Eric Morris faces alma mater Texas Tech at Oklahoma State, where he never won as player or OC

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Eric Morris never won a game as a player or offensive coordinator for Texas Tech at Boone Pickens Stadium, now home for the first-year Oklahoma State coach whose alma mater is coming to town for a significant Big 12 game late Saturday night.

“Really good memories when I played ’em at home,” Morris said this week. “Really bad memories when I came to Boone Pickens Stadium.”

What he hopes for now is some lasting memories for the resurgent Cowboys (6-3, 4-2 Big 12, No. 25 CFP). There should be a raucous atmosphere when they pretty much have to win for a realistic chance to get to the Big 12 championship game — after not winning a single league game the past two seasons.

“This is a core memory that they’ll have for the rest of their life, so I’m excited for them,” Morris said.

Morris, 4-0 at Boone Pickens Stadium as head coach including his opener over then-No. 6 Oregon , lost twice there as offensive coordinator for the Red Raiders and was also 0-2 as a player He caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Graham Harrell in 2007, though Oklahoma State won 49-45 in a game that featured the likes of Michael Crabtree, Danny Amendola and Dez Bryant.

No. 10 Texas Tech (8-1, 5-1, No. 12 CFP) is coming off a 53-48 home win over West Virginia when Thomas Castellanos threw five touchdowns in a game that ended after midnight local time. After winning the highest-scoring game in the Big 12 this season, the Red Raiders now go to Stillwater to play in that same late-night ESPN broadcast window.

Oklahoma State, the Big 12 leader with 44 points and 534 total yards per game, is coming off a 66-28 win at Kansas State when Drew Mestemaker threw four TDs and ran for another score. That came a week after a 51-49 loss at Iowa State on a game-ending field goal.

While defending Big 12 champion Texas Tech is alone in second place in the league standings behind No. 2 Utah (9-0, 6-0, No. 2 CFP), Oklahoma State is one of four teams with two league losses.

“The objective anytime we touch the ball is we want to score the football,” Morris said. “You do that in a lot of different ways and I don’t think either one of these teams is one-dimensional right now, which I think causes some issues.

“But some of these games get weird and tricky,” he said. "And it goes the opposite way and it’s a low-scoring game, right? I’ve been in those before, too. It’ll be fun.”

During his senior season for the Red Raiders in 2008, Morris matched his career high with 10 catches for 97 yards and a touchdown against Oklahoma State in a game at Lubbock.

Mestemaker came with Morris from North Texas, which last season made the American Conference championship game before a loss to Tulane that kept them out of the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Now they are playing a meaningful November game in the Big 12.

“It’s already a big-time game, it’s his alma mater,” Mestemaker said. “The emotions are there. If you can’t get up and be hyped for a game like this then you’re probably playing the wrong sport.”

Morris' alma mater is the next game on the schedule. The Cowboys then finish the regular season at Arizona State and against Kansas.

“Obviously, there’s a ton of history between me and this place,” Morris said. “I think anytime you try to make anything about yourself or the past, you know, bad things happen to you. Two good ball clubs that are playing at a really high level right now. So, it should be an entertaining one.”

Defensive back Mo Horn, one of two Texas Tech transfers on the Oklahoma State roster, said the Cowboys will play fast and confident with so much at stake.

“It’s a big game for both sides,” Horn said. “Win or lose, someone’s probably leaving this game knowing that the season’s almost over.”

Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here , visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here