Deion Sanders, Colorado lead Texas Tech football's 5 biggest games of the 2024 season

There are a number of big games for the 2024 Texas Tech football season , but which ones are the best of the best?

Here's a look at the Red Raiders' biggest contests as they navigate the expanded Big 12 Conference in Joey McGuire's third year as head coach.

August 31 vs. Abilene Christian (Season opener) The opponent is not the needle mover here. The Red Raiders' season opener marks the official debut of the finished south end zone project which that has been in the works for almost two years. The eye sore of scaffolding in the background will be gone and it'll mark a new dawn in Jones AT&T Stadium.

Oct. 5 at Arizona It's extremely feasible Texas Tech is 5-0 when it heads to Tucson for its first big test of the season against the Wildcats. Arizona, one of the new Big 12 additions, surprised everyone last season and returns a dynamic pairing of quarterback Noah Fifita and receiver Tetarioa McMillian.

More: These are the 5 best quarterbacks Texas Tech football will face in 2024 season

Nov. 9 vs. Colorado A meeting between two of the conferences most outspoken coaches, though they're on very different ends of the spectrum. McGuire used to coach Deion Sanders' son in high school and has said in the past he has great respect for the one known as Primetime. The question is where each team will be positioned entering this contest.

Nov. 23 at Oklahoma State The Red Raiders will have an open date between the Colorado and Oklahoma State contests, a late-season break that should be beneficial before taking one of the Big 12's favorites . It'll be a reunion with Tech taking on former quarterback Alan Bowman.

More: Big 12 football power rankings: Where does Texas Tech figure into the preseason outlook?

Nov. 30 vs. West Virginia Depending on how the season breaks, this could be a critical game in deciding the top-tier bowl games for Big 12 teams and Texas Tech and West Virginia both figure to be in that argument in the regular-season finale. The game could also determine the representatives in the conference championship game.