The Red Raiders (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) debuted at No. 15 last week. They outscored the Mountaineers 12-0 in the final quarter Saturday and outgained them 128 yards to minus-6. Tech's plus-67 fourth-quarter point differential ranks second in the FBS, behind only UCLA at plus-71.
Six Big 12 teams made the Top 25. Utah (9-0) sits at No. 2, BYU (8-2) dropped one spot to No. 10, Houston (7-2) is at No. 14 and Arizona (7-2) is at No. 23. Tech beat Houston 28-26 on Sept. 18 and Arizona 34-26 on Oct. 31. Oklahoma State (6-3) enters at No. 25, and Tech plays there Saturday.
Texas Tech controls its own destiny in the Big 12 title race. Win at Oklahoma State, win at Baylor, then beat TCU at home on Thanksgiving, and the Red Raiders return to AT&T Stadium in Arlington to defend their 2025 conference title. A loss would leave their path to the title game dependent on tiebreakers and would also affect their CFP position. The next rankings come out Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Tech has been at its best late in games, and three more of them stand between the Red Raiders and Arlington.