Top 10 Turf Moments (2005-2013) - #10 Gundy's First Big One

So now we start the real countdown. We start off the countdown with a game that some would say got the wheels turning to begin the journey to where the Oklahoma State football program is now. Now Oklahoma State is a perennial Big 12 power and the only thing lacking is for Oklahoma State to win the big games, when they are said to do so. That has been an issue in the last few years, but what hasn't been an issue is when the Cowboys are big underdogs and they win games that most are shocked by.

Go back into the way back machine and go to Nov. 12, 2005. The Cowboys are coming into a game where they are the heavy underdog to a Texas Tech team that had only been dealt one loss all year. That one loss had come from the eventual national champions in Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns. The Red Raiders had the number one passing offense in the country, under offensive mastermind Mike Leach. The chips were heavily in the favor of the boys from Lubbock.

Then Mike Hamilton happened.

Hamilton broke off an 84 yard touchdown run, and stunned the Red Raiders early. That was Mike Hamilton's first collegiate touchdown. The seeds of an upset were made. The Cowboys would not stop at 7-0. They would add to that score and go to halftime with a 17-0 lead. Again, this was the potent offense of Texas Tech that they Cowboys were shutting out. The Cowboys defense were also getting great pressure on Texas Tech quarterback Cody Hodges. Victor DeGrate was having a (pun intended) great game with 2 sacks and 2 other tackles for loss, along with a forced fumble.

The 17-0 lead would hold until the 6:41 mark in the third quarter. The wheels looked like they were going to fall off, just like they had two weeks before against Texas. This game though would not end up like the eventual route against Texas. Bobby Reid fumbled which allowed the Red Raiders to tie the game, but a new hero would be born that day.

Enter Al Pena.

Al Pena, who's time at Oklahoma State was short, led a great drive at the end of the fourth quarter, and would be able to cross the goal line with 23 seconds left in the game, making the score 24-17. That is where the score would stay, and the Cowboys would defeat that day the number 13 team in the land.

Mike Gundy has had a great career so far as the head Cowboy, but this is the game that most fans can look back at and say, this is where the culture started. Some say don't forget where you have came from. With that logic, Oklahoma State fans can never forget the upset of Texas Tech on November 12, 2005. That is why this game and the moments within it have earned itself a spot on the top 10 list of Boone Pickens Stadium turf moments.