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Kingsbury on Boone Pickens Stadium: It’s ‘A Tough Place to Play’

Kliff Kingsbury gives his thoughts on visit to Oklahoma State.

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Kliff Kingsbury said he wants to spend an evening with Gary Busey and ask him life questions.

In his media availability Tuesday, Kingsbury, Texas Tech’s coach, was asked if he’d seen the picture of Busey overlooking Boone Pickens Stadium from the new video board and what he thought of the ginormous screen in general.

It looks wild, there’s no doubt,” Kingsbury said. “I saw the picture. I don’t think that will affect us. I think it’s a nice touch for them. Whoever picked it, kudos to them for that crazy picture. The atmosphere is awesome. The fans are right on top of you. I remember as a player then coaching in Houston and obviously here, they do it right. It’ll be a lot of fun for our players to experience that. Those guys who haven’t been there yet.”

Tech hasn’t beaten Oklahoma State in the teams’ past seven meetings in Stillwater, and OSU has won every game against the Red Raiders since 2009. Kingsbury was the Red Raiders quarterback in 2001 the last time Tech won in Stillwater.

“It’s obviously a tough place to play,” Kingsbury said. “Those fans are right on top of you. They have a great fanbase, a great program. Coach Gundy’s built a powerhouse, and they have great players. They recruit at a high level. They have great facilities, so it’s a combination of things. That’s the only answer I have. They beat a lot of people there.”

A product of that combination is Justice Hill. Hill, who’s Heisman odds increased to 30-to-1 on Tuesday, has rushed for 277 yards and four touchdowns so far this season.

Hill has also ripped off runs of 92 and 52 yards this season. Long runs are something the Red Raiders’ defense has struggled with thus far. Ole Miss running back Scottie Phillips ran for 205 yards and two touchdowns against Tech in Week 1. He did that on only 16 carries (12.8 yards per) and had a 65-yard run.

Saturday against Houston, Cougar running back Teren Williams averaged 10.2 yards on his six carries thanks to a 31-yard touchdown run.

No question (Hill will be a problem),” Kingsbury said. “He’s as good as anybody in the country, I think. As far as a total back, can catch the ball, can finish his runs, very, very fast. He’s just gotten better and better as we’ve seen him. He’s gonna be as good a back as we’ll play all year.”

Tech’s defense boasts a shutout this season, a 77-0 victory against Lamar, but despite that, the Red Raiders have still given up an average of 32 points a game in their opening three. On top of that, the OSU offense has average about 52 points a game so far, and Kingsbury said despite losing so many weapons from last season, the OSU staff has been able to reshape its offense to fit the new group.

“I think Coach Yurchich, since he’s been there, has been very creative, one of the best offensive minds in the country,” Kingsbury said. “The quarterback is a little more off-schedule than Mason (Rudolph) was last year. (Rudolph) was a great pocket passer, everything is in rhythm, on time.

“(Cornelius), makes a lot of plays off-schedule. He can really hurt you with his feet. They’ve adapted their offense to that, but they’re still rolling. They execute at a high level, play at a fast tempo, and it’s as effective as they’ve ever been.”

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