Texas Tech vs. Oregon: College Football Playoff players to watch, key to the Orange Bowl
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Texas Tech starts its College Football Playoff campaign in the Orange Bowl while Oregon hopes to avoid a quarterfinal loss for the second straight season.
It’s the first Orange Bowl appearance ever for both teams and the programs’ second meeting in the past three seasons after Oregon visited Lubbock in 2023.
[More CFP: OSU vs. Miami | Indiana vs. Alabama | Georgia vs. Ole Miss]
Orange Bowl: No. 4 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Oregon
How these teams got here
Texas Tech (12-1): The Red Raiders ran roughshod over the Big 12 outside of a four-point loss to Arizona State in October. Texas Tech is outscoring opponents by nearly 31 points per game and the Red Raiders simply did not have a close win. The smallest margin of victory all season for Tech came in a 29-7 win over BYU on Nov. 8.
That put the Red Raiders in the driver’s seat for the Big 12 title game and they responded by winning their final two regular season games by a combined score of 97-9 to set up a rematch with the Cougars. And there, Tech blew out BYU even worse as it pulled away in the second half for a 34-7 win and the first Big 12 title in school history.
Oregon (12-1): The Ducks scored touchdowns on each of their first five possessions against James Madison in the first round. And then Oregon got complacent. The second half was a formality. There was no real chance for the Dukes to make a comeback. But Oregon didn’t look nearly as dominant and James Madison looked very competitive in the 51-34 win.
It was the seventh straight victory for the Ducks after their 30-20 loss at Indiana on Oct. 11. A win for both the Hoosiers and Ducks on New Year’s Day would set up a rematch.
How the QBs stack up
Texas Tech’s Behren Morton missed that loss to Arizona State and the next week’s win over Oklahoma State because of a right knee injury. Morton initially suffered the injury in Week 1 and aggravated it in a win over Kansas in Week 7. Though he hasn’t been 100% all season, Morton is completing 67% of his passes and has thrown just four interceptions.
He was 20-of-33 for 215 yards and two touchdowns in the win over BYU and has been exceptional since he had his worst game of the season in Tech’s blowout win over Utah. Morton doesn’t offer much as a rushing threat — thanks to sacks, he’s finished with zero or fewer rushing yards in eight of 11 games — but he’s incredibly comfortable in Texas Tech’s offensive system.
Oregon QB Dante Moore has scored two rushing touchdowns in 2025. Both of those have come in the last two games. Moore had a five-yard TD run against James Madison but he also threw two interceptions for just his second multi-interception game of the season. That other game? The loss to Indiana.
Moore is completing 72% of his throws and passed the 3,000-yard mark against the Dukes. He’s also posted those numbers without a full complement of receivers. Oregon’s receiving corps has dealt with significant injuries to numerous players throughout the season.
Players to watch
Texas Tech Edge David Bailey: The Stanford transfer has been one of the most dominant edge rushers in college football and he’s very familiar with Oregon. Bailey has 13.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss this season and has also forced three fumbles. A first-team All-American, Bailey only ranks behind Western Michigan’s Nadame Tucker in sacks.
Bailey and DE Romello Height (nine sacks) present an incredibly tough matchup for Oregon’s offensive line. And it’s not like the interior of Tech’s defense is weak either. Can Oregon’s quick passing game negate Bailey’s pressure?
Oregon WR Dakorien Moore: Moore returned to the field against James Madison for the first time since Oct. 25. Moore suffered a knee injury in practice after Oregon’s win over Wisconsin but was the team’s leading receiver through the first eight games of the season.
Moore has 29 catches for 448 yards and three scores and has added four carries for 49 yards and a rushing TD. He had just one catch for five yards against James Madison, but his role could increase significantly against Texas Tech. Oregon will likely need him against one of the best defenses in college football.
Even though Dante Moore is a potential first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Oregon leans more on its run game. The Ducks average nearly six yards a carry as a team and had 26 carries for 201 yards against James Madison. The playoff game was the first time all season that Oregon hadn’t rushed the ball at least 30 times.
How well can Oregon run against Texas Tech? The Red Raiders allow a staggering 2.3 yards per carry. BYU rushed the ball 57 times for 130 yards in its two games against Texas Tech.
Only Kansas State — with 30 carries for 126 yards — has averaged over 3.4 yards a carry against the Red Raiders. Part of that is due to Texas Tech’s great pass rush (sacks count against team rushing totals in college football) but even without sacks added, Tech is incredibly tough to break open.
Against JMU, Oregon used its team speed to get Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr. to the perimeter. That mismatch doesn’t exist against Texas Tech’s defense. Oregon and offensive coordinator Will Stein may need to get even more creative to move the ball consistently.
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