No. 12 Texas Tech kicks off its 2026 season Saturday, Sept. 5, hosting Abilene Christian at Galaxy Stadium in Lubbock. This is a rematch of the 2024 season opener, when Texas Tech survived an 18-point Abilene Christian comeback and needed overtime to escape with a 52-51 win a game that helped set the tone for ACU’s first Division I conference championship season. Texas Tech enters this year ranked and coming off a full offseason of preparation, while ACU has already played once, having loss its opener to Lamar. Both programs have real continuity at the top, with Joey McGuire entering his fifth season leading Tech and Keith Patterson entering his fifth season at ACU.
Texas Tech’s offense enters the season with a mix of new faces and breakout candidates replacing significant production lost to the NFL Draft and the portal. Quarterback Will Hammond takes over as the starter after taking every first-team rep in fall camp, looking to answer questions about whether the offense can produce the same success it had in 2025. At wide receiver, Tech had to retool almost entirely after losing top targets Caleb Douglas and Reggie Virgil to the draft, keeping only one returning starter. The Red Raiders addressed the gap by bringing in Pitt transfer Kenny Johnson, who caught for 695 yards last season, and Liberty transfer Donte Lee Jr., who posted an 80.1 PFF receiving grade with zero drops in 2025, alongside Alabama State transfer Jalen Jones. They’ll line up next to Micah Hudson, a former five-star recruit now entering his third year in Lubbock who many expect to finally break out, and slot receiver Coy Eakin, a returning team captain. While the offensive line returns three starters, including tackles Howard Sampson. and Jacob Potton and center Sheridan Wilson, giving the new-look skill positions a veteran unit to lean on.
Abilene Christian’s offense enters the season with plenty of turnover of its own, replacing seven starters, including three of five offensive linemen and multiple skill players, while learning a new scheme under offensive coordinator Graham Harrell for the fourth straight year. The quarterback room was the most notable storyline of camp, with junior college transfer Kanon Gibson viewed as the favorite to win the job over Western Kentucky transfer Tucker Parks and Nebraska transfer Marcos Davila, thanks to a combination of experience and dual-threat ability. Despite that competition, it was John David Black who took the reins in the season opener against Lamar. At running back, the Wildcats brought in North Texas transfer Makenzie McGill II and Northern Colorado transfer Brandon Johnson to bolster a run-first attack in Harrell’s spread-power system. The receiving corps got a notable addition in Minnesota transfer Cristian Driver, who caught the fourth-quarter touchdown against Lamar, while Vanderbilt transfer Larry Benton III adds a new option at tight end.
The lingering question for Texas Tech is less about talent and more about chemistry in a true season opener with several new starters, including Hammond and most of the receiving corps, need to shake off any first-game rust and establish timing together in a live setting. For Abilene Christian, the challenge is whether an offense that managed just 14 points against Lamar can find more consistency against a Power 4 defense.
Given Tech’s talent gap and the extra week to prepare, expect the Red Raiders to take control in the second half, but don’t be surprised if ACU makes it competitive early this is a Wildcats program that has already shown it can hang with Texas Tech under these lights.
