"Any time you lose a game, one of the best quick fixes is to win the next game," he said. "Every game we play is important. How can one game be more important than another?"

There are two answers to Gundy's question:

• Saturday's Texas Tech-OSU contest, set for 2:30 p.m. and televised nationally by Fox Sports Net (cable channel 27), is the Big 12 opener for both teams. In seven of the previous eight seasons, the Cowboys lost their first conference game.

• Texas Tech-OSU is played at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater. The Cowboys (1-2) have six home dates this season. They need at least six victories to become bowl eligible. They already have lost twice on the road (at Georgia, at Troy), and in league play there will be trips to Texas A&M, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Because of the difficulty of the road schedule, any home loss would profoundly damage OSU's bowl hopes.

"The attitude hasn't been the best, but we're fighters," offensive tackle Russell Okung said. "We're not made to quit. I'm fired up and ready to play. We're ready for Big 12 play now."

Zac Robinson, who last week replaced Bobby Reid as OSU's No. 1 quarterback, makes his first home start. Against Troy, Robinson committed three of the Cowboys' five turnovers. The offense was responsible for eight of OSU's 11 penalties.

"We kept shooting ourselves in the foot with turnovers or I'd miss a throw or we'd have a penalty and get backed up," Robinson said. "This week, we'll be excited. We'll be chomping at the bit to get back out there on Saturday."

Since the Big 12 was formed, the Cowboys are 3-8 against Texas Tech. In 2005, Gundy recorded his most improbable victory to date -- 24-17 over then-13th-ranked Texas Tech in Stillwater. The Red Raiders were favored by 23 points.

"(Boone Pickens Stadium) is always a tough place to play," Red Raider quarterback Graham Harrell, the national leader in total offense, told reporters in Lubbock. "They've got the fans sitting right on top of you. Most of them are usually probably drunk, but just crazy and screaming at you.

"It's a hostile environment, but we're going to have to go in there and try to block all of that out and try to execute what we do."

With victories over three Conference USA opponents (SMU, UTEP and Rice), the unbeaten Red Raiders are feeling good about themselves. Harrell's favorite target is redshirt freshman wideout Michael Crabtree, who leads the nation in catches per game at 12.7. In receiving yards, his 179.3 average ranks No. 2 in the nation.

While the Red Raider spread offense functions at an extremely high level -- 568.7 total yards and 51.0 points per game -- the Cowboys are dealing with myriad issues.

Robinson will be taking snaps from a center, Andrew Lewis, who until last week was left guard. He moved to center when David Washington broke a leg at Troy.

The most prominent problem, Gundy acknowledges, is the health of senior tailback Dantrell Savage. Limited by a strained groin since early August, he played sparingly in the Sept. 1 opener at Georgia and hasn't played since.

With an inconsistent ground game, the offense as a whole has sputtered. Savage's backup, Keith Toston, lost one fumble at Georgia and two at Troy.

Savage is expected to be in uniform on Saturday, but medical personnel won't decide whether he can play until game time.

Bill Haisten 581-8397
bill.haisten@tulsaworld.com

Texas Tech at Oklahoma St.

Radio: KFAQ am1170, KRVT am1270

TV: FSN cable 27

When: 2:30 p.m.

Where: Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater.

Weather: Skies mostly clear; kickoff temperature expected to be 90 degrees.

Records: OSU overall 1-2 (Big 12 0-0); Texas Tech overall 3-0 (Big 12 0-0)

Last meeting: 2006, Texas Tech, 30-24

Series: Texas Tech leads 20-11-3

BOWL DREAMS

If Oklahoma State defeats Texas Tech on Saturday, the Cowboys would have a four-game record of 2-2. The goal of playing in a bowl would remain reasonably achieveable.

Cowboy football history suggests that it would be wise to avoid a 1-3 start. Sixteen OSU teams have made bowl appearances. None of those teams had a four-game mark of worse than 2-2.

OSU has made a bowl appearance in four of the previous five seasons.

5 storylines

A look at five key things to watch in today’s OSU-Texas Tech contest.

The crowd

Because the first row of fans is only about 8 yards from the field, the OSU home crowd can be disruptive. When Tech visited Stillwater two years ago, 40,035 attended the Texas Tech game,made noise and savored a 24-17 Cowboy upset of the 13th-ranked Red Raiders.

Toston’s hand

OSU running back Keith Toston is in a fumble funk, but Gundy can’t afford to bench him now because Dantrell Savage is limited (or unavailable altogether) because of a groin injury. Toston has to protect the football. Turnovers could be disastrous for OSU.

Tim Beckman

This Texas Tech game is a huge challenge for everyone within the Cowboy program, and in particular for new defensive coordinator Tim Beckman. If he can devise a way to hold Tech to a reasonable yardage total and under 30 points, Beckman would be a hero.

Tackling

Even on a bad day, Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell will complete 28 passes, most of distances from 3 to 10 yards. The key for Oklahoma State is what happens after the catch. If the Cowboys tackle poorly, as they did atGeorgia, the Red Raiders will take those 3-yard throws and turn them into big plays.

Bowman / Pettigrew

Receiver Adarius Bowman and tight end Brandon Pettigrew are good enough to win this game for OSU, but only if they have the ball in their hands. In OSU’s last two games, Pettigrew had only three catches. Bowman frequently has been the target of screens and short throws, but he is better on deeper routes.