| Year: | 2018 |
| Team: | Texas Tech Red Raiders |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Big 12 Conference |
| Short Conf: | Big 12 |
| Record: | 5–7 |
| Conf Record: | 3–6 |
| Head Coach: | Kliff Kingsbury |
| Hc Year: | 6th |
| Off Coach: | Kevin Johns |
| Oc Year: | 1st |
| Cooff Coach1: | Clay McGuire |
| Cooc1 Year: | 1st |
| Off Scheme: | Air raid |
| Def Coach: | David Gibbs |
| Dc Year: | 4th |
| Codef Coach1: | Zac Spavital |
| Codc1 Year: | 3rd |
| Captain: | Dakota Allen Travis Bruffy Ja'Deion High Jah'Shawn Johnson Terence Steele Broderick Washington Jr. |
| Def Scheme: | Multiple |
| Stadium: | Jones AT&T Stadium |
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.[1] 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.[2] 4 days later, the school hired Utah State head coach Matt Wells for the head coaching job.[3]
Former offensive coordinator/receivers coach Eric Morris was hired as the head coach of the Incarnate Word Cardinals on December 30, 2017.[4] Western Michigan Broncos offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kevin Johns was hired as Texas Tech's new offensive coordinator/receivers coach on January 30, 2018.[5]
Listed in the order that they were released
| Rimington Trophy[6] | Paul Stawarz | C | SR | |
| Chuck Bednarik Award[7] | Dakota Allen | LB | SR | |
| Doak Walker Award[8] | DaLeon Ward | RB | SO | |
| Jim Thorpe Award[9] | Jah'Shawn Johnson | DB | SR | |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy[10] | Dakota Allen | LB | SR | |
| Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award[11] | WR | JR |
The Big 12 media poll was released on July 12, 2018 with the Red Raiders predicted to finish in eighth place.[12]
| 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 | |
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.[13]
The Red Raiders hosted non-conference foes Houston from the AAC and Lamar from the Southland Conference.[14]
Schedule Source:[15]
| 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 | 2nd | California 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) | |
| Source:[16] | ||||
See also: 2018 Ole Miss Rebels football team and Texas Kickoff.
| Statistics[17] | Ole Miss | Texas Tech | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 546 | 486 | |
| Passing Yards | 336 | 322 | |
| Rushing Yards | 210 | 164 | |
| Penalties | 7-49 | 6-80 | |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 | |
| Time of Possession | 23:35 | 36:25 |
See also: 2018 Lamar Cardinals football team.
| Statistics[20] | Lamar | Texas Tech | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 182 | 683 | |
| Passing Yards | 80 | 419 | |
| Rushing Yards | 102 | 264 | |
| Penalties | 4-15 | 14-139 | |
| Turnovers | 4 | 1 | |
| Time of Possession | 29:20 | 30:40 |
See also: 2018 Houston Cougars football team.
| Statistics[23] | Houston | Texas Tech | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 635 | 704 | |
| Passing Yards | 462 | 605 | |
| Rushing Yards | 173 | 99 | |
| Penalties | 9-68 | 9-82 | |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 | |
| Time of Possession | 24:22 | 35:38 |
See also: 2018 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team.
| Statistics[25] | Texas Tech | Oklahoma State | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 621 | 386 | |
| Passing Yards | 397 | 258 | |
| Rushing Yards | 224 | 128 | |
| Penalties | 3-20 | 8-73 | |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 | |
| Time of Possession | 41:17 | 18:43 |
See also: 2018 West Virginia Mountaineers football team.
| Statistics[26] | West Virginia | Texas Tech | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 489 | 463 | |
| Passing Yards | 370 | 295 | |
| Rushing Yards | 119 | 168 | |
| Penalties | 12-115 | 7-60 | |
| Turnovers | 0 | 3 | |
| Time of Possession | 30:26 | 29:34 |
See also: 2018 TCU Horned Frogs football team and TCU–Texas Tech football rivalry.
| Statistics[29] | Texas Tech | TCU | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 353 | 411 | |
| Passing Yards | 202 | 290 | |
| Rushing Yards | 151 | 121 | |
| Penalties | 12–89 | 8–63 | |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 | |
| Time of Possession | 30:45 | 29:15 |
The Horned Frogs received the opening kickoff, starting at their own 8-yard line following an illegal block penalty. TCU had two more penalties on the drive (both for a false start) and ended the drive with Andrew David punting from his own 22-yard line. Texas Tech made it to the TCU 5-yard line before the drive stalled, settling for a 22-yard field goal from Clayton Hatfield to take a 3–0 lead. On the next drive the Horned Frogs made it to the Texas Tech 8-yard line. The drive ended when a Shawn Robinson pass was intercepted in the endzone by Jordyn Brooks, who returned the interception to the Texas Tech 3-yard line. The Red Raiders only gained two yards following the interception, punting from their own 5-yard line. The Horned Frogs started their drive from the Texas Tech 40, ending the drive on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Shawn Robinson to Jalen Reagor. Texas Tech made it to the TCU 45-yard line, turning the ball over on downs. On the next drive, TCU went for it on 4th down and picked up the 1st down, but Sewo Olonilua fumbled the ball with it being recovered by Tony Jones for Texas Tech. The two teams traded punts on their next possessions. With less than a minute left in the half, a Duffey pass was intercepted by Julius Lewis at the Texas Tech 44-yard line. Following Duffey's interception, Jonathan Song attempted a 47-yard field goal for the Horned Frogs, with the kick going to the left of the goal posts. The Red Raiders took a knee to end the half.
McLane Carter came out at quarterback for Texas Tech to start the second half, playing in his first game since week 1 against Ole Miss.[30] Carter was sacked twice on the first drive of the half, with the Red Raiders having to punt. Duffey returned to the game on Texas Tech's second drive of the half after Carter appeared to be limping off the field following the team's previous drive. Duffey's first drive of the second half ended with a 62-yard touchdown pass to Ja'Deion High. Duffey would also have a 38-yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter to help the Red Raiders edge out the Horned Frogs.
See also: 2018 Kansas Jayhawks football team.
| Statistics[31] | Kansas | Texas Tech | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 308 | 553 | |
| Passing Yards | 221 | 441 | |
| Rushing Yards | 87 | 112 | |
| Penalties | 6-62 | 7-61 | |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 | |
| Time of Possession | 28:27 | 31:33 |
See also: 2018 Iowa State Cyclones football team.
| Statistics[32] | Red Raiders | Iowa State | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 363 | 422 | |
| Passing Yards | 333 | 250 | |
| Rushing Yards | 30 | 172 | |
| Penalties | 10–105 | 4–25 | |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 | |
| Time of Possession | 26:00 | 34:00 |
See also: 2018 Oklahoma Sooners football team.
| Statistics[33] | Oklahoma | Texas Tech | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 683 | 473 | |
| Passing Yards | 360 | 366 | |
| Rushing Yards | 323 | 107 | |
| Penalties | 10–113 | 7–69 | |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 | |
| Time of Possession | 32:11 | 27:49 |
See also: 2018 Texas Longhorns football team and Texas–Texas Tech football rivalry.
| Statistics[35] | Texas | Texas Tech | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 469 | 595 | |
| Passing Yards | 312 | 454 | |
| Rushing Yards | 157 | 141 | |
| Penalties | 6–59 | 8–89 | |
| Turnovers | 0 | 3 | |
| Time of Possession | 33:08 | 26:52 |
See also: 2018 Kansas State Wildcats football team.
| Statistics[36] | Texas Tech | Kansas State | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 181 | 367 | |
| Passing Yards | 150 | 213 | |
| Rushing Yards | 31 | 154 | |
| Penalties | 4–37 | 2–20 | |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 | |
| Time of Possession | 22:11 | 37:49 |
The Red Raiders experienced their fourth consecutive loss when traveling to Manhattan. Tech was without starting quarterback Alan Bowman and offensive players Connor Killian and Mason Reed were also out. Tech ran the ball 26 times for 31 yards and has not had a ball carrier reach 65 yards in the past seven games. Tech's 181 yards of total offense was the lowest output since 2010 against the Texas Longhorns.[37]
Kansas State kicker Blake Lynch had not completed a successful field goal in a game for nearly two months, but managed to match a career-high with four straight and added an extra point. A blocked punt by Kansas State's Brock Monty added to K-State's success with Texas Tech losing by a score of 21-6.[38]
See also: 2018 Baylor Bears football team and Baylor–Texas Tech football rivalry.
| Statistics[39] | Baylor | Texas Tech | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 478 | 347 | |
| Passing Yards | 308 | 247 | |
| Rushing Yards | 170 | 100 | |
| Penalties | 12–80 | 8–85 | |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 | |
| Time of Possession | 36:04 | 23:56 |
| Passing statistics | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POS | NAME | RAT | CMP | ATT | YDS | AVG | CMP% | TD | INT | LONG | Ref | ||
| 10 | QB | 150.1 | 227 | 327 | 2,638 | 8.1 | 69.4 | 17 | 7 | 66 | [40] | ||
| 7 | QB | 143.5 | 104 | 154 | 1,221 | 7.9 | 67.5 | 8 | 6 | 62 | [41] | ||
| 6 | QB | McLane Carter | 112.4 | 28 | 51 | 318 | 6.2 | 54.9 | 2 | 2 | 54 | [42] | |
| 12 | QB | Colt Garrett | 799.6 | 1 | 1 | 44 | 44.0 | 100.0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | [43] | |
| 22 | WR | 92.0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 50.0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | [44] | ||
| TOTALS | 145.6 | 361 | 535 | 4,231 | 7.9 | 67.5 | 28 | 15 | 66 | [45] | |||
| Rushing statistics | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POS | NAME | CAR | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD | ||
| 7 | QB | Jett Duffey | 79 | 369 | 4.7 | 38 | 4 | |
| 21 | RB | Da'Leon Ward | 79 | 341 | 4.3 | 32 | 3 | |
| 26 | RB | Ta'Zhawn Henry | 86 | 341 | 4.3 | 32 | 8 | |
| 2 | RB | Demarcus Felton | 62 | 295 | 4.8 | 34 | 6 | |
| 24 | RB | Tre King | 40 | 160 | 4.0 | 18 | 1 | |
| 28 | RB | SaRodorick Thompson | 25 | 105 | 4.2 | 21 | 3 | |
| 82 | WR | KeSean Carter | 3 | 28 | 9.3 | 14 | 0 | |
| 29 | FB | Mason Reed | 5 | 11 | 2.2 | 5 | 0 | |
| 12 | QB | Colt Garrett | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 6 | 0 | |
| 22 | WR | Seth Collins | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 10 | 0 | |
| 8 | WR | De'Quan Bowman | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 4 | WR | 1 | -2 | -2.0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 6 | QB | McLane Carter | 9 | -3 | -0.3 | 13 | 0 | |
| 10 | QB | Alan Bowman | 29 | -26 | -0.9 | 12 | 1 | |
| TOTALS | 437 | 1,591 | 3.6 | 38 | 26 | |||
| Receiving statistics | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POS | NAME | REC | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD | ||
| 4 | WR | Antoine Wesley | 88 | 1,410 | 16.0 | 66 | 9 | |
| 88 | WR | Ja'Deion High | 62 | 804 | 13.0 | 62 | 4 | |
| 9 | WR | T.J. Vasher | 54 | 687 | 12.7 | 37 | 7 | |
| 22 | WR | Seth Collins | 32 | 317 | 9.9 | 32 | 2 | |
| 82 | WR | KeSean Carter | 26 | 238 | 9.2 | 25 | 1 | |
| 21 | RB | Da'Leon Ward | 26 | 196 | 7.5 | 45 | 1 | |
| 26 | RB | Ta'Zhawn Henry | 22 | 145 | 6.6 | 17 | 1 | |
| 19 | WR | Zach Austin | 17 | 143 | 8.4 | 20 | 1 | |
| 8 | WR | De'Quan Bowman | 10 | 90 | 9.0 | 17 | 1 | |
| 84 | WR | Erik Ezukanma | 2 | 48 | 24.0 | 44 | 1 | |
| 24 | RB | Tre King | 8 | 48 | 6.0 | 13 | 0 | |
| 86 | WR | Dalton Rigdon | 3 | 29 | 9.7 | 10 | 0 | |
| 11 | WR | Donta Thompson | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2 | RB | Demarcus Felton | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 9 | 0 | |
| 89 | WR | Caden Leggett | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | |
| 10 | QB | Alan Bowman | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 | |
| 28 | RB | SaRodorick Thompson | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 12 | 0 | |
| 29 | FB | Mason Reed | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 40 | FB | Connor Killian | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 361 | 4,231 | 11.7 | 66 | 28 | |||
Dakota Allen (week 8 vs. Kansas)[47]
Dominic Pannazzolo (week 7 vs. TCU)[48]
Clayton Hatfield (week 8 vs. Kansas)[47]
Alan Bowman (week 3 vs. Houston)[49]
Alan Bowman (week 3 vs. Houston)[50]
Alan Bowman (week 3 vs. Houston)[51]
Alan Bowman (Week 3 vs. Houston)[52]
See also: 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings.
Texas Tech failed to gain bowl eligibility. Upon the conclusion of the season (after the loss to Baylor), head coach Kliff Kingsbury was fired. Oregon defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt was reported to have interviewed for the position with Texas Tech's athletics director Kirby Hocut.[53] The Red Raiders have their next game scheduled for the 2019 season as the program's home opener on August 31, 2019 against Montana State.[54]
See also: 2019 NFL draft.
| 7 | 251 | LB | Los Angeles Rams |