Joey McGuire is embracing the pressure to win at Texas Tech

Head coach Joey McGuire has been a success in his first three seasons at Texas Tech. He's gone 23-16 and has taken the Red Raiders to a bowl game in each campaign.

In fact, he's the second coach in Texas Tech history to have led the Red Raiders to a bowl game in his first three seasons. The other? None other than Mike Leach.

One would think that would mean McGuire is sitting on the comfiest of seats heading into 2025, but the Red Raiders have been active in the NIL game as well as in the transfer portal. Donors have apparently put up big money to keep Texas Tech chugging along in the new-look Big 12, and with that influx of money comes the pressure to perform.

McGuire feels it, too.

“It’s time to win,” McGuire told Ari Wasserman of On3 “Is there more pressure this year? 100%. But I’d rather be in this situation. I’d rather be in the situation I’m in than being the guy who is like, ‘man, we have to have a lot of stuff go our way.’"

The Red Raiders brought in 21 players through the transfer portal this offseason. That list includes UCF transfer Lee Hunter, who was a second-team All-Big 12 player last season on the defensive line.

The "old" Big 12 used to be almost an impassable gauntlet with Texas and Oklahoma at the top, but the way things look now, Texas Tech has to feel there's no reason why it can't compete to win the conference and qualify for the College Football Playoff.

Resources have been poured into the program and the Red Raiders have built a roster that can realistically compete. Now, McGuire has to take that pressure and turn it into a diamond of a season.

“Whatever happens, at least you know you have a roster where you can say you have the bullets in the gun to go friggin’ fight our tails off and see what happens," he said. "It’s all on me and us coaches to get this thing to come together. I’d rather have it this way than hoping we’re good enough to get to a bowl.”