Texas Tech is where it yearns to be; now its fans need to act like they belong
Few sentences bother college football coaches more than “Reduced buyout clause,” or, “Night game in Lubbock.”
Because there is always that chance of a flying tortilla to the head, and now a pocket knife, too.
Texas Tech fans have always had a reputation, and outside of Red Raider nation and Lubbock, their fame isn’t flattering. This reputation is a tripled-edged tortilla, and much of it is an acquired taste. Like one of those gluten-free tortillas. Or, worse, soy.
Few schools have worked harder, or spent more money, to change its national image and reputation more than Texas Tech; now the portion of their fan base who helped create that odor needs to change, too.
This isn’t just about a 15-yard penalty flag. This is about Texas Tech University. This is about Lubbock, Texas.
Don’t be the drunk crazy uncle at Thanksgiving who just won life-changing money on a weekend bender at the Sulphur Truck Stop & Casino in Sulphur, Louisiana.
If you want the world to see you differently, act like you belong. Texas Tech is ranked No. 7 in the nation in football, and the best team in the Big 12 by a wide margin. It’s winning games by an average of 35 points; the closest any opponent has come is 24 points.
Texas Tech is now right in the middle of the College Playoff Football talk, and with that brings a waterfall of attention and publicity.
This is the highest Tech has been ranked since it reached No. 2 in 2008 under the late Mike Leach. That season is the last time Tech won 10 games.
Tech’s most significant booster is Cody Campbell, whose generosity has made much of Tech’s success possible. He is now also a national figure in his attempt to reform college athletics, much to the frustration of major conference commissioners.
However much money Tech spent to recruit players via NIL, it’s working. Next to No. 2 Miami, the Red Raiders are the best team money can buy. Don’t bother wasting your time hating on this; that’s college athletics now.
All of this does is to provide not a fresh coat of paint on Texas Tech, but colors that didn’t previously exist.
And then a few Tech fans come along this weekend with their old, crusty roller brush and slung it all over the place, Jackson Pollock-style, only this isn’t a work of art.
On Saturday night against Kansas, bonehead Tech fans violated the new Big 12 policy, that is 10999.999% pointed at the Red Raiders, by throwing tortillas onto the field during the game.
“Like, really? Is that a Red Raider?” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire asked rhetorically in the postgame press conference.
Now that you ask, yes it is.
The Big 12 implemented a “3 strikes policy” this offseason about fans throwing items on the field that says if there is a third violation, it will result in a 15-yard penalty against the home team. On Saturday, this led to 30 yards in penalties, including one that helped KU briefly get back into a game where it was clearly the inferior team.
“You came to the game, and you love this team and you’re passionate about this team, and yet you’re going to throw another tortilla when you know it’s against the rules?” McGuire said.
You have to ask?
On the field during the postgame handshake, KU coach Lance Leipold and McGuire had a tense exchange about this tradition. Leipold said later a pocket knife hit a staffer on the sidelines, but that he was not hurt.
“It’s a culture that’s been accepted to a point, and it hasn’t changed,” Leipold said after the game. “Eventually, somebody’s going to be seriously hurt, unfortunately.”
He’s not wrong.
What separates college football from every other major sport is the scene, and the traditions. Which includes a night game in Lubbock, and the visual of flying tortillas.
But combine alcohol consumption, drunk muscles and increased indifference for the well-being of someone 50 yards away with the insatiable desire to post videos and pictures on social media, and what was once a fun tradition is now potentially a hazard to someone’s safety.
“It’s going to catch up with us,” McGuire said.
With home games remaining against Oklahoma State, No. 15 BYU and Central Florida, the only time where this may be an issue is the Red Raiders’ date with BYU on Nov. 8. Oklahoma State and UCF are a combined 0-6 in the Big 12.
The next time it could burn Tech is a home playoff game, which is now a distinct possibility.
Texas Tech hosting a playoff game is a dream scenario that is plausible, and would only help further elevate the school’s profile.
Packages of flying tortillas thrown at the wrong time, or pocket knives, would only hurt a reputation that Texas Tech has worked doggedly to change and show that the Red Raiders are at home on a national stage, and not the crazy drunk uncle ruining a holiday.
This story was originally published October 13, 2025 at 5:37 PM.
