Texas Tech Football: All-time series with Ole Miss has been entertaining

Texas Tech and Ole Miss will meet for the sixth time Saturday and though the Rebels hold a slight advantage, there is a trend that could spell good news for the Red Raiders as they look to square what has been an entertaining series.

Saturday in Houston, the Texas Tech Red Raiders will be looking to square the all-time series agains the Ole Miss Rebels at 3-3.  But though the Rebels currently hold a one-game lead, history suggests that the Red Raiders could be in for some good fortune this week.

That is because the Rebels only seem to beat Texas Tech in bowl games.  Ole Miss has taken two Independence Bowl matchups, 20-17 in 1986 and 35-17 in 1998 and prevailed 47-34 in the 2009 Cotton Bowl.

But when the schools have met in the regular season, Tech has been the victor.  Tech swept a home-and-home series with Ole Miss in 2002-2003, the only in-season matchups between these two programs.

History also suggests that when the Rebels and the Red Raiders face off, the games are likely to be entertaining.  In 1986, Ole Miss jumped out to a 17-0 lead before James Gray and the Red Raiders rallied to tie the game at 17-17.  But a late Mississippi field goal proved to be the difference.

The 1998 Independence Bowl was a four-point game entering the 4th quarter.  But the Rebels ripped off 21 unanswered points en route to a 17-point win.

The 2002 game in Lubbock was a showdown of star quarterbacks as senior quarterback Kliff Kingsbury led Tech with 270 yards and two touchdowns on an afternoon when he became the Big 12’s all-time leading passer.

On the other side of the ball, Ole Miss junior quarterback Eli Manning was solid with 374 yards and three touchdowns.  In the fourth quarter, Manning and the Rebels cut a 21-point Texas Tech lead to just 7 points.  But Kingsbury answered with a late touchdown pass to seal the win. Not to be overlooked by the two legendary quarterbacks in that game, Texas Tech’s Wes Welker made an impact with a 71-yard punt return touchdown.

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The next season in Oxford, the two teams played one of the greatest games in the “Air Raid” era.  B.J. Symons passed for a then Big 12 and Texas Tech record 661 yards and six touchdowns leading the Red Raiders to an improbable 49-45 comeback wi

Tech trailed 45-34 with just 8:01 to play in the 4th quarter after an Ole Miss field goal.  But Symons hit Jarrett Hicks for a 21-yard touchdown to pull Tech to within 45-42 after a successful two-point conversion.

After Tech forced a punt, Symons hit Carlos Francis for a 9-yard touchdown to give Tech the lead for the first time in the second half.  A Ryan Aycock interception of Eli Manning on Ole Miss’ last possession would seal the remarkable win and even the all-time series.

But in the most recent meeting between these two programs, Ole Miss spoiled what was arguably the best Texas Tech football season in program history.  The No. 25 Rebels knocked off No. 7 Texas Tech 47-34 in the final Cotton Bowl game ever played in the Cotton Bowl Stadium.

Tech entered the game 11-1 behind Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree but a lethargic and uninspired performance saw the Red Raiders’ historic season come to a disappointing end.   Crabtree was hampered by an ankle injury suffered in the regular season finale against Baylor and was held to a career-low 30 yards receiving.

Historically, these programs are of a similar pedigree.  Ole Miss ranks 55th all-time in the sport with a .561 winning percentage.  The Red Raiders are close behind with a .557 winning percentage, 58th all-time.

Ole Miss has been playing football since 1893 and have averaged 5.74 wins per season.  Meanwhile, Texas Tech has a averaged 6.04 wins in 93 seasons.  But where Mississippi has a huge advantage is in the program’s three national titles which came in 1959, 1960 and 1962.

However, it must be noted that none of those titles are undisputed and all of the Rebel’s championships have been disputed.  Still, Texas Tech fans wold love to have had teams good enough to be in any national title discussions.

Hopefully, this Saturday, Texas Tech can even this competitive and entertaining series while setting itself up for a nice start in what is a pivotal year for Kliff Kingsbury and the program.  But whatever happens, history suggests that this game will be exciting and entertaining.