Over the last month, it seems like fans remembered that the Texas Longhorns and Texas Tech Red Raiders used to be in-state conference rivals. After an unspecified comment by Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire sounded off on the Horns, and has apparently decided to die on the hill that the Red Raiders and the Longhorns must play each other this season.
Also read: The Texas Longhorns are officially living rent-free in Joey McGuire's mind
From challenging Texas to a schedule-altering Week 1 matchup to saying the Longhorns were too scared to play Tech, McGuire has been as vocal as possible about his opinion on the matter. Meanwhile, as Texas goes through official visit weekend and its first week of summer practices, Sarkisian has remained quiet, focused on the actual tasks at hand, and legendary college football coach Urban Meyer agrees with his tactic.
"Texas needs to worry about one thing. They don't need to hype up a billionaire," Meyer said on his podcast The Triple Option. "Texas, stay away from that one man... Get to the playoffs."
Texas Longhorns need to keep ignoring Joey McGuire and Texas Tech
Meyer was referencing Cody Campbell, the Chairman of the Board of Regents at Texas Tech and the co-founder and co-CEO of Double Eagle Energy Holdings. He's a billionaire booster for the Red Raiders and has backed McGuire's campaign to play the Horns. The three-time National Championship-winning head coach put it perfectly: "There's only one team that would [give an] advantage to," Meyer said.
Of course, beating Tech would be fun, but it wouldn't actually do all that much for Texas with a nine-game SEC slate and another power conference matchup against the Ohio State Buckeyes already on the Longhorns' schedule. Meanwhile, if the odds were overcome and Texas Tech pulled off the upset, it could derail the Horns' campaign to return to the College Football Playoff for the third time in four years.
Rivalry games might make college football great, but the Longhorns should "stay away" from Texas Tech, says Urban Meyer.@3xOptionShow: https://t.co/Aj153aibOW pic.twitter.com/14foMxgWIE
— CBS Austin (@cbsaustin) June 13, 2026
Legendary running back Mark Ingram, who co-hosts The Triple Option, echoed Meyer's sentiments on the matter.
"There's no win for Texas in playing that game," Ingram said, despite co-host Rob Stone jumping in to argue that at least the fans would enjoy the matchup.
"Who cares about their fanbase? Get to the playoffs," Meyer said.
Instead of taking a trip to the panhandle or hosting the Red Raiders, Texas will kick off its season with a home matchup against the Texas State Bobcats, a week before facing Meyer's former team, Ohio State, in Week 2
Read more: Pat McAfee jumping aboard the Joey McGuire train tells you everything you need to know
The last time that Texas Tech and Texas shared a football field, the Longhorns walked away with a resounding 57-7 victory over the Red Raiders. Not to mention that throughout the "rivalry," the Horns have won 55 of the 83 matchups.
There is no need for Sarkisian to entertain McGuire's challenge, but there's every reason for the Red Raiders to want to play Texas. In other words, the Longhorns can ignore the noise coming out of Lubbock, and just let a dead dog lie.
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