Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Prepare For Bulldogs
April 17, 2003 | Cowboy Football
It's Louisiana Tech for the First Time Saturday night will mark the first-ever meeting between Oklahoma State and Louisiana Tech on the football field. The Bulldogs also represent the fifth team from Louisiana to appear on an OSU football schedule. The Cowboys have played Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, LSU and Centenary. It is also the first of two-straight first-time opponents for the Cowboys. Next week's opponent, Northern Arizona, is also a first-time football foe for O-State.
Tickets Tickets for Saturday night's home opener and season tickets for the 2001 campaign are still available at the Athletic Ticket Office. OSU's home schedule, in addition to La. Tech and Northern Arizona, features Missouri, Texas, Colorado and Texas Tech. The ticket office is located on the north side of the Athletics Center. Tickets can also be purchased by calling toll-free, 1-877-ALL-4-OSU.
Orange Peel Week The home football opener for OSU must also mean it's Orange Peel week. This year's Orange Peel will be Friday night at Lewis Field and will feature comedian David Spade, as well as musical entertainment from Sister Hazel and Blues Traveler. Orange Peel is in its sixth year, and the student-run production has featured entertainers including Bill Cosby, Jeff Foxworthy, Randy Travis and Sinbad.
On the Air Saturday night's game will be broadcast live on the Cowboy Radio Network with stations in Oklahoma from border to border. The network is distributed by Cowboy Sports Properties, a division of Learfield Communications in Jefferson City, Mo. Dave Hunziker is in his first season as the radio voice of OSU football and basketball. He replaced Bill Teegins, who was one of 10 victims in the January plane crash in Colorado. Hunziker is joined in the booth by Tom Dirato. The network broadcast begins one hour prior to kickoff. There will be no live television of the La. Tech-OSU game.
A New Tradition Before Oklahoma State opens the home season next Saturday, the Cowboys will participate in a new OSU tradition. Two hours and 15 minutes before kickoff, the Cowboys, accompanied by a pep band and OSU cheerleaders, will walk from the Student Union Hotel to Lewis Field. The team will exit the Student Union and walk north down Hester Street to the west ramp of Lewis Field. Fans are encouraged to line the route as the Cowboys walk to the game. Weather permitting, Oklahoma State players will stage the walk prior to every 2001 home game.
Home Openers Oklahoma State has fared very well in home football openers. In fact, since 1901, OSU is 65-28-5 in home openers and that represents a .691 winning percentage. The Cowboys have won five-straight home openers, dating back to a 64-21 loss to top-ranked Nebraska in the 1995 season opener. Since 1969, Oklahoma State is 26-6 in home openers with the losses coming to Arkansas (1978), West Texas (1980), Houston (1986), Texas Tech (1989), Arizona State (1991) and Nebraska (1995). Oklahoma State's longest streak of wins in home openers is 10 between 1926 and 1935. The Cowboys are opening their home schedule against a team from Louisiana for just the second time in 100 years. OSU opened against Louisiana-Lafayette in 1999 and posted a 24-7 win.
Remember This One? The final scoreboard result was an embarrassing 28-12 loss to Houston on Lewis Field in the home opener in 1986. OSU had opened with road games at Southwestern Louisiana and Tulsa and carried a 1-1 record in the home opener. The significance of this game came in the lockerroom at halftime when head coach Pat Jones informed true freshman MIke Gundy he would start the second half. Gundy took every snap of the second stanza and responded by completing 12-of-22 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown. For Cowboy fans, it was just a taste of th
