Kliff Kingsbury knew exactly what was happening while he prepared for Texas in last year’s regular season finale. He felt it when his team faced a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter. 

He just subscribes to the “Never let ‘em see you sweat” philosophy.

“You always try to make it about the players, to understand this is about them and their experiences and how can we make them successful and better people,” Kingsbury said. “When you keep that as your focus, all the other noise and stuff that’s going on, you can deal with that after the game.”

The Red Raiders rallied, and Kingsbury is back for a sixth season, aiming for his first winning season since 2015. He’ll have to do it with a mostly rebuilt offense that lost starting quarterback Nic Shimonek, leading rusher Justin Stockton and four of the team’s top five receivers. All four, Kingsbury likes to point out, will be in NFL camps this fall, too.

“I think we’ll be a more physical football team,” he said. “I think we’ll be more poised. We went through some ups and downs last year and it made us tougher as a team. We’ll lean on the offensive line and try to run the ball more.”

And — finally — lean on a defense that made strides under defensive coordinator David Gibbs in year three. The Red Raiders jumped from 126th in defensive yards per play to 77th, its best mark since 2013, when Kingsbury’s team went 8-5 with a flip-flopping duo of freshman quarterbacks beginning their first steps toward the NFL: Baker Mayfield and Davis Webb.

Gibbs’ defense returns 10 starters from last year’s unit, headlined by linebacker Dakota Allen, safety Jah’Shawn Johnson and cornerback Justus Parker, who picked off four passes.

“We got better last year, but we’re still friggin’ bottom tier,” Gibbs said. “Not only are our starters back, the backups are back. So, it’s time to take the next step and play some decent defense.”

Kingsbury’s unsettled quarterback competition won’t be settled until much closer to the season’s arrival. Freshman Alan Bowman enrolled early. Junior McLane Carter is entering his second season in the program but struggled in the season finale at Texas before being benched. Jett Duffey, the likely favorite to win the job, returned to the team this spring after sitting out 2017 because of a university suspension.

They all spent the spring earning No. 1 reps, but Kingsbury made his intentions clear: The real competition doesn’t start until preseason camp.

For his first five seasons, the Red Raiders have had a consistent identity. They could score in bunches. They could throw the ball all over the field. And the defense became a consistent punchline that kept the program in the bottom half of the Big 12, with zero winning seasons in league play.

Tech won’t be running the Power-I anytime soon, but this year’s team might have the distinct flavor of competent defense and lean more on its running game.

“An experienced offensive line is separated by trust. You see it in play calls. They trust us to run the ball within the 10-yard line instead of play action or stuff like that. They trust us to get it in. Or fourth and 1, third and short, you know it’s a run inside right down your throat,” junior tackle Travis Bruffy said. “That’s our goal this year, to sway the coaches’ minds. We know what we can do. We know what we’re bringing to the table, but we want to make the coaching staff trust us.”

Will the change in identity — even if it’s based mostly on personnel — mean more wins? Kingsbury better hope so. No coach in the state has a hotter seat, and if it doesn’t, Kingsbury may be stuck spending another November coaching to keep his job.