Texas Tech HC Joey McGuire trying to follow Oregon's path in NIL era

The Oregon Ducks have been here before. Head coach Dan Lanning has built a program worthy of competing for championships, but Oregon's been at this level for a long time.

Years before NIL, the Ducks were wooing recruits with flashy uniforms and elite facilities thanks to their relationship with Nike co-founder Phil Knight. 

Things have evened out in the NIL era a bit, but the Ducks are still doing it at a high level. Their presence in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Orange Bowl is proof of that.

Speaking of Texas Tech, the Red Raiders feel a bit like "new money" with the recent infusion of cash that has gone the athletic department's way.

That's made Tech the contending football program it is, and head coach Joey McGuire said that he hopes the NIL era allows the Red Raiders to continue along this path. Frankly, in Oregon, he sees a vision of what Texas Tech can be. 

“They’ve got a great booster in Phil Knight that really said, ‘We’re going to go win at the highest level and there’s no excuse when it comes to finance.’ You turn around and I think that we’re showing that we’re doing that. I think we’re really comparable,” McGuire said on Monday (h/t On3).

Texas Tech Red Raiders trying to follow in footsteps of Oregon Ducks 

Led by booster Cody Campbell, an oil and gas entrepreneur and chairman of the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents, millions of dollars been poured into Tech's facilities as well as NIL and transfer portal funds. 

Campbell is a former Texas Tech offensive lineman, and he and his partners helped the Red Raiders stack up in the trenches while throwing some major money around in the transfer portal.

In all, 21 players came to Texas Tech via the transfer portal last offseason. It was a transfer class ranked No. 2 in the nation, much thanks to the booster group for which McGuire has a nickname.

“We’ve got guys that have stepped up and done a great job. I kind of call them the ‘Big Five’ whenever you talk about Cody and John, Mike, Dusty, and Gary. Those guys have, along with everybody else in Red Raider Nation, but those guys have really led the charge," McGuire said.

Ultimately, Tech's head coach believes the Red Raiders can compare with Oregon on the field, and we'll see if that's true in the Orange Bowl. He believes his program has a chance to compete with the Ducks off the field as well, though, and that's no small feat.

"They’ve just done it for a little bit longer. That’s what we’re trying to do," McGuire said.