After the Texas Red Raiders’ offense threw two picks and scored zero in 60 minutes against the Oregon Ducks in the Orange Bowl, booster Cody Campbell brought in the No. 1 QB in the portal, saying, “We are coming back stronger than ever,” implying they’ll be ranked No. 1 in the transfer portal again. As persevering and inspiring as it may sound, SMU’s billionaire believes Campbell might simply be burning money.

On January 11, SMU’s Oil Tycoon and Armstrong Oil & Gas CEO Bill Armstrong joined the ‘On the Pony Express’ Podcast, wearing sunglasses, to give a blunt reality check. He stated why the Texas Tech Red Raiders might not win the national championship, even after signing Brendan Sorsby, the $5 million man, from Cincinnati via the transfer portal.

“The transfer portal is being dictated by NIL. Dude, it’s out of f****** control,” Armstrong said.

My good friend Cody Campbell, who is the most outspoken about the transfer portal and NIL, just paid some kid over $5 million to come from Cincinnati and be his new quarterback. Cody, you’re thinking this right now. You’re not going to say it out loud, but I know you’re thinking it.”

Bill dismissed Cody’s logic that if you want to battle for a national title, you have to have capital or spend money. Truth be told, spending big helps the cause, but does not guarantee success in the playoffs. He believes deep down Campbell knows it too, especially after Texas Tech’s 23-0 loss to Dan Lanning’s Ducks.

He doubled down by sharing advice he learned years ago in the oil business: “Somebody once told me, don’t ever sit down at a poker table you can’t afford to stay at. Cody Campbell’s a billionaire. No doubt about it. But he’s sitting at a table with Phil Knight.”

And that’s the problem here.

Even though Cody Campbell is extremely wealthy, he’s still going up against people with far more money. Phil Knight, the Nike founder backing Oregon, is worth tens of billions of dollars.

Even though Cody Campbell spent $28 to $35 million on the dollars, including $12-$16 million spent on just 21 players on the portal, there’s always a bigger fish.

Nike’s founder has been determined to get his alma mater a new stadium since the 1990s by donating substantial amounts of money. According to Sports Illustrated, Phil Knight poured over $1 billion into the program and still hasn’t touched a natty, even with Dan Lanning at the helm. Plus, it’s not even happening to them this year.

Unlike Cody Campbell ($1.2–$2.5 billion approx), Phil Knight’s $45 billion fortune isn’t running dry anytime soon. However, if that day comes, Red Raiders fans might turn their backs on Cody Campbell if he doesn’t find alternative ways to keep the money flowing.

With that being said, one thing we can outright assure you of is that Cody Campbell isn’t stopping, at least for next season.

Cody Campbell’s Big 2026

The plan is to utilize their collective, the Matador Club, to invest substantial funds and attract top players from the transfer portal. The last thing Campbell wants is for Texas Tech to be a one-season gold rush.

So far, the Red Raiders have been highly active in the January 2026 transfer portal window. Obviously, their most enormous pull was Brendan Sorsby. He’s the man with the second or third-highest total touchdowns in the Power Four conference.

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They didn’t stop there on offense, adding wide receivers Kenny Johnson (48 catches, 695 yards, 5 TDs), Donte Lee (32 catches, 589 yards, 5 TDs), and Jalen Jones (51 catches, 1,167 yards, 9 TDs) to give them plenty of weapons to throw the football to.

The defense needed some serious help, with players like Romello Height, Lee Hunter, Jacob Rodriguez, and David Bailey heading to the NFL. They hit the portal hard to fix the defensive line and pass rush. They brought in edge rushers Trey White (7 sacks), Adam Trick (8.5 sacks), and Amarie Fleming.

Plus, they added defensive tackles Mateen Ibirogba (a top-10 portal player), Jojo Johnson (8 QB hurries), Bryce Butler, and Julien Laventure, among others.

Texas Tech is still on the hunt for even more elite players. Big names like Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman and Minnesota safety Koi Perich remain on their wish list. Examining Cody Campbell’s Matador Club’s purchasing power reveals that they are outperforming almost everyone in the country.

The only question is how much is too much. Plus, how long the Red Raiders can keep the oil show running.