On Nov. 1, the scoreboards around Oklahoma Memorial Stadium flashed Texas Tech 19, Texas 0 with 9:29 left in the second quarter in Lubbock, and the Sooner crowd exploded.

But there was a game going on, and the fans seemed more interested in scoreboard watching than rooting on their own team that was playing at the time.

The importance of that very crowd for this weekend’s showdown between No. 2 Tech and No. 5 OU was brought up several times this week, including after practice and at the Tuesday media press conference.

“You would hope [the crowd affects Texas Tech],” said head coach Bob Stoops. “That’s something that you would hope would happen. Hopefully our crowd will take an active interest in this game.”

The Sooners are 59-2 in Norman in Stoops’ 10-year tenure, but he downplayed the effect fans have had on that record.

“I don’t know that there is one answer why we have been so successful at home in the last 10 years,” Stoops said. “I think maybe just our overall focus and our play are the biggest reasons. I don’t think we’ve ever been known as an overly raucous crowd, so that’s what you could probably attribute it to.”

He compared the differing type of noise at OU to that of Florida’s.

Stoops noted that Sooner fans tend to become loud almost exclusively on big plays like first downs, touchdowns and defensive stops.

But at Florida and other top programs across the nation, fans stand and make noise for the entire game.

“The crowd and the noise is much different [at schools like Florida],” Stoops said. “They are much more vocal and interactive in influencing the game as far as being vocal and loud before you make a big play. They’re loud all the time when the opposing team’s trying to work.”

At many of the places the Sooners have traveled to this year, the crowd has had an effect on them, forcing them to run a silent count from the line of scrimmage.

It probably hasn’t been noticeable because of OU’s impressive statistics on the road, but Stoops said it effects the Sooners’ scheme when the offense is forced to run a silent count.

Opponents coming into Norman haven’t had to battle the same issues.

“I’ve just noticed a lot of times, most people in here don’t have to use a silent count,” Stoops said. “We go on the road ready to use silent counts and not be able to communicate if we have to do everything by signaling, and that doesn’t usually happen here.”

Stoops added that he wants the fans in Norman this weekend to make an impact on Tech’s offense.

“The louder you are, the more difficult you make it, and it can influence the game,” Stoops said.

“And I really do hope our people will take an interest in not just cheering when we’re going into the end zone but actively cheering and making noise when they’re trying to communicate and get something going and to hopefully take away from something they’re doing. It definitely helps and hopefully we’ll have that come Saturday.”