It’s been nearly five months since Texas Tech made its first-ever CFP appearance, but Steve Sarkisian still doesn’t buy into its in-state rival’s success. A A week ago, the Longhorns’ head coach took a subtle shot at the Red Raiders without mentioning the team’s name, claiming he could go undefeated playing the Red Raiders’ schedule with his backup players. That’s provoking Tech head coach Joey McGuire, and he stepped up to fire back.

“But your twos and threes? There’s got to be a level of respect,” said McGuire during his appearance on Josh Pate’s College Football Show this week. “Come on, man, I know you’ve got a really good football team, and he [Sarkisian] does have a great football team. I am really anxious to see them this year. And I know when you feel as a coach you have a really good football team, sometimes you say some stuff, and then your players have to back up on the field.”

The ‘anxious’ part of McGuire’s quote may be a sarcastic jibe, but there’s no denying that the program felt disrespected with what Sarkisian said. Last year, the Red Raiders finished with an 11-1 regular season record. That included wins over the likes of BYU, Utah, and Kansas State. In fact, they beat the Cougars again in the Big 12 Championship game. McGuire’s team earned the No. 4 seed, along with a first-round bye in the 12-team CFP last season.

However, this success was possible because Texas Tech played a much lighter Big 12 schedule than Texas’s toughest SEC schedule, according to Sarkisian. He publicly pointed this out at a Houston Touchdown Club booster event while discussing his frustration with the CFP selection committee, saying, “There’s a team in our state in another conference with a schedule that I would argue, if I played with our twos and threes, we could go undefeated, and they’ll probably make the CFP this year.”

Sarkisian’s frustration stemmed from Texas’s 2025 CFP snub, and the coach argued that the committee didn’t value the Longhorns’ strength of schedule. Despite playing one of the nation’s toughest schedules, the Longhorns’ three losses to OSU, Florida, and Georgia ended their playoff run. But after Sark’s claim, McGuire is ready to take on the challenge of playing against Texas this season.

“My deal was, if you’re going to say that, man, one, come out and just say who you’re talking about, and then two, let’s play,” said the Texas Tech head coach last week. “Like, I feel great about my team, whoever the quarterback is. I feel really good about my team. So I would love to play, man, for so many reasons. I’m hoping, we’re working our tail off to make the playoffs again, but I hope that round one is against the University of Texas, or whenever we play. I mean, I like, I want to play those games.”

Sarkisian’s subtle take on the Red Raiders, noting an easy Big 12 slate, was notable given his first three seasons in Texas, when he didn’t have any undefeated seasons in the same conference. In 2023, Texas won the Big 12 title and made the CFP appearance before its transition to the SEC in 2024. Obviously, he showed an immense rise since arriving at a new conference, but he targeted the wrong team, according to a CFB analyst.

“The drama between Texas Tech and Texas, which, by the way, Sark brought upon himself… If I were him, even though I’ve hypothetically done this to myself by deciding to take a shot at Texas Tech in their schedule, I would not play Texas Tech,” said analyst Spencer McLaughlin.

However, Texas Tech isn’t ready to stop the drama here. The Red Raiders’ donor Cody Campbell took the challenge a step further.

Cody Campbell’s take on Texas vs. Texas Tech drama

The Raiders’ Board of Regents chairman, Cody Campbell, blasted Sarkisian on X. He offered to buy out both teams’ Week 1 opponents after Texas Tech’s head coach expressed a desire to play Texas this season. McGuire is basically ready to take action following the disrespect that came from the rival team’s coach. “We would love to play Texas … We’ll find out if their twos and threes can win in this conference,” said McGuire at a Big 12 meeting.

Campbell took that one step further, writing, “Upping the ante: @TechAthletics will pay the buyout for both the ACU and Texas State games. Let’s go!!! @CoachSark.”

A $2.4 million buyout is needed for those games, as per FBSchedules. However, the possibility of this is questionable, as Texas’s and Texas Tech’s 2026 Week 1 game is already scheduled. Texas will face Texas State, and the Red Raiders will face Abilene this season.