Texas Tech Opens Title Defense Against ACU With a Warning From 2024

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Texas Tech football finally gets its 2026 season underway Saturday night, and the defending Big 12 champions should have one thing working in their favor against Abilene Christian: nobody in Lubbock should need a reminder to take the Wildcats seriously.

They already learned that lesson.

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The last meeting between these teams turned into a nightmare escape for Texas Tech, which survived 52-51 in overtime in 2024 after ACU erased an 18-point deficit and came within a failed two-point conversion of pulling off the upset.

Now No. 12 Texas Tech gets another shot at the Wildcats, this time as the reigning Big 12 champion and one of the conference’s preseason favorites.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT Saturday at Galaxy Stadium on FS1.

Joey McGuire’s Red Raiders are coming off a 12-2 season that included a dominant 34-7 victory in the Big 12 Championship Game. The challenge now is proving last year wasn’t a one-off.

Abilene Christian already has a game under its belt, falling 21-14 to Lamar in Week 0 despite outgaining the Cardinals 358-278.

Quarterback John David Black threw for 142 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. Running back Alex Broome led ACU with 75 rushing yards, while Cristian Driver caught a touchdown and finished with 56 receiving yards.

Those numbers don’t scream upset threat, but ACU showed enough offensive life to keep Texas Tech honest.

The bigger concern for the Wildcats is whether they can withstand the Red Raiders’ depth for four quarters.

Texas Tech returns quarterback Behren Morton, who threw for 2,780 yards last season, and running back Cameron Dickey, who rushed for 1,124 yards. The Red Raiders also bring back the confidence of a team that knows what championship football feels like.

That’s why Saturday shouldn’t be close.

But that doesn’t mean it can’t become uncomfortable if Tech starts slowly, turns the ball over or gives ACU confidence early.

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The Wildcats nearly stole this matchup two years ago.

Texas Tech’s job Saturday is to make sure there’s no sequel.

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