The History Between Oklahoma State and Texas Tech

Nov 17, 2012; Stillwater OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys wide receiver Isaiah Anderson (82) runs in for a touchdown during the second quarter against Texas Tech Red Raiders safety DJ Johnson (12) at Boone Pickens Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Rowe-USA TODAY Sports

The Red Raiders and Cowboys will meet on the football field for the 41st time on Saturday night, and fans of both schools might be thinking they are seeing a distant relative on the other sidelines. Let’s dive a little deeper into this Big 12 rivalry, as we look at the football history, and take a look at traditions and academic related news that both schools share.

Texas Tech holds  21-16-3 edge in the rivalry with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, but has not won a game in the series since 2008.

• The two schools began play against each other in Lubbock, Texas in 1935 with a 14-0 Red Raider victory. The first matchup in Stillwater, Oklahoma came in 1937 as the Red Raiders pulled out a 14-6 victory over the Cowboys.
• The longest winning streak by either team in the series is 4, done by Oklahoma State from 1942-1945, and again from 2009-present, and also by the Red Raiders from 1989-1998.
• The biggest win in the series for the Red Raiders came in a 58-0 win in 2000, while the Cowboys largest victory came in a 66-6 win in 2011.
• Texas Tech has lost 5 out of their last 6 matchups with the Cowboys, but prior to that stretch the Red Raiders won 8 of 9.
• During the 2000’s, the Red Raiders averaged 40 ppg to the Cowboys 26 ppg, but from 2010 on the Cowboys have outscored the Red Raiders 53-14.
• There have been 4 shutouts in the OSU-Tech series, with Tech recording 3 of them. The Red Raiders shut out the Cowboys in 1935, 1936, and 2000, while the Cowboys shut out the Red Raiders in 1957.
• Oklahoma State did not win a game in Lubbock from World War II until 2011, but has since won 2 straight at the Jones.

While the two schools have shared a fairly competitive football history, they also share very similar traditions as well.

• Texas Tech is led onto the field by the masked rider and a black horse, a tradition started in the 1950’s by Joe Kirk Fulton. Oklahoma State is led on the field by a cowboy named the spirit rider and a black horse, a tradition they didn’t start until 1984.     Advantage? Texas Tech. Not only was the Red Raiders tradition started 30 years sooner, it looks questionable when you use the same colored horse (not your school color) and name your Cowboy the “Spirit Rider” when the Red Raiders already have the Masked Rider. It should also be noted that a Texas Tech alum who was working at Oklahoma State came up with the idea, further proof that the Spirit Rider is a copy of the Masked Rider.
• Pistol Pete first made his appearance for the Cowboys in 1923, but was not officially adopted until 1958. Raider Red first made his appearance in 1971.      Advantage? Oklahoma State. While neither of these guys look the same, they are both huge headed, gun slinging mascots that roam the sideline.
• Guns up or Pistols firing? Texas Tech has been doing the Guns up hand sign since 1971, when alumni Glenn Dippel and his wife Roxie got tired of seeing the Hook Em’ Horns hand sign routinely while living in Austin. Pistols firing wasn’t coined until 2001 by Dave Hunziger.     Advantage? Texas Tech. Again, the Cowboys are about 30 years late in developing a hand sign and come eerily close to picking exactly what Texas Tech uses.
• David Schmidly. Schmidly was the President at Texas Tech University before taking the same position at Oklahoma State. While at Oklahoma State, Schmidly reportedly used the exact same academic calendar used at Texas Tech. He was also asked to resign by Cowboy staff after learning of the size of severance packages he had given to his staff brought with him from Texas Tech.
•       Advantage? Neither of these schools made a great hire with this guy. as at his last stop at the University of New Mexico his contract was not renewed after accusations of cronyism arose when he hired a long time friend at $325,000 a year, as well as halting a University investigation into a hostile learning environment over a professor who moonlighted as a phone sex operator.