Steve Sarkisian, Texas Challenged to Week 1 Game By TTU's Joey McGuire After Schedule Comments

Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire is looking to play Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian's squad in Week 1 of the 2026 college football season.

"We would love to play Texas," McGuire told Chris Vannini of The Athletic (h/t ESPN).

Sarkisian previously took a shot at Texas Tech's schedule on May 21.

"There's a team in our state that plays in another conference that has a schedule that I would argue if I played with our twos and our threes, we could go undefeated, and they'll probably make the CFP this year," Sarkisian told reporters.

McGuire directly responded to Sarkisian's remarks on Thursday.

"We'll find out if their twos and threes can win in this conference," McGuire said, via ESPN.

Texas and Texas Tech shared the same conference from 1960 through 2023, although the Longhorns joined the SEC ahead of the 2024 season. The Red Raiders currently remain in the Big 12.

Last season, Texas Tech finished with a 12-2 record and won the Big 12 before advancing to the College Football Playoff. The Red Raiders ultimately suffered a 23-0 loss to Oregon in the CFP quarterfinals.

As for Texas, Sarkisian's team finished with a 10-3 record and wasn't able to clinch a CFP appearance. Still, the Longhorns ended their season with a 41-27 win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.