Game Primer: OU At Texas Tech

OPENING KICK

• No. 7 in this year's initial College Football Playoff rankings, Oklahoma (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) goes for its 19th consecutive true road win when it plays at Texas Tech (5-3, 3-2) on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be televised nationally by ABC with Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Todd McShay announcing.

• Oklahoma owns a 19-6 (.760) all-time record against Texas Tech but has had more modest success against the Red Raiders in Lubbock, where it is 7-4. In the Big 12 era, the Sooners hold a 16-6 advantage (6-4 in Lubbock). OU has won its last three games at Jones AT&T Stadium (41-20 in 2012, 42-30 in 2014 and 66-59 in 2016).

• The Sooners are 7-0 in Lubbock when scoring at least 30 points and are 0-4 there when scoring less than 30 points.

• OU has won each of its last six games against Texas Tech, averaging 49.8 points, 585.2 yards and 305.2 rushing yards per contest during the stretch.

• The Sooners have scored at least 38 points in each of their last eight games against the Red Raiders. It is the second-longest streak against an opponent in school history (OU scored at least 38 points in 11 straight games against Kingfisher College from 1908 through 1919).

• Oklahoma and Texas Tech feature the top two offenses in the Big 12. The Sooners lead the league by averaging 48.9 points and 548.3 yards per game (rank fourth and fourth nationally), while Texas Tech ranks second at 42.2 points and 528.2 yards per contest (10th and seventh nationally).

• Oklahoma has won 29 of its last 31 games (.935) against Big 12 opponents dating back to the 2015 season. Eighteen of those 29 victories have been by at least 15 points, and nine by at least 30 points.

• OU has won 13 straight November games (last loss on Nov. 8, 2014).

• Oklahoma is coming off a 51-14 home win over Kansas State in which it gained a season-high 702 yards and scored on each of its first nine possessions. Kyler Murray, who exited the game for good with 8:20 left in the third quarter and OU ahead 48-7, was 19 for 24 for 352 yards and three touchdowns while running for 46 yards and a score. The Sooners held K-State to 245 yards and to 13 first downs.

• Texas Tech went toe-to-toe with Iowa State in Ames last Saturday before falling 40-31. The score was tied at 31 until the Cyclones registered a safety with 4:39 remaining and then scored on a 48-yard pass play on the ensuing possession. Freshman quarterback Alan Bowman was 32 for 56 passing for 323 yards and a touchdown, and had three interceptions. Tech threw for 323 yards, but managed just 30 rushing yards on 24 carries (1.2 average).

FIVE KEY STORYLINES

• Oklahoma's 18-game true road winning streak is the longest active streak in the country and second longest in school history (OU won 24 in a row from 1953 to 1958). UCF (eight) holds the second-longest current streak, while no other Power Five program has a current streak longer than six games. The Sooners' last true road loss came more than four full years ago and occurred at TCU (37-33 on Oct. 4, 2014). OU has also won a record 16 straight Big 12 road games, breaking the previous league mark of 13 consecutive league road wins by Texas from 2003 to 2006. Since head coach Lincoln Riley joined the staff as offensive coordinator prior to the 2015 season, the Sooners are 16-0 in true road games (14-0 in true Big 12 road contests).

• In Big 12 play, Oklahoma leads the conference with its 579.2 yards of offense per game, which is 108.6 more yards per outing than the team with the second-best average (Texas Tech; 470.6). Making OU's offensive performance more impressive is the fact the Sooners have already faced three of the league's top four teams in total defense on the season (1. Iowa State 349.6; 2. TCU 352.2; 4. Texas 390.2). OU ranks first in conference play with 338.4 passing yards per game while Texas Tech ranks second at 333.6. However, the Sooners own a passing efficiency rating of 229.4 to Tech's 131.3 (the Red Raiders have thrown 10 interceptions to OU's one).

• Oklahoma ranks 127th out of 130 FBS teams with just 61.5 offensive plays per game, but it ranks fourth nationally with its 548.3 yards per contest. That's because the Sooners lead the nation with a staggering 8.9 yards per play, a figure that would shatter the FBS single-season record of 8.6 by Hawaii in 2006. The OU single-season record of 8.3 yards per play was set last year, and the program's second-best figure is 7.6 in 1971. Alabama ranks second this year with its 8.3 yards per play, while Memphis and Mississippi are tied for third at 7.7. OU also leads the nation by gaining at least 10 yards on 31.9 percent of its plays (157 of 492). Alabama ranks second at 29.6 percent.

• Despite losing preseason All-Big 12 running back Rodney Anderson for the season due to an injury against UCLA in the second game of the year, Oklahoma leads the Big 12 and ranks 13th nationally with its 236.1 rushing yards per game (Oklahoma State ranks second in the league at 198.6). More impressively, OU ranks second nationally with its 6.6 yards per rush, which is almost two full yards more than the No. 2 team in the category (OSU averages 4.8).

• In the last two games, OU held TCU to 275 yards and Kansas State to 245. The last time the Sooners held consecutive conference opponents to 275 yards or less was in 2011 (259 vs. Texas and 252 at Kansas). OU has allowed scores on just two of the last 16 opponent possessions (13 percent).