Oklahoma football: Numbers to know for OU-Texas Tech
By Chip Rouse
Halloween may not be the best time for an Oklahoma football visit to Texas Tech.
It’s scary enough to play at Texas Tech any time. One thing is for sure: You better come with guns loaded and ready for a wild west-style shootout.
“Guns Up” is a popular rallying cry at Texas Tech sporting events, and nothing reflects that better than when the Sooners pay a visit to Lubbock. Oklahoma has scored 50 or more points in its last two trips to West Texas. The Sooners are 8-0 in Lubbock when they score at least 30 points and 0-4 when they score fewer than 30 points.
Since Lincoln Riley, a walk-on quarterback and alumnus of Texas Tech who also spent seven season on the Red Raiders’ coaching staff under Mike Leach, arrived in Norman in 2015 as a member of the OU coaching staff, Oklahoma has averaged 56.8 points and 683 yards of offense in games with Texas Tech. Riley is 5-0 against his alma mater since he’s been at Oklahoma.
The Sooners may not score that many points on Saturday night, but you can bet Riley will have a few tricks up his sleeve and there will be plenty of offense on display, which should treat the limited Halloween night crowd to some exciting football.
Here are some other numbers to keep in mind for this Big 12 matchup:
4 — Four members of the current Oklahoma coaching staff previously worked as assistants at Texas Tech: Lincoln Riley (student assistant offensive assistant, wide receivers coach and inside receivers coach), Bill Bedenbaugh (graduate assistant, running backs coach and offensive line coach), Dennis Simmons (assistant athletic director in charge of quality control, chief of staff of the football program and wide receivers coach) and Bennie Wylie (strength and conditioning coach).
7/97 — Oklahoma’s seventh-ranked passing offense (352.8 passing yards per game) will be going up against Texas Tech’s 97th-ranked pass defense (337.8 passing yards allowed per game).
11 — This is the 11th consecutive season that Texas Tech will be facing a ranked Oklahoma team. The Sooners are ranked 24th this week in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the Coaches Poll. Tech is 3-18 all-time against ranked Sooner teams.
25 — Oklahoma has won 25 of its last 27 true road games and has outgained its opponent in 25 of those games.
38 — Oklahoma has scored at least 38 points in each of its last 10 games against Texas Tech.
57 — OU has scored at least 28 points in 57 consecutive games. The next longest active streak is 18 games by Alabama.
75 — The Sooners have held three of their five opponents this season to 75 rushing yards or less. They also limited Texas to 89 rushing yards through regulation in a four-overtime game.
113-68 — Points scored in the first half this season by the Sooners (113) compared with those scored in the first half by Texas Tech (68). The Sooners have never trailed at halftime in five games this season. In all three of the Red Raiders’ losses, they trailed at halftime.
200 — When Texas Tech allows either 200 or more yards rushing or 200 or more yards passing this season, the Red Raiders are 0-2.