Preview: Red Raiders remain on road, face No. 7 OSU

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech will have another opportunity this weekend to claim a road victory over a Top 25 team, traveling to face No. 7 Oklahoma State on Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium. The Cowboys represent the fifth-consecutive ranked opponent for the Red Raiders (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) and the fifth ranked opponent in its first six games, which joins Tech with three other programs dating back to 1980 facing a similar start in its first six games of a season. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.

Television coverage will be provided by FS1 with Eric Collins behind the mic. He will be joined by former Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner serving as the broadcast analyst. Fans can access the game from their mobile or streaming device by using the FOX Sports app.

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 and sideline reporter Chris Level. The radio broadcast can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 135 or 199, as well as on the Varsity app.

RED RAIDERS LOOK TO CURE ROAD WOES

Texas Tech will get another opportunity this weekend to land its first road victory of the season when the Red Raiders travel to No. 7 Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon. The Red Raiders are searching for their first road win under Joey McGuire and their first since topping both West Virginia and Kansas early into last season.
With a win, the Red Raiders would land their first victory over a top-10 team on the road since knocking off top-ranked Oklahoma, 41-38, in Norman. Oklahoma State represents Texas Tech's last ranked road win as the Cowboys were No. 15 nationally when the Red Raiders topped the Cowboys in 2018.

TOP-25 TESTS BECOMING THE NORM

The debut season under Joey McGuire has delivered arguably the nation's most-difficult first half of the schedule as No. 7 Oklahoma State represents the fifth-consecutive ranked opponent for the Red Raiders. That streak matches the Texas Tech school record that was previously set midway through the 2012 campaign.
According to STATS, Inc., Texas Tech is only the fourth team since 1980 to open a season with five ranked opponents in its first six games, joining Michigan State (1987), Tennessee (1991) and Ohio State (1995). None of those other three schools featured a first-year head coach, however.

TEXAS TECH, OKLAHOMA STATE SET FOR 50TH MEETING

Saturday will mark the 50th all-time meeting between Texas Tech and Oklahoma State in a series that is tied at 23-23-3 entering this weekend. The two schools have split the previous four contests with the Red Raiders claiming a 41-17 victory in Stillwater in 2018 and a 45-35 win in Lubbock early in the 2019 campaign. Oklahoma State followed with a 50-44 victory in Texas Tech's last visit to Boone Pickens Stadium in 2020 and then added a 23-0 shutout a year ago.
This is the 15th-consecutive season and the 21st time overall the Red Raiders have faced a ranked Oklahoma State team. Texas Tech has five wins in its history over a ranked Cowboys team after securing a 27-3 victory in 1997, a 31-15 win in 2004, a 56-20 rout in 2008, a 41-17 win in 2018 and then its 45-35 victory in 2019.
The Red Raiders are 11-15 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.
The Red Raiders snapped a nine-game losing streak to Oklahoma State in their 2018 visit to Stillwater following a 41-17 victory in 2018. It marked the first time Texas Tech had topped Oklahoma State away from home since the 2001 season.
The victory over Oklahoma State in 2019 marked Texas Tech's first at home against the Cowboys since the 2008 season as the Red Raiders created five takeaways and totaled seven sacks, their most in a game since 2009.
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 eight of the past 10 meetings. The two schools have combined for 50 or more points in 11 of the past 12 seasons and in 19 of the past 23 contests overall.
The lone exception to the high-scoring tendency between the two schools was last season's 23-0 victory by the Cowboys. The shutout marked the first time the Red Raiders had been blanked since falling at No. 2 Nebraska, 29-0, on Oct. 18, 1997, snapping a streak of 302-consecutive games with points. Texas Tech was shut out at home for the first time since a 31-0 loss to Arkansas on Oct. 10, 1987.

TEXAS TECH, OKLAHOMA STATE CONNECTIONS

Texas Tech boasts five Oklahoma natives on its roster in senior linebacker Patrick Curley (Wagoner), true freshman defensive back Maurion Horn (Broken Arrow), redshirt freshman Isaac Smith (Wagoner), senior defensive back Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (Oklahoma City) and senior defensive back Cameron Watts (Tulsa). Watts attended Northeast Oklahoma A&M prior to transferring to Texas Tech in 2020.
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 eighth season on the Oklahoma State coaching staff.
Texas Tech super senior linebacker Dimitri Moore will recognize one member of the Oklahoma State in defensive coordinator Derek Mason, who was the head coach at Vanderbilt during Moore's first four collegiate seasons (2017-20). Mason recruited Moore off the final Cedar Hill team that was coached by Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire prior to his move to the collegiate level at Baylor.
Oklahoma State starting center Preston Wilson is the older brother of Texas Tech true freshman offensive lineman Sheridan Wilson. The two brothers come from an athletic family as their father, Jon Wilson, was a four-year starter at Auburn from 1988-92.
Texas Tech added two transfers from Oklahoma State soon after Joey McGuire's hiring with the Red Raiders in sophomore offensive lineman Monroe Mills and redshirt freshman wide receiver Haydon Wiginton. Mills has started all five games this season at right tackle, while Wiginton has a reception for seven yards in one appearance this season.
Oklahoma State Director of Athletics Chad Weiberg was previously on staff at Texas Tech as he served as Deputy A.D. from 2015-17. Weiberg departed Kirby Hocutt's staff to accept the same position at Oklahoma State, which ultimately led to his promotion in 2021 to the Athletics Director chair.

WILSON CONTINUES TO WREAK HAVOC

Tyree Wilson continues to prove why he's one of the most-dominant edge rushers in college football this season as he totaled 2.0 sacks last weekend at Kansas State, giving him 5.0 now for the season. It matches the second-highest sack total by a Red Raider through five games since 2000 and the most since Pete Robertson had the same total in 2014.
His sack total is part of 8.0 tackles for loss already this season for Wilson, the third-highest amount by a Red Raider through five games since 2000. Wilson enters this weekend ranked seventh in the FBS for sacks per game (1.0) and 11th for tackles for loss per game (1.6).

UP FOR THE CHALLENGE

Donovan Smith is 3-1 as a starting quarterback in games played at Jones AT&T Stadium, and 1-0 in neutral site game but remains seeking his first road victory after last week's loss at No. 25 Kansas State. He is 0-3 in road games, each versus ranked opponents. NC State was No. 16 earlier this season during week three and last season's game at Baylor, the Bears entered the contest ranked No. 8 (L, 27-24).
Smith currently ranks fourth nationally in completions per game (28.4), 15th in total passing yards and 17th in passing yards per game (295.0) entering the Oklahoma State game.
Smith has thrown for at least 300 yards in three of his four starts this season after finishing with 350 yards against Houston, 331 yards versus Texas and then a career high 359 yards against Kansas State. He also set career highs for attempts (58) against Houston and snapped his career mark for completions (38) versus Texas. Texas Tech is 3-1 in games now where Smith has thrown for at least 300 yards with the lone loss coming last weekend at No. 25 Kansas State.
The ball was in Smith's hands often against the Cougars as he made 79 total offensive attempts with 58 passes and 21 rushes. It marked the second-most total offensive plays by a Red Raider dating back to 2000, trailing only the 100 attempts Patrick Mahomes II made on a record-setting night against Oklahoma in 2016.
On the ground, Smith has found the end zone with his legs in each of the last four games as he has a team-leading 67 rushing attempts this season, easily the most for a Red Raider quarterback through five games dating back to 2000. He enters this weekend as the only FBS quarterback to have already thrown for 1,000 yards this season and also rush for four touchdowns. He joins Mahomes as the only Red Raider quarterbacks since 2000 to do so as the Chiefs standout did it in each of his final two seasons in 2015 and 2016.

PLENTY OF EXCITEMENT FOR MCGUIRE ERA

The excitement over Joey McGuire's hire has been felt across Texas Tech Athletics since last November as the athletics department saw significant increases in ticket sales heading into the season opener. Texas Tech boasts more than 7,000 new season ticket holders this year, pushing its total to more than 28,000, which ranks in the top 10 all-time in school history.
The hype is real: Game one of the Joey McGuire era marked the largest home opening crowd (58,823) since 2016 when Texas Tech hosted Stephen F. Austin (60,097). The attendance mark against Murray State ranked just outside the top-10 all-time in Jones At&T Stadium history.
Texas Tech announced a sellout for its win over Texas as 60,975 fans enjoyed the Red Raiders' victory over their in-state rival. That attendance number marked the fourth-highest in Jones AT&T Stadium history and its highest all-time in the series versus Texas. It was the first sellout for Texas Tech since doing so in back-to-back weeks late in the 2018 season against Oklahoma and Texas.
Through three home games, Texas Tech has been at 97.1 percent of its capacity, which ranks 21st in the country and third in the Big 12 Conference. The Red Raiders are averaging 58,690 fans per game, which is also the third-highest total currently in the Big 12.

-TECH-

Preview: Red Raiders remain on road, face No. 7 OSU

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