MEMPHIS (AP) – Joey McGuire grew up on the Texas-Arkansas border with his family who had season tickets to the Razorbacks, a team known locally as the Hogs. The number on his first landline phone as a teenager literally ended in 1464 – or 1HOG.

McGuire now concludes his third season as coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders with a game against Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl on Friday night.

“I’ll enjoy hearing it, but we won’t hear it for long,” McGuire said of the Arkansas fans doing their familiar cheer. “We will be ready to play against them and we plan to come out victorious.”

Texas Tech (8-4, 6-3 Big 12) ended the regular season by winning its last two games, including a victory over West Virginia. The Red Raiders also won this AutoZone-sponsored bowl in 2021 by defeating Mississippi State. A win Friday night would give Texas Tech its first nine-win season since 2009.

These old Southwest Conference foes last met in 2015, with Texas Tech winning a total of three of the last four games, including the one nine years ago.

Arkansas (6-6, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) can end coach Sam Pittman’s fifth season with a win after a narrow loss to then-No. 24 Missouri ends the regular season. His Razorbacks needed three overtimes to defeat Kansas in one of the most exciting bowls of 2022.

Being here is a nice change of pace after going 4-8 in 2023, even as Pittman makes up for the early signing period, signing 15 players in the transfer portal and recovering from a total hip replacement.

“Last year was worse,” Pittman said. “We weren’t in a bowl. We weren’t near our children. They were home for Christmas.”

Quarterback change for Texas Tech

With Behren Morton opting to have shoulder surgery after the regular season, true freshman Will Hammond will make his first start for Texas Tech. He will be the eighth freshman quarterback in school history to start and the second to do so in a bowl. He joins Davis Webb, who led the Red Raiders to a 2013 Holiday Bowl victory over Arizona State.

Whoever comes, stays and goes

The Red Raiders will be without wide receiver Josh Kelly, who caught 89 passes for 1,023 yards and five touchdowns. He ranked eighth in the Football Bowl Subdivision for receptions, but Kelly is preparing for the NFL draft. Texas Tech was the third college stop for the sixth-grader after four seasons at Fresno State and one at Washington State.

They will have running back Tahj Boyd to help Hammond. Boyd ran for 1,505 yards and 17 touchdowns in 11 games, including a season-high 188 yards in that win over West Virginia. Boyd also caught 28 passes for 199 yards and a TD.

Arkansas will be without four key Razorbacks who opted out of preparing for the NFL Draft, including wide receiver Andrew Armstrong and defensive linemen Eric Gregory and Landon Jackson. The biggest hit might be running back Ja’Quinden Jackson, who led the Razorbacks with 15 touchdowns and was part of an offense that ranked second in the SEC and 10th nationally with 32 rushing touchdowns.

Pittman still has quarterback Taylen Green, who passed for seven touchdowns and threw 13 more.