Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Prepare for Red Raiders
October 13, 2003 | Cowboy Football
Oklahoma State [5-1, 1-1]
vs.
Texas Tech [5-1, 2-0]
Saturday, Oct. 18, 2003 • 2:30 p.m. [CST]
Boone Pickens Stadium [48,500] • Stillwater, Okla.
TV - ABC • radio - Cowboy Radio Network
internet broadcast - www.okstate.com
Cowboys Host Red Raiders
Oklahoma State hosts Texas Tech Saturday as the Cowboys continue Big 12 Conference play against one of the most explosive offensive teams in the country. The Red Raiders will blow into Stillwater on a three-game winning streak and with offensive numbers that are almost staggering. The Red Raiders are 5-1 overall, 2-0 in Big 12 Conference play and fresh from a 52-21 win over Iowa State Saturday night in Lubbock. Oklahoma State is 5-1 overall and 1-1 in Big 12 Conference play. The Cowboys are coming off a 38-34 win over Kansas State at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Top 25 Matchup
Oklahoma State used a 38-34 win over Kansas State to jump back into the national rankings. The Cowboys are ranked 24th in this week's USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll and 23rd in the Associated Press Poll. OSU is back in the rankings after falling out following the season-opening loss at Nebraska. The Cowboys were 24th in both major polls when they went to Lincoln in late August. Texas Tech is ranked 23rd this week in the Coaches Poll and receiving votes in the AP Poll. It will be the first time since 1997 a ranked OSU team has hosted a ranked opponent. On October 11, 1997, 20th-ranked Oklahoma State defeated 24th-ranked Colorado, 33-29. Since 1976, there have been six games in Stillwater involving two teams ranked in the top 25, and the Cowboys are 3-3 in those games.
OSU-Tech on ABC
Saturday's game between Oklahoma State and Texas Tech will be broadcast live on ABC and kick off at approximately 2:30 p.m. (CDT). It will be Oklahoma State's second appearance of the season on ABC, and the Cowboys' 19th all-time appearance on the national network. It will, however, mark the first time ABC has televised a game from Boone Pickens Stadium since 1983 when the Cowboys defeated Tulsa, 9-0. It will be ABC's seventh trip to Stillwater, and the Cowboys are 3-3 in the previous six.
On the Offensive
Saturday afternoon's matchup between Oklahoma State and Texas Tech will feature two of the top scoring teams in the country. Texas Tech is second in the NCAA in scoring offense, averaging 46.8 points per game. Oklahoma State is fifth in the same category, averaging 40.5 points per game. Texas Tech has scored 40 or more points in 5-of-6 games of the 2003 season, and has topped the 50-point mark in three games. Oklahoma State has topped the 50-point mark twice (SMU and Louisiana-Lafayette) and has scored 40 or more in four of its six games to date.
Homecoming
Saturday's football encounter between OSU and Texas Tech is the main event of Homecoming weekend at Oklahoma State. The nation's largest Homecoming celebration begins Friday with the traditional walk around decorated Greek houses and a 9 p.m. pep rally at Boone Pickens Stadium. Saturday festivities begin with the annual Homecoming Parade, which will feature former basketball All-American Bryant Reeves as the parade marshall.
There's No Place Like Home
Last week's 38-34 win over Kansas State was a milestone victory in several ways. It snapped a nine-game losing streak against Kansas State, it vaulted the Cowboys back into the national rankings, and it was Oklahoma State's ninth straight victory on its home field. The Cowboys have not lost in Stillwater since Sept. 14, 2002. OSU's nine straight victims include SMU, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Baylor, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Southwest Missouri State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Kansas State. O-State is now 4-0 at home in 2003. If the Cowboys can go through the 2003 season unbeaten at home, it would be a first since 1984 when OSU was 6-0 on the home turf, defeating Bowling Green, San Diego State, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri and Iowa State.
Speaking of Home
When Texas Tech invades Boone Pickens Stadium Saturday afternoon, the Cowboys will be trying to win their 10th straight home game, a streak that is headed in a historical direction. The longest home winning streak in OSU football history came over three seasons (1911-13) and reached 11 games. Oklahoma State's current streak began on Sept. 21, 2002, with a 52-16 win over SMU.
Tickets and Attendance
A limited number of tickets for Saturday's game between OSU and Texas Tech are available by calling the Athletic Ticket Office at 1-877-ALL-4-OSU. A crowd of 47,000-plus is expected for Saturday's game. Individual game tickets for the Nov. 8 game against Texas and the Nov. 15 game against Kansas are also still available.
Speaking of Tickets
Oklahoma State established a single-season record for season ticket sales in 2003. As of last week, Oklahoma State had sold 33,196 season tickets, breaking a record that stood since 1985. Through four games of the 2003 home schedule, Oklahoma State's attendance has been strong. The Cowboys drew 44,158 against Wyoming, 42,152 vs. Southwest Missouri State, 44,700 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette and 46,087 against Kansas State. That's a four-game average of 44,274.
Pokes 4-0 in Non-League Play
Oklahoma State's 56-3 win over Louisiana-Lafayette two weeks ago completed a 4-0 run through the non-league schedule in 2003. O-State sailed through the non-league portion of its schedule by outscoring four opponents, 198-36. Against Wyoming, Southwest Missouri State, SMU and Louisiana-Lafayette, the Cowboys averaged 49.5 points while allowing an average of just nine points per game. It's the first time the Cowboys have been unbeaten in non-league encounters since 1997 when OSU defeated Louisiana-Lafayette, Fresno State and Louisiana-Monroe. It's the first time since 1988 the Cowboys have been 4-0 against non-conference opponents during the regular season. The ‘88 Pokes defeated Miami (Ohio), Texas A&M, Tulsa and Texas Tech.
OSU-Texas Tech, Briefly
Saturday will mark the 31st time Oklahoma State and Texas Tech have met on the football field, and the Red Raiders have an 18-9-3 advantage. The teams didn't meet at all until 1935, and played sporadically until the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996. Since the Big 12 came into existence, Texas Tech has dominated the series, winning six of the seven games that have been played. Oklahoma State's lone win during that stretch came in Stillwater in 1999 when the Cowboys tagged the Red Raiders with a 41-21 loss.
Unpleasant Numbers
Texas Tech's domination of the recent series with Oklahoma State is evident in the numbers. Since 1996, Texas Tech is 6-1 vs. O-State, and has outscored the Cowboys, 259-118. That's an average of 37.0 to 16.8, and an average margin of victory for Texas Tech of 20.2 points. The Red Raiders have scored 49 points in each of the past two games against Oklahoma State, a 49-24 win in Lubbock last year and a 49-30 win in Stillwater in 2001. The most lopsided score in the history of the OSU-Texas Tech series came in 2000 when the Red Raiders posted a 58-0 shutout in Lubbock. The Cowboys have never enjoyed much consistency against Texas Tech. Only twice in the 30-year history of the series has OSU beaten Texas Tech in back-to-back games. OSU won four straight between 1942 and 1945 and won two straight, the first in 1975 and the second when the series resumed in 1988 in Tokyo, Japan.
