The latest domino just fell in Lubbock. The Big 12 filed a complaint against the Texas Tech Red Raiders amid the ongoing drama surrounding quarterback Brendan Sorsby's eligibility following his admission of gambling on college football, and his own team.
The complaint goes after the Red Raiders and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has backed Texas Tech to the nth degree over the last week.
According to On3, the complaint is an effort "to enforce its bylaws and potentially sanction the school for plans to play Brendan Sorsby."
Simply, the Red Raiders are getting blown out of the water for backing their quarterback after he directly broke nearly every rule in the book surrounding student-athletes partaking in sports gambling. The Texas Longhorns, who left the Big 12 just under three years ago, should be as grateful as ever to be clear of the drama and problems unfolding because of their former in-state opponent.
In the filing, the Big 12 laid out exactly what it could "do" to Texas Tech. It outlined the possibility of barring the Red Raiders from playing in postgame contests, which could include the conference championship game, as well as withholding revenue distributions that would normally go to Tech for representing the Big 12 in the postseason.
If you want to get an idea of what kind of sanctions the Big 12 can impose of Texas Tech for, essentially, playing an ineligible player. pic.twitter.com/iCy42qqnK0
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoATH) June 15, 2026
In other words, the complaint from the Red Raiders' own conference could spell ruin to any accomplishments that Texas Tech pulls off this season, if it even has any opponents still willing to take the field.
Steve Sarkisian's strategy of ignoring Red Raiders continues to pay off
Of course, the Horns and head coach Steve Sarkisian have been tied to the Red Raiders throughout the postseason after Sark supposedly made comments directed toward Texas Tech. Then, Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire sounded off on the Longhorns and has continued to do so, grasping at straws to seemingly defend his team's brand.
Also read: The Texas Longhorns are officially living rent-free in Joey McGuire's mind
Meanwhile, Sarkisian has focused on his actual job: preparing the Texas football team for the upcoming season and the teams that the Horns are actually scheduled to play.
While infamous personalities like Pat McAfee have backed McGuire's stance, the Longhorns have received support from National Championship-winning coaches like Urban Meyer, a perfect metaphor for which team is going about this situation correctly.
The Horns left the Red Raiders and the Big 12 in the dust three years ago, and continue to show why the University of Texas brand is so superior to the brand coming out of Lubbock. As the Red Raiders go down in flames, the Longhorns continue to prime themselves as one of the top teams in the country.
As people like Paxton, Cody Campbell, and McGuire support Sorsby, the big names in Austin continue to stay clear of the drama, especially as Texas QB1 Arch Manning keeps his head down and focused on the game.
Read more: Brendan Sorsby ruling is another example of Texas Tech fighting to keep pace with Texas
Only time will truly tell what happens with the Red Raiders and Sorsby. Whether the quarterback can actually play for Texas Tech, if any Big 12 team will actually take the field against the Red Raiders, or if the conference even takes any of Tech's wins seriously, possibly barring them from the conference title game and any earned revenue, remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, the Texas Longhorns are one of the frontrunners for the SEC Championship game, and a return to the College Football Playoff, if not a run to the National Championship game itself.
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