Former Oregon Ducks QB Officially Named Starter For Week 2 Opponent, Texas Tech.

By 750 The Game STAFF

It is not a surprise that Texas Tech is making Tyler Shough the starting quarterback for the 2023 season.

The timing of making the announcement with an entire summer and fall camp still to come… is notable. Especially considering the Red Raiders’ early-season schedule: a Week One visit to Wyoming, and a Week Two nationally-televised showdown with Shough’s former program, the Oregon Ducks.

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Shough was officially named Texas Tech’s starting quarterback last Friday.

Shough committed to Oregon as a four-star recruit out of Chandler, Ariz. and spent three seasons in Eugene before entering the transfer portal after the 2020 season.

He was Oregon’s starting quarterback in that Covid-shortened 2020 campaign, leading the Ducks to a Pac-12 title with a 4-2 record and a Fiesta Bowl appearance.

Injuries thwarted Shough’s first two seasons in Lubbock, but he came on strong toward the end of last season replacing freshman Behren Morton, who was injured in Tech’s Week 10 road loss at TCU on Nov. 5th.

In the four games he started from that point on, Shough and the Red Raiders went 4-0, claiming victories over Kansas, Iowa State, Oklahoma, and a bowl win over Ole Miss. Shough dazzled in the last game of the year, passing for 242 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 111 yards two scores in a 42-25 win over the Rebels in the Texas Bowl.

Shough became the first Red Raider QB since 1979 to rush for over 100 yards in a game.

This is the third straight season Shough has been named the starting quarterback for Texas Tech entering the year. He suffered a broken collarbone four games into this 2021 season that caused him to miss the majority of the year, then broke the same collarbone in the 2022 season-opener before returning later in the year.

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Shough will be a sixth-year senior this fall though he could claim a medical hardship waiver for a seventh season in 2024 should he so choose. A year of staying healthy, and producing results similar to his late-season surge a season ago, could position Shough to be a top-round NFL Draft pick next spring.

Joey McGuire enters his second season as Texas Tech head coach. The 51-year-old guided the Red Raiders to an 8-5 record in year one.

As for Oregon, they open the season on Sat. Sept. 2nd hosting Portland State before making the trip to Lubbock on Sept. 9th. The Red Raiders visit Mountain West foe Wyoming in their season-opener Sept. 2nd.

Oregon at Texas Tech will be a 4 p.m. kickoff, nationally televised on FOX on Sept. 9th.

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@750TheGame