Oklahoma football: Game in Lubbock might offer more problems than just Texas Tech

Back in August at Big 12 Media Days, The Oklahoman asked players from around the Big 12 what the most difficult stadium was to play in besides their own. A few players said Texas A&M — even though A&M is longer a part of the Big 12, they said nothing compared to Kyle Field. Other players mentioned Texas Tech, and not just the most difficult stadium to play in. Some said it also had the worst fans.

So what's so difficult about Lubbock and a football team that finished second-to-last in the Big 12 last season?

Former Oklahoma offensive lineman Eric Mensik shared his stories about just how bad it gets in Lubbock, Texas.

“The fans at Texas Tech were the absolute worst that I ever experienced,” Mensik said in an email to The Oklahoman. “In 2007, we had to keep our helmets on the whole game because they were throwing coins and batteries at us. I remember hearing the ding of coins hitting helmets.” 

More things happened in 2009 during warm-ups.

“Coach (Cale) Gundy got hit in the face with something thrown out of the stands,” Mensik said. “Gundy was so mad he found a cop and had one of their fans kicked out.”

Former OU tight end Trent Ratterree remembered the same incident in 2009, saying that a fan threw a hot dog at one of the coaches' faces. He called Lubbock a place with “the most outrageous actions from fans that I ever saw in my career.”