In the modern world of college football, it’s no longer unusual for an opponent to have familiar faces on their roster. However, when an FBS program hosts an FCS program, as Texas Tech will do on Saturday night against Abilene Christian, there usually isn’t much connection between the two teams. That won’t be the case with the Red Raiders and the Wildcats, however.

Perhaps it’s fitting that these two teams, separated by just 165 miles, have a lot in common. It starts with ACU head coach Keith Patterson.

Patterson, now 60, was defensive coordinator at Texas Tech from 2019-2021 under former Red Raider head coach Matt Wells. During that time, he helped stabilize the Red Raiders on that side of the football, which was needed after the Kliff Kingsbury era.

While Patterson’s defenses were never elite, they improved each year of his tenure. After struggling in 2019, ranking No. 127 in the nation in yards allowed per game, Tech improved to No. 99 in 2020 and then jumped to No. 86 in 2021, Patterson’s final season in Lubbock.

Another former Red Raider representing Abilene Christian this year is QB Maverick McIvor. The San Angelo native was part of Texas Tech’s 2019 recruiting class but never made it past the second round of Red Raider QB selection due to a knee injury.

He has been at Abilene Christian since 2022. He has appeared in 21 games (20 starts) and started all 11 games for ACU last year, completing 56% of his passes (164-294) for 1,972 yards and scoring 17 touchdowns with 5 interceptions.

One of McIvor’s top targets in the passing game is likely to be former Red Raider Trey Cleveland. He appeared in 39 games at Tech from 2019-2022 and made 41 catches for 566 yards and two TDs. Last season, Cleveland played for North Texas and caught 27 balls for 415 yards and three touchdowns.

McIvor will also throw passes to former Red Raider Nehemiah Martinez. The Lubbock native played for his hometown school from 2021-23 and caught 34 passes for 426 yards and two touchdowns.

Another ACU receiver who once called Texas Tech home is Jed Castles. He spent just one season in Lubbock (2021) when he was redshirted.

Last season, the Wichita Falls native was named to the All-Conference second team with 25 catches for 241 yards and 3 touchdowns. The year before, he had 9 catches for 67 yards and 1 touchdown for the Wildcats.

Other former Red Raiders on ACU’s roster include wide receiver Hut Graham, offensive lineman Tay Yanta and punter Grant Nickel. We wish all of these former members of the Texas Tech football program the best, but hope their return to the 806 on Saturday night is pretty bumpy.