Best Case/Worst Case in 2016: Texas Tech Red Raiders

[caption id="attachment_18801" align="alignright" width="350"]Photo by Ashley Wirz Photo by Ashley Wirz[/caption] Will this season be a dream or a nightmare for your favorite FBS program in the state of Texas? In this series, we take a look at the best and worst case scenarios for all 12 teams. Texas Tech 2015 Record: 7-6Best Case Texas Tech started the past two seasons off with a bang. In 2015, the Red Raiders looked poised to challenge for a conference title after a 5-0 start that included a three-point victory against TCU. A loss to Baylor a week later and a three-game losing streak later in conference play postponed those hopes. The future is bright, however, with Kliff Kingsbury fielding a team of his recruits, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The offense should once again be loaded, leaving it up to the defense to pull some weight. Texas Tech should be improved defensively, allowing for a 3-0 start to the regular season with wins over SFA, Arizona State and Louisiana Tech. The conference schedule is favorable early, but a three-game stretch beginning Oct. 22 at home against Oklahoma will dictate the success of 2016. Wins over Oklahoma, TCU and Texas in consecutive weeks would place Texas Tech in national championship discussion. No big deal, right? All that would remain are games at home against Oklahoma State and Baylor sandwiched around a road tilt against Iowa State. Worst Case How many weeks in a row can you outscore opponents? It is a long-standing question in Lubbock. Defense isn’t what the Red Raiders do and that could ultimately be their downfall again in 2016. Patrick Mahomes in the offense will put up enough points to beat the lesser teams on the schedule, but defensive deficiencies could be costly in big games against TCU, Oklahoma and the rest of the best teams in the conference. Texas Tech suffers through a three-game losing streak in the middle of conference play, just like in 2015, and the end result is another middle-of-the-pack bowl game, or worse. It seems unreasonable to expect Texas Tech to suffer through a season without bowl eligibility unless an injury occurred to Mahomes, but anything less than eight wins in the regular season would be deemed a disappointment by many Texas Tech supporters.

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