By John Shinn
LUBBOCK, Texas --The late-season meetings between Oklahoma and Texas Tech have been tinged with postseason implications. The previous two seasons, the national championship picture was shaped by the game.
That string ends this season. When OU (6-4, 4-2 Big 12) takes on Texas Tech (6-4, 3-3) at 11:30 a.m. today at Jones AT--T Stadium, there won't even be a ranked team on the field.
The Sooners make no bones about their motivation.
"We're fighting for the best bowl game we can get in on," OU running back DeMarco Murray said.
Bolstering its bowl status is what OU's been trying to do throughout November. Last Saturday's victory over Texas A--M made the Sooners bowl eligible for the 11th straight season, which is also the length of the Bob Stoops era.
A victory today would shoot the Sooners up another peg in the Big 12's bowl pecking order. They are one of six Big 12 teams that bowl eligible with two games remaining. Spots among the Big 12's eight bowl commitments can change dramatically with teams' performances over their last two games.
In the conference, Texas (10-0) is on pace for a berth in the national championship game if it wins out. Oklahoma State (9-2) has an outside shot at an at-large BCS berth. Nebraska (7-3) and OU are fighting for position underneath
The best way for OU to bolster its status is to get something close to a signature win. Through 10 games, it really doesn't have one.
The Sooners' road woes have been chronicled throughout the year. In five games away from Owen Field, they're 1-4.
Winning on the road is the Sooners' biggest issue. They seemed to have solved the problem a month ago with a victory at Kansas, but with each passing game, that performance appears to mean less. The Sooners played their worst game of the season two weeks later at Nebraska. The Jayhawks haven't won since.
This is OU's last chance to prove it can go into a hostile environment and win.
"We have confidence in ourselves. We're not going to doubt ourselves going out there. We're not going to go out there and say we can't win the game," OU quarterback Landry Jones said. "We know what we can do with this offense; we've seen it too many times before."
OU has proven it can put up points this season. But Lubbock hasn't exactly been a home-away-from home through the years,
There isn't a single player on the Sooner roster who's been part of victory in Lubbock. The Sooners haven't won there since 2003. The last two trips were remembered for heartbreak: a 34-27 loss in 2007 kept OU out of the national championship game. The other was infamous for controversy: Two very debatable calls on Texas Tech's final drive allowed the Red Raiders to claim a 23-21 victory.
"When you go to someone's place and they're a good team, it's tough to play there," OU coach Bob Stoops said. "We play pretty well at home and if you go to places where they win a lot, it's going to be tough to win there. I don't think there's anything magical about it."
Probably not, but this is a game that can solidify the Sooners as a team that belongs in a top-tier bowl. After all the injuries they've battled this season, it would be a worthy accomplishment.
It isn't the usual motivating factor for a Sooner-Red Raider game, but it's enough to make things interesting. Then again, whenever the Sooners venture out to Lubbock, it's never dull.
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
