Texas Tech stays put at No. 13 in latest AP poll

The Red Raiders won a shootout away from Jones AT&T Stadium, but poll voters didn't budge them up or down. Fans watching from Tech Terrace bars or the couch got a win against a Pac-12 opponent. The national ranking stayed exactly where it was the week before.

That kind of stagnation matters for a program chasing bigger postseason positioning. A 35-24 road win over Oregon State usually moves the needle a spot or two, win or lose style points aside. Not this time. Tech sitting right where it started tells you the teams above and around them are winning just as convincingly, if not more.

For Red Raider fans, it's a mixed bag. The team keeps winning, which matters most heading into the stretch of the season. But if Lubbock wants to see Tech climb into the top ten conversation, style points and blowouts might start to matter as much as just getting the win.

Sometimes winning isn't the same as gaining ground.