one thing clear. If Tech takes care of business, they should be a top-six seed in the College Football Playoffs at a minimum. The magic is that if they keep their head down and win out, they’ll likely have a chance at a top-two seed entering conference championship weekend at the latest.
With how the Big Ten and the SEC schedule looks, the opportunity could come sooner. Especially as Notre Dame (No. 4) plays Miami (No.7). Notre Dame is the only independent, and Miami is the only ACC program ranked in the top 15.
With all those games, there’s a strong likelihood that several SEC/ Big Ten programs will get in with two losses. That means even if Tech drops one regular-season game, due to their ranking, they might be in regardless of a conference title.
A nice spot to be in to start the season.
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This article originally appeared on Red Raiders Wire: Texas Tech’s preseason rankings pave an easy road to the playoffs
Reporting by Brock Vierra, Red Raiders Wire / Red Raiders Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brock Vierra, Red Raiders Wire | USA TODAY Network
