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Three Red Raiders remain in the hunt for the Super Bowl

Patrick Mahomes II

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Texas Tech will have Patrick Mahomes II, Zech McPhearson and Kerry Hyder Jr. all in the championship round Sunday

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech will have at least one Red Raider playing in Super Bowl LVII as quarterback Patrick Mahomes II, defensive back Zech McPhearson and defensive lineman Kerry Hyder Jr. all advanced this weekend from the divisional round.

The NFC Championship will kick off next Sunday’s doubleheader with McPhearson and his Philadelphia Eagles hosting Hyder and the San Francisco 49ers. Mahomes will follow immediately after as the Kansas City Chiefs will look to avenge last year’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship from Arrowhead Stadium.

This will be the 13th time in a 14-year stretch and the 18th time during the Big 12 era where a Red Raider has appeared on a Super Bowl roster. For Mahomes, he will be looking for his third Super Bowl appearance in only his fourth NFL season as a starting quarterback, while both McPhearson and Hyder will be searching for their first-ever trip to the biggest game in football.

McPhearson and Hyder both recorded a tackle in each of their respective divisional round wins as the Eagles trounced the New York Giants, 38-7, while the 49ers held on to top the Dallas Cowboys, 19-12. Mahomes toughed out a first half ankle injury to push the Chiefs past the Jacksonville Jaguars, 27-20, after completing 22-of-30 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns.

In addition to Hyder, the 49ers also boast two fellow Red Raider letterwinners on their coaching staff in defensive line coach Kris Kocurek and assistant head coach and running backs coach Anthony Lynn. Kocurek, who was a three-time All-Big 12 selection for the Red Raiders from 1998-00, will be looking to get back to the Super Bowl for the second time with the 49ers as San Francisco previously fell to Mahomes and the Chiefs, 31-20, in 2020.

Lynn, meanwhile, is in his first season with the 49ers where he will look to reach the Super Bowl for the first time as a coach after winning a pair of titles during his playing career with the Denver Broncos (Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII). One of the top running backs in program history, Lynn rushed for 1,972 yards and 20 touchdowns from 1988-91 under legendary head coach Spike Dykes.

The 49ers will kick off Sunday’s doubleheader with a 2 pm start in Philadelphia on FOX. The Chiefs and Bengals will follow at 5:30 pm on CBS.