Game Preview: Tech Returns Home for Oklahoma State

LUBBOCK, Texas - Following two-consecutive games on the road, Texas Tech returns to the friendly confines of Jones AT&T Stadium this Saturday to host No. 21 Oklahoma State in an 11 a.m. kickoff.

The game will air on FOX Sports 1 with Brian Custer on the call alongside analyst Robert Smith with Kevin Patterson reporting from the sidelines. Fans can also find the game on any streaming device by using the FOX Sports Go app.

The Texas Tech Sports Network will also broadcast the game over 46 affiliates throughout the state of Texas and New Mexico as Brian Jensen will have the call alongside analyst John Harris, sideline reporter Chris Level and engineer Steve Pitts. The radio broadcast can also be heard XM channel 203, Sirius channel 121 or via the TuneIn app.

SERIES HISTORY

Texas Tech snapped a nine-game losing streak to Oklahoma State a year ago en route to improving to 22-21-3 all-time against the Cowboys in a back-and-forth series that dates all the way back to 1935. The Red Raiders handled the Cowboys to the tune of a 41-17 victory a year ago in Stillwater, marking the first time Tech had topped Oklahoma State away from home since the 2001 season.
The Red Raiders will be searching for their first win versus the Cowboys at home since 2008 as Texas Tech has dropped the last five meetings inside Jones AT&T Stadium. Tech's last win came in 2008 when the then-No. 2 Red Raiders delivered a 56-20 rout of No. 8 Oklahoma State in front of a national audience.
This is the 12th consecutive season and the 18th time overall the Red Raiders have faced a ranked Oklahoma State team. Texas Tech has four victories in its history over a top-25 Oklahoma State program after securing a 27-3 victory in 1997, a 31-15 win in 2004, a 56-20 rout in 2008 and then last year's 41-17 thriller.
The Red Raiders are 10-12 against the Cowboys during the Big 12 era despite winning seven of the first nine meetings after the league formed prior to the 1996 season.
Texas Tech and Oklahoma State have produced several high-scoring shootouts in recent years as the two schools have combined for at least 75 points in six of the past seven meetings. The two schools have combined for 50 or more points in each of the past nine seasons and in 17 of the past 20 contests overall.

TEXAS TECH IN BIG 12 HOME OPENERS

Texas Tech enters this weekend with a 14-9 record all-time in Big 12 home openers despite dropping seven of its last 10, including a 42-32 setback to No. 12 West Virginia a year ago.
This will be the eighth time in the past 10 years and the ninth time overall where the Red Raiders have opened their Big 12 home slate against a ranked opponent. Texas Tech is 1-7 in those games with its lone win coming in 2013 versus No. 24 TCU. The majority of those games have been decided by only one possession, though, as the Red Raiders have lost by only an average of 8.9 points.
Texas Tech has opened its Big 12 home slate against Oklahoma State twice previously, which came in a 41-34 loss to the then-No. 15 Cowboys in 2017 and a 31-3 rout in 1996 in what was only the Red Raiders' second game all-time in the Big 12 Conference.

ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER TOP-25 FOE

Oklahoma State represents the second top-25 opponent for the Red Raiders in as many weeks after Texas Tech fell at No. 6 Oklahoma this past weekend in Norman. This is the second-consecutive year and the fourth time in the past six seasons where Tech has opened Big 12 Conference play against ranked opponents in back-to-back weeks.
The Red Raiders will be searching for their first top-25 win at home since the 2013 campaign when Texas Tech topped No. 24 TCU, 20-10, early in the season. A victory over No. 21 Oklahoma State would mark the highest ranked AP poll win for the Red Raiders at home since downing No. 4 West Virginia, 49-14, in 2012.

TEXAS TECH VERSUS RANKED FOES

The Red Raiders will be looking to knock off a ranked opponent for a second-consecutive season Saturday after topping then-No. 15 Oklahoma State, 41-17, a year ago in Stillwater. It marked Texas Tech's first victory over a top-25 foe since shocking No. 16 Arizona State, 37-23, in the 2013 Holiday Bowl.
Despite boasting one of the top home-field advantages in college football this decade, Texas Tech has not topped a ranked foe at home since defeating No. 24 TCU, 20-10, early in the 2013 campaign.
A victory over No. 21 Oklahoma State would mark the highest ranked AP poll win for the Red Raiders at home since downing No. 4 West Virginia, 49-14, in 2012.
Matt Wells is looking to become the seventh head coach in program history to top a top-25 foe in his first season, joining the likes of Kliff Kingsbury (2013 vs. No. 24 TCU), Tommy Tuberville (2010 vs. No. 14 Missouri), Spike Dykes (1987 vs. No. 15 Texas A&M), David McWilliams (1986 vs. No. 8 Arkansas), Rex Dockery (1978 vs. No. 5 Houston) and JT King (1961 vs. No. 21 TCU and No. 23 Baylor).

CONNECTIONS

The relationship between the two head coaches in this weekend's game dates back to the early 1990s when Matt Wells was a high school quarterback and Mike Gundy was a young assistant coach on the Oklahoma State staff. Gundy, the quarterbacks coach for the Cowboys at the time, recruited Wells to Oklahoma State before he eventually chose to accept a scholarship to Utah State.
Wells is one of four Oklahoma natives on the Texas Tech, joining his brother, inside receivers and tight ends coach Luke Wells, defensive coordinator Keith Patterson and offensive line coach Steve Farmer. The Wells brothers both hail from Sallisaw, while Patterson is originally from Marlow and Farmer is a native of Coweta located just outside of Tulsa.
In addition, several members of Texas Tech's staff have worked in the state of Oklahoma, namely at Tulsa. Matt Wells was the Golden Hurricanes' tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator from 2002-06 where he worked alongside Patterson, who was Tulsa's linebackers coach from 2003-05 and its co-defensive coordinator for 2006-10. Patterson was previously a head coach at the high school level in Oklahoma with stops at Edmond Santa Fe in 1994 and Ardmore from 1997-99.
Defensive line coach Paul Randolph arrived at Tulsa in 2007, beginning a stretch of four seasons where he was the executive senior associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator on top of his defensive line duties. Safeties coach Kerry Cooks, meanwhile, joined the Texas Tech staff this past spring following four seasons at the University of Oklahoma. Cooks joined the Sooners in 2014 as the defensive backs coach before adding an assistant defensive coordinator title the following season.
Texas Tech boasts three Oklahoma natives on its roster in redshirt freshman linebacker Patrick Curley (Wagoner), junior defensive lineman Noah Jones (Moore) and freshman defensive back Dadrion Taylor (Oklahoma City).
On the Oklahoma State staff, cornerbacks coach Tim Duffie earned his degree in exercise and sports science from Texas Tech in 1999 following a four-year career for the Red Raiders. Duffie was a two-year starter for head coach Spike Dykes where he recorded 202 tackles, including six for a loss, to go along with three pass breakups and a pair of interceptions. This is his seventh season on the Oklahoma State coaching staff.
The Oklahoma State staff also features a pair of nephews of longtime Texas Tech Director of Operations Tommy McVay in Mike Groce, who is in his seventh year as the Cowboys' Director of Football Recruiting, and Johnny Barr, who is in his ninth season on staff as Director of Football Relations.

The 3?0?0? club??@jordynbrooks25 recorded the 3?0?0?th tackle of his career yesterday, becoming only the 14th Red Raider to reach that mark in school history.

??#WreckEm?? pic.twitter.com/aZi8Bxjguq
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) September 29, 2019

NOTABLES...

This weekend's contest serves as Texas Tech's third-annual Celebrate Energy game, which is designed to promote the oil, gas and wind industry that is so vital to West Texas.
Texas Tech has been among the top teams in the country so far this season in keeping the quarterback clean as the Red Raiders have allowed only three sacks this year, which ranks tied for fifth in the FBS entering this weekend. That success has come despite Tech being one of the most pass-heavy offenses in the country with 184 attempts through the air already this year.
Texas Tech has only been flagged 23 times in each of the first four games, the second-fewest for the Red Raiders to open a season since 2000 and the fewest since 2015. Tech enters this weekend ranked 42nd in the FBS for fewest penalties per game after closing the 2018 season at 110th in the national rankings. The Red Raiders also rank 42nd in the FBS for fewest penalty yards per game (51.0).
Texas Tech has converted 93 percent of its red zone appearances (14-of-15) into points this season, which ranks 20th nationally.
A total of 29 student-athletes have already made their debut for Texas Tech this season, including eight true freshmen in Tony Bradford Jr., Tyrique Matthews, Austin McNamara, Chux Nwabuko, Landon Peterson, Luke Rizzo, Trevor Roberson and Dadrion Taylor.

Game Preview: Tech Returns Home for Oklahoma State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tony Bradford Jr.

Patrick Curley

Noah Jones

Tyrique Matthews

Austin McNamara

Landon Peterson

Luke Rizzo

Trevor Roberson

Dadrion Taylor-Demerson

Game Preview: Tech Returns Home for Oklahoma State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tony Bradford Jr.

Patrick Curley

Noah Jones

Tyrique Matthews

Austin McNamara

Landon Peterson

Luke Rizzo

Trevor Roberson

Dadrion Taylor-Demerson

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