Texas Tech’s 2025 season has been a masterclass in red zone efficiency, and it’s got my attention. Sure, they’ve shelled out big bucks for talent, but money alone doesn’t win games, schemes do. Through the first six weeks, the Red Raiders led the nation with 36 red zone trips, cashing in on 33 of them. That’s a 91.7% scoring rate, folks. When I dove into the film, one thing jumped out: their squeeze formations, particularly the Trio Squeeze, are shredding defenses in tight spaces. This is gold for high school coaches looking to punch it in from short yardage situations.
Let’s redefine the “red zone” for Texas Tech. Forget the traditional 20-yard line. The Red Raiders shift gears at the 30, where their offense morphs into a compact, physical machine. Below, we’ll break down the Trio Squeeze formation, its flagship play (Inside Zone), and a slick play-action wrinkle that high school coaches can steal for their playbooks.
The Trio Squeeze Formation: A Defensive Nightmare
Texas Tech’s Trio Squeeze is a versatile beast, adaptable to multiple personnel groups, whether you’re rolling with zero tight ends or three. The Red Raiders often shift into this look from a four-wide spread, creating the illusion of an airy, pass-heavy attack (think 10 or 11 personnel). But when they snap into Trio Squeeze, it’s a gut punch to defenses. The formation forces defensive backs into the box, overloading the front and leaving secondaries scrambling.
Here’s the setup:
• The Wing: The innermost receiver aligns as a wing, just outside the tackle or tight end, ready to crash down on the defensive end.
• The Stack: Two receivers align in a tight stack just outside the wing. The on-ball receiver (No. 2) is typically on the line, with the off-ball receiver (No. 3) either directly behind, slightly inside, or just outside. This stack creates confusion, muddying run-pass reads for linebackers and safeties.
• The Running Back: Aligned to the strong side 95% of the time, giving Texas Tech a four-man surface to the formation’s strength.
• The Backside: A lone receiver on the weak side, often isolated for a one-on-one matchup.
This setup screams flexibility. High school coaches can plug in different personnel and use a tight end as the wing, a slot as the stack, or even a physical running back in the wing role. The stack’s alignment messes with defensive keys, forcing DBs to play closer to the line and exposing them to roles they’d rather avoid.
Inside Zone: The Bread-and-Butter
Trio Squeeze is built for Inside Zone, Texas Tech’s go-to run play that accounts for over 50% of their red zone snaps. It’s an interior run with a twist, leveraging the formation’s geometry to overwhelm defenses. Here’s how it breaks down:
Blocking Assignments: