Texas Tech football: Why the Texas game still matters

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AUSTIN, TX – NOVEMBER 24: Kolin Hill #13 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Zach Adams #65 (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

Tech can make history by winning 3-straight in Austin

The series history between these two programs has been less than kind to the Red Raiders. Tech is just 17-51 against the Longhorns and has never won more than two-straight games over the state’s flagship school.

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Of course, that opportunity is not on the table this year but another form of history is. If the Red Raiders can win on Friday, it will be the first time the Red Raiders have ever won three-straight games in the state capitol.

In all, Tech owns just seven wins in Austin. The first came in 1955 in the first-ever night game at Memorial Stadium.

What’s more, prior to 2015’s 48-45 win that happened four years ago Wednesday, the Red Raiders had not won a road game in this series since 1997. But recent fortunes have changed for Tech when traveling to Austin.

It’s been a continuation of a trend for Red Raider football of picking up its most impressive wins away from home. In the last decade, Tech has won at Oklahoma, Arkansas, TCU (twice), Morgantown (twice), Stillwater, and even Fayetteville. But meaningful wins at home have been far more scarce.

Will it set this program on a new course to win three-straight in Austin? No. But is there some value in continuing to show an ability to pick up wins in the back yard of your most hated in-state conference rival? Certainly.

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For Texas Tech to get back to being a legitimate contender in the Big 12, it will have to make beating the marquee programs, Texas and OU, something that is less of an anomaly and more of an expectation. Therefore, continuing to pick up wins in Austin will help this program build a culture of expecting to win when facing a program that has dominated Tech like no other.

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