The Liberty Bowl reunites old Southwest conference foes for the first time in nine years. The last meeting between the two was a 2015 Texas Tech win in Fayetteville with a score of 35-24. Interestingly enough, both teams have changed coaches twice since that matchup. However, each team has some vastly different vibes around their program coming into this Liberty Bowl matchup. Does one team hold a decided advantage?
Liberty Bowl
Texas Tech Bowl History On The Line
This is Joey McGuire’s second trip to the Liberty Bowl in the last four seasons as the Red Raiders head coach. Their current bowl-winning streak started in Memphis by defeating Mississippi State 34-7. A win over Arkansas would mean their season ends with a bowl win for a fourth-consecutive season for the first time in program history. Only one other time in program history has Texas Tech won four-straight bowl games, a stretch from 2009-13. However, it was not in consecutive seasons as Texas Tech was not bowl-eligible in 2011. A win over the Razorbacks would also mean the Red Raiders would finish with nine or more wins for the 15th time in program history.
Red Raider Personnel Status
Off the field, there is no team hotter in the transfer portal than the Red Raiders. As exciting as that might be, there is some very exciting news about who is taking the field in the Liberty Bowl. The depth chart for the Red Raiders was posted on Saturday with running back Tahj Brooks listed as the starting running back. Brooks, who rushed for 1,538 in 2023, essentially equaled those numbers in one fewer game (1,505 yards). Having already surpassed Byron Hanspard for the Texas Tech career rushing record, Brooks has decided he is going to suit up one last time in hopes of closing out his career with a win against Arkansas.
Texas Tech will still be without a few key playmakers. Wide receiver Josh Kelly has opted out of the bowl game to begin his preparation for the NFL draft. Starting quarterback Behren Morton is undergoing shoulder surgery, which means true freshman Will Hammond will get his first career start against Arkansas. He becomes the eighth true freshman in school history to start at quarterback. The Red Raiders do have some players in the portal, but those who have yet to commit anywhere are planning on playing in this game, including backup quarterback Jake Strong.
New Playcallers In Liberty Bowl
When the regular season ended for the Red Raiders, both their offensive and defensive coordinators left the staff. McGuire faced a significant fork in the road for the long-term growth of the program. The hires of Mack Leftwich from Texas State for offensive coordinator and Shiel Wood from Houston for defensive coordinator have both been met with a ton of positive reviews. But both of them have been working more with the transfer portal classes and evaluating the current roster. So for the Liberty Bowl, McGuire will turn to Justin “Juice” Johnson (wide receivers coach) to call the offense and C.H. Ah You (outside linebackers coach) to call the defense.
Arkansas Searching For Their Own Bowl History
Arkansas needs a win in the Liberty Bowl to avoid their second straight losing season. One thing on their side is the Hogs have never lost a bowl game in the Sam Pittman era (2-0). With a Liberty Bowl win, Pittman would become the first Arkansas head coach in program history to win each of his first three bowl games. One thing Pittman has that McGuire doesn’t is a starting quarterback. Quarterback Taylen Green had a very productive season with Bobby Petrino calling the offense. The Boise State transfer did have issues at times protecting the football, but Green is a true dual-threat quarterback. He totaled over 3,300 yards of offense with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He is great at keeping the play alive and is tough to tackle. But who is Green going to get the ball to?
Hogs Mass Exoducs
This offense is going to look very different from the regular season. The Hogs have had 26 players enter the transfer portal, which ties for the most out of all P4 programs. They are tied with Arizona and Purdue. The combined transfer portal/opt-out list is lengthy for the Razorbacks. They are expected to be down at least three starting offensive linemen, their top three running backs, four starting pass catchers as well as depth pieces on the defensive line. Most notably, the team will not have wide receiver Andrew Armstrong, who brought in 78 passes for 1,140 yards. Some other notable players who will not be playing in the Liberty Bowl for Arkansas are defensive lineman Eric Gregory, running back Ja’Quinden Jackson, and defensive lineman Landon Jackson, who had a team-high 10 TFLs and 6.5 sacks.
Liberty Bowl Prediction
Both team’s “best” is really good. Arkansas beat playoff-bound Tennessee. Texas Tech beat the two teams who played for the Big 12 title this season in Arizona State and Iowa State. But both teams have shown some pretty bad football as well. Arkansas won just two more games after taking down Tennesse and that was against Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech. Texas Tech has complete no-shows against Washington State and Baylor. Even with a depleted roster, Arkansas should still find some offense against a very leaky Texas Tech defense.
However, the motivations of this Red Raider team appear to be much stronger. Getting Brooks to play in this game is a major lift to the entire roster. Texas Tech has won nine consecutive bowl games against unranked foes. That is the second-longest active streak by any team this century behind only Utah’s 10-game streak from 2001-2017. After Friday night in Memphis, the Red Raiders will match Utah’s 10-game streak.
Texas Tech 38, Arkansas 28
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