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When the Texas Tech football team tangles with Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl later this month, Tech coach Joey McGuire will be on the opposite side of the rivalry than he might’ve imagined himself as a kid.
McGuire was born in Texarkana on the Texas-Arkansas border. He told the Avalanche-Journal shortly after Texas Tech hired him in 2021 how he grew up rooting for the Razorbacks and had the ubiquitous Hog hat.
Now, the two programs will square off at 6 p.m. Dec. 27 in Memphis, Tennessee. They were matched up Sunday for a bowl that’ll be televised on ESPN.
“I am really fired up about this bowl and our opponent,” McGuire said. “I grew up a Razorback fan. Whenever I turned 15, I got my own (phone) line. My number was (817) 297-1HOG. We had season tickets for the Razorbacks almost my entire life. I have a lot of family (there).
“All my mom’s side’s in Arkansas, so I grew up calling the Hogs. I cannot wait to be playing Arkansas, hear ’em call ‘Pig Sooie’ and we come right back at ’em with some ‘Raider Power.’”
More: How Texas Tech football can make CFP next year: An off-season to-do list
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After the Southwest Conference admitted Texas Tech in May 1956, the Red Raiders and the Razorbacks played every year from 1957 through 1991. They were conference games starting in 1960.
“This is a throwback of Southwest Conference opponents, a league I grew up watching,” McGuire said. “The Liberty Bowl (is) one of the longest-running bowls that has such a storied history. … I told (Tech athletics director) Kirby (Hocutt), ‘Man, you made my day with this bowl and this matchup.’ “
Both teams made recent trips to the Liberty Bowl, Tech beating Mississippi State 34-7 in 2021 and Arkansas beating Kansas 55-53 in triple overtime in 2022.
Nov 9,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/childhood-hog-joey-mcguire-fired-041414490.html
Author : Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Publish date : 2024-12-09 04:14:00
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