Seven weeks and two days before the national championship, Ryan Day watched Michigan’s flag flutter on the Shoe’s midfield like salt in an open wound. Fans roared “F— Ryan Day,” while Wolverines players danced on Ohio State’s crest after a 13–10 victory. But here’s the thing about rock bottom. That’s where comebacks are built. By season’s end, the Buckeyes stormed through the inaugural 12-team Playoff, outscoring opponents 145-75, and capped it off by taking down Notre Dame 34-23 for a seventh national title. That’s how you turn pain into power. And apparently, one Big 12 HC took notes.

Texas Tech’s $26.6 million man, Joey McGuire, found himself in the middle of his own storm after a meltdown in Tempe. But he wasn’t wallowing. In X post on October 21, the Red Raiders HC revealed that his team had interviewed a former Ohio State staff member for an open trainer position. Curious about how the Buckeyes rebounded from adversity, he asked her how the team responded after last year’s losses. “Everybody in that building was pissed off,” she told him. Not mad at the coaches or other players. “They’re pissed off at themselves by taking ownership for that loss,” he pointed out. “And now I ask everybody else in this building to do the same thing and be pissed off this week.” You can tell a lot about a coach by what lesson he takes from losing.

In the last game, Texas Tech blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead, surrendering to Arizona State 26–22 after Sun Devils QB Sam Leavitt carved up the final two minutes like a veteran surgeon. “That quarterback changes everything. He’s a difference maker,” Joey McGuire admitted, still processing how his team went from comfortable to collapsed in a heartbeat.

It wasn’t just the loss, it was how it happened. Without QB Behren Morton (knee injury), the Red Raiders’ high-octane offense sputtered to 276 total yards after averaging nearly 560 per game. The defense, missing tackle Skyler Gill-Howard, was gashed for 394. When tight end Terrance Carter Jr. was carted off with a leg injury, the mood turned grim. Texas Tech joined Miami, Mississippi, and LSU as the four top-10 team losses this week. “We’re fixin’ to find out how we face a loss,” Joey McGuire added. “That’s the adversity you’ve got to find out.” And he’s already taking accountability.

Joey McGuire is learning the hard way

“The biggest thing is I feel like I let them down,” Joey McGuire admitted postgame. “You just gotta come back and look at the routine and what you’ve done. You’ve gotta look at the film tomorrow and it’s not going to be fun to watch.” He’s not wrong. That film showed a defense missing tackles, a QB room scrambling, and an offense that forgot how to close. But it also showed what the HC wants to build. A team that owns its failures instead of explaining them away.

“I wanted to be 7-0,” he said. “But your goal is still to get to AT&T Stadium and get in the playoffs. If you let this one game be your season, then you’ve missed the mark.” Now, with a matchup against the Big 12’s cellar-dwelling Oklahoma State on deck, Texas Tech isn’t looking at standings or narratives. They’re looking at themselves the way Ohio State once did.

Because when a team’s angry for the right reasons, that’s when the turnaround begins. And that’s the main thing for Joey McGuire and Texas Tech right now.