Berry Tramel, Sports columnist
Texas Tech revisited: Oklahoma State steps into Red Raiders' role tonight against Texas
By Berry Tramel
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15
Published: October 31, 2009
STILLWATER — Biggest home game in school history, some say. A chance to spoil the national title hopes of the blueblood Longhorns and give a working-class football program a shot at that elusive first Big 12 championship.
Michael Crabtree's touchdown catch in the closing seconds gave Texas Tech the upset over Texas last season. AP Archive Photo
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A record crowd going nutso in a gorgeously renovated coliseum. A senior quarterback leading a whizbang offense seeking an upset on an ABC Saturday night special.
Yep, that
Texas Tech-
Texas game last November was really something.
The zip code, the uniforms, the formations change tonight. But the stakes do not when Oklahoma State steps into Tech’s role and seeks the same result.
Tech’s 39-38 victory 364 days ago turned the college football season upside down, and an OSU upset tonight would do the same.
"It’s going to be the Tech game of last year,” said UT safety
Earl Thomas. "National television. The hostile environment.
"We’ll try to weather the storm and get a win.”
The
Lubbock/Stillwater parallels aren’t exact. OSU comes in with a defeat (to
Houston), else the Cowboys would be ranked fourth or fifth. That loss means Texas almost surely would emerge the victor of a three-way tie, which it did not a year ago after Tech went to
Oklahoma and lost. OSU goes to
Norman on Nov. 28. So the stakes are just as high for the Cowboys, not necessarily for the Longhorns.
"We’re going to get their best shot,” Texas quarterback
Colt McCoy said. "It’ll be everything you see on film, then multiply that intensity times 10.”
If the Cowboys do deliver their best shot, they will win. The fans will see to that.
"Stillwater’s a tough place to play,” McCoy said. "One of the toughest. The fans are really close. They’re rowdy. Halloween, at night, it’s going to be a real fun game.”
A State victory would elevate the night to historic status. All the dreams of this program — new stadium, full house, championship contention — culminate tonight.
"I think, over the years, we’ve earned the respect from them and other teams in the conference that we can stay in there right with them,” OSU quarterback
Zac Robinson said.
"Obviously, we haven’t been able to finish it off, and we’ve been real close. We know that we can be competitive and hopefully we can come out and play well.”
Oklahoma State football hasn’t been here before. But neither had Texas Tech until 364 days ago.
Berry Tramel: 405-760-8080; Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1.
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Not any OSU fan. We have played in bigger games then this.