New-Blood: Is This College Football Team The Next Sleeping Giant Of The NIL Era?

There's no denying that the landscape of college football has shifted drastically in just the last half-decade.

With the advent of NIL, an expanded playoff, and the fluidity of the transfer portal, the old ways of college football are becoming antiquated things of the past.

Sure, the blue-bloods and traditional powers of today and yesteryear will be here to stay, for the most part, but some of these new rules and regulations may make way for a new kid on the college football block.

A "new-blood," as it were.

When discussing who the next sleeping giant of college football will be, we have to identify a program that hasn't quite made that turn yet but is showing signs of a dormant power just waiting to be unleashed on an unsuspecting public (think Oregon in the mid-2000s).

Who has the resources, recruiting footprint, and upward trajectory to make the leap as college football's next big thing?

I think the answer is obvious: the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

If you followed my work at this site for any period of time, you'll know I like what the Red Raiders have going on in Lubbock.

While I am also not convinced they have arrived yet, it's worth noting they are on a trajectory that would suggest they are "next up" in the world of college football powers.

For starters, they reside in the state of Texas, which, as far as recruiting footprints go, is about as good as it gets in modern college football.

They have the resources necessary to make a huge splash with regard to talent acquisition, and have already proven that by attacking the transfer portal and beefing up their roster to take advantage of a wide-open Big 12.

Their recruiting, while still not at the level of a college football elite, is trending up exponentially, with a five-star in each of the next two classes.

Should that trend continue, Texas Tech would have four five-stars on its roster by the 2029 season, giving them a top-end talent profile similar to teams like Clemson or Notre Dame.

They don't currently have the same depth of four-stars as those teams, but it's safe to assume their recruiting profile will only continue to improve as they sign more elite players and turn in more winning seasons.

More winning and more money from boosters should equal more robust recruiting classes, not just a few elite players and a bunch of two- and three-stars.

Speaking of winning, the Red Raiders are one of the media darlings to win a wide-open Big 12 this season and make a Cinderella run to the College Football Playoff.

When you couple the talent acquisition with playing in one of the easier Power 4 conferences, Texas Tech has the opportunity to be a CFP mainstay as early as the end of this season.

They have the resources, they play in a relatively wide-open conference, and I really like what head coach Joey McGuire is cooking up in West Texas.

The signs are all there for Texas Tech to be the next team to grab this sport by the balls and make a decade-long run as a contender on the big stage.

College football has become a sport about either adapting or becoming the latest casualty of an ever-evolving landscape, and if you follow the telltale signs, the Red Raiders are adapting about as well as anyone.

Don't be surprised at all if you look up five years from now and Texas Tech has become a perennial top-10 program in the new-look land of college football.

And if that happens, I'll be right here to say "I told you so."