GAME INFORMATION
Texas Tech will conclude the home portion of its 2009 slate on Saturday morning as the Red Raiders host the University of Oklahoma at Jones A&T Stadium. The game will kickoff at 11:30 a.m. and tickets are currently available for purchase through the athletics ticket office or online at www.texastech.com. RANKINGS
Neither team is ranked but both are receiving votes in the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches Top 25 Poll. TELEVISION
Saturday's game will be televised nationally on FSN beginning at 11:30 a.m. FSN's national broadcast crew of Joe Meyers (play-by-play), Gary Reasons (analyst) and Jim Knox (sidelines) will call the action live from Jones AT&T Stadium. The 11:30 a.m. kickoff is the earliest of the season for Texas Tech and will mark the third appearance of the year on FSN. Tech's regular-season finale against Baylor in Dallas (Nov. 28) will also be televised by FSN. TEXAS TECH SPORTS NETWORK
Texas Tech fans across the state and the region can tune into the Texas Tech Sports Network coverage of Saturday's game. Brian Jensen (play-by-play), John Harris (color) and Toby Cecil (sidelines) will call the action. The flagship station for the Red Raiders in Lubbock is Double T 104.3FM. For more information, log on to www.texastech.com. THE SERIES
Texas Tech will be looking to extend its two-game home win streak over Oklahoma on Saturday when the two teams collide inside Jones AT&T Stadium. The Red Raiders have posted consecutive wins over the Sooners here at home by virtue of a 23-21 win in 2005 and a 34-27 victory in 2007. Oklahoma leads the all-time series 12-4 but the Red Raiders are 3-3 against the Sooners in Lubbock since 1997.
- In each of the last two seasons, the two squads have played the spoiler role in each other's national title hopes. In 2007, Texas Tech posted a 34-27 win over the No. 5 Sooners to take them out of contention for the BCS Championship game. Last season, the Sooners returned the favor as they handed Tech its first loss of the season (65-21) and knocked the Red Raiders out of the national title picture.
- Saturday's game will mark the first time since Tech's 23-21 win in 2005 that the game will not be played in primetime. The last two games (2007 and 2008) were played on ABC primetime while the 2006 game kicked off at 6 p.m. on FSN. The 2005 game was played at 11 a.m. and was televised by FSN.
- Each of the last two games in Lubbock have been decided by seven points or less.
A QUICK LOOK AT OKLAHOMA
The Oklahoma Sooners come to Lubbock after thrashing Texas A&M 65-10 on Saturday night in Norman. The 65-10 win over the Aggies marked the second largest margin of victory (55 points) for the Sooners this season trailing a 64-0 shutout of Idaho State back on Sept. 12. The Sooners are 6-4 overall and 4-2 in Big 12 play and led by Bob Stoops who is in his 11th season at OU.
- The Sooners own one of the best defenses in the nation as they are allowing just 262.4 yards-per-game (sixth nationally). The OU defense is surrendering an average of just 12.1 ppg and that ranks fifth nationally.
- The Sooner offense, led by Landry Jones, completed a 62-point turnaround on Saturday against Texas A&M after scoring just three points in a 10-3 loss at Nebraska two weeks ago. Offensively, the Sooners are averaging 33.3 ppg and 435.6 yards of total offense per-game.
- Ryan Broyles is the leading receiver for OU as he owns 744 receiving yards on 60 catches and has scored 11 touchdowns. Chris Brown is the leading rusher with 639 yards on 139 carries.
- Oklahoma's four losses on the season are the most by a Sooner team since 2005 when they finished the year at 8-4.
THIRD WINNINGEST PROGRAM OF THE DECADE
With 45 league wins since 2000, Texas Tech is the third winningest program in the Big 12 Conference this decade. The Red Raiders trail Oklahoma and Texas who share the lead with 66 conference wins. LEACH TIES DYKES
Mike Leach tied Spike Dykes as the school's all-time winningest head coach with a 42-21 win over Kansas on Oct. 31. A win over Oklahoma would make Leach Texas Tech's winningest coach with 82 career victories. Dykes led the Red Raiders to a school record 82 wins between 1986-99 before Leach took over the program. In just 10 years, Leach has compiled 82 wins with 45 of those coming in the Big 12 Conference. CAPTAINS SELECTED FOR OKLAHOMA
Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach has adopted a new policy of electing game captains each week with an emphasis being placed on performance. Serving as game captains this week will be Baron Batch and Marlon Winn (offense), Bront Bird and Daniel Howard (defense) and Austin Zouzalik (special teams). TECH LOOKING FOR FIRST BIG 12 SOUTH WIN
Texas Tech will be looking for its first Big 12 South win of the season in Saturday's home finale against Oklahoma. Tech is 0-3 against the south division and 3-0 against the north which equals a 3-3 league mark. This is the deepest Tech has ever gone into a Big 12 season without notching at least one Big 12 South victory. Texas Tech's 42-21 win over Kansas on Oct. 31 gave the Red Raiders a clean sweep of the Big 12 North Division for the second straight year. Tech has now posted six consecutive wins over the Big 12 North having won games over Nebraska, Kansas and Kansas State each of the last two years. SENIOR SALUTE
Texas Tech fans will get one final opportunity to applaud the efforts of the 2009 senior class on Saturday as they play their final home game at Jones AT&T Stadium.
- A total of 19 seniors comprise this year's class: Jamar Wall, Ryan Hale, De'Shon Sanders, Trent Nickerson, Ed Britton, Brent Nickerson, Marlon Williams, Nate Stone, Sandy Riley, Austin Burns, Shawn Byrnes, Victor Hunter, Daniel Howard, Chris Wallace, Marlon Winn, Brandon Carter, Ra'Jon Henley, Brandon Sharpe and Richard Jones.
- Over the last four years, this class has helped compile 34 wins, achieve a school record national ranking of No. 2 last season and been a part of three consecutive bowl games (two bowl wins).
ONE MORE AND WE GO BOWLING
Texas Tech needs just one more win to become bowl eligible for the 16th-straight season. The Red Raiders have been bowl eligible in each of the last 15 seasons, which is a Big 12 Conference record. In all, Texas Tech has played in 32 bowl games which ranks 17th nationally. LEWIS LEADING TECH RECEIVING CORPS
Junior inside receiver Detron Lewis caught six passes for 75 yards against Oklahoma State and that brought his season total to 700 yards. Lewis is now 11 yards away from 1,700 in his career and has 133 receptions in 31 career games. DEFENSE TURNS IN SOLID FIRST HALF AT OSU
Ruffin McNeil's defensive unit turned in a strong first half as they held a potent Oklahoma State offense to just 95 total yards in the first half. The 95 yards allowed was the second best effort by the Tech defense in the first half of a game this season trailing a 55-yard effort against Kansas State. The Red Raiders also picked up three sacks in the first half to bring their season total to 33.
- Tech's defense allowed 333 total yards of offense but only 90 yards came through the air. The squad forced a fumble late in the fourth quarter and recorded six tackles for a loss.
- The Tech defense allowed just 17 points against the Cowboys which is the fewest amount allowed since the 1997 season.
SHEFFIELD SEES HIS FIRST ACTION SINCE NEBRASKA
Junior quarterback Steven Sheffield, who missed the last two games, entered the Oklahoma State game on Tech's fifth offensive possession. His first possession ended in an interception on the two-yard line but he regrouped and led the Red Raiders to their first touchdown drive of the game just minutes later. He replaced Taylor Potts who started the game and led the Red Raiders on the first four drives. McSACK ATTACK
The Ronald McDonald House couldn't be happier. Defensive Coordinator Ruffin McNeil, who has long been a champion for the local Ronald McDonald House, has his team raking in big money for his favorite charity. Each time the Red Raiders sack a quarterback, a donation is made to the Lubbock Ronald McDonald House to help a sick child and their family. With 33 sacks on the season, the Red Raiders are not only wreaking havoc on opposing offenses but generating money for a great cause.
- With 33 sacks in 10 games, Tech needs just one more to match its entire total from last season (34 in 13 games).
- Tech is tied for first in the Big 12 Conference (with Oklahoma) and tied for second nationally.
- DE Brandon Sharpe, the team leader with 10.5 sacks, ranks second in the Big 12 and second nationally.
HOLY COW!
Texas Tech has long been known for its ability to score quickly and 2009 is no exception. The Red Raider offense has scored 11 times this season in under a minute and 19 times in less than two minutes. |
