That’s what dry-witted Texas Tech coach Mike Leach called tonight’s next Big 12 prime-time showdown, this one against eighth-ranked Oklahoma State a week after the Red Raiders rose to No. 2 by beating Texas for the program’s first win against a top-ranked team.
Frankly, Cowboys coach Mike Gundy is worn out, and his team even got a relative break with last week’s 59-17 home romp against Iowa State.
“This is getting kind of monotonous with the big games in this league,” said Gundy, whose team helped kick off the Big 12 craziness a month ago with an upset of No. 3 Missouri the same day fifth-ranked Texas bounced No. 1 Oklahoma. “There’s just not a lot of time to back off.”
Under different circumstances, the chatter would be all about the first Texas Tech-Oklahoma State game since Gundy’s “I’m a man” rant that became a YouTube sensation after last year’s 49-45 Cowboys win.
Instead, everyone’s talking about what a man Michael Crabtree is. The receiver’s sensational 28-yard touchdown with 1 second left to beat the Longhorns gave Texas Tech a direct path to a shot at the national championship, although a trip to No. 6 Oklahoma is two weeks away.
It’s an interesting juxtaposition because Crabtree had the biggest drop of his career in last year’s loss to the Cowboys, an easy potential winning catch inexplicably slipping through his hands in the end zone on fourth down in the final seconds.
“We said if we’re ever in that situation again, we don’t want to be the ones that lose,” said quarterback Graham Harrell, recounting a conversation he and Crabtree had about the drop. “We want to make the play. It was a big learning experience with us, and I think it really helped us get where we are.”
One other significant thing came out of last year’s game. The Red Raiders changed defensive coordinators after they lost while gaining 718 yards, including 646 passing by Harrell, the fourth-highest total in a college game at the time.
A year later, defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill has Texas Tech ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 in total defense (349.5 yards per game).
The challenge last week came from Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, a Heisman Trophy contender. This week, it’s Oklahoma State’s powerful running game. Cowboys running back Kendall Hunter is the nation’s fourth-best rusher (135.6 yards per game) on a team with the country’s No. 5 rushing offense (273 yards a game).
Hunter has gained 161 yards or more in four games this season and will be a big part of Oklahoma State’s keep-away plan as the Cowboys try to win in Lubbock for the first time since 1944. If they pull it off, the Big 12 South could have four teams with one loss.
Oklahoma looks to keep pace in Big 12 South at Texas A&M
COLLEGE STATION - Oklahoma has quietly marched along as Big 12 South rivals Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State have taken turns playing marquee games in the national spotlight.
Since losing to the Longhorns in Dallas on Oct. 11, the sixth-ranked Sooners (8-1, 4-1 Big 12) have rolled to easy victories over Kansas, Kansas State and Nebraska. The softer schedule has hurt Oklahoma in the Bowl Championship Series standings - the Sooners dropped from No. 4 to No. 6 after beating the Cornhuskers 62-28 last week.
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops was surprised to see his team slip, but as long as the Sooners keep winning, the rankings should take care of themselves.
The Sooners will have their chances to make up ground, with top-10 teams Texas Tech and Oklahoma State still left on the schedule. First, they have to get past Texas A&M (4-5, 2-3) at Kyle Field today.
Oklahoma delivered early knockout punches in its last two games, leading Kansas State 55-28 at halftime and Nebraska 35-0 after the first quarter. They’re big favorites again this week and have won eight of the last nine meetings with the Aggies, who are 2-4 at home this season.
The Sooners still need to be careful. They’ve lost four of seven games at Kyle Field since the start of the Big 12 and their margin of victory in all three wins was a touchdown or less.
The Aggies have won two in a row for the first time this season, but their defense is still making bad mistakes under first-year coordinator Joe Kines. They rank 104th in yards allowed (427.11 per game), 102nd in points allowed (32.56 per game) - and this may be the best offense they’ve seen all season.
