The construction that sprouted around Owen Field the last couple days isn’t because Oklahoma is adding more facilities. It’s ESPN that’s invaded Norman.

In case you haven’t noticed or simply haven’t been paying attention, it’s a little bigger week than usual around campus. It isn’t every week or every year, the second-ranked team in the country visits Owen Field.

Tonight’s meeting between No. 2 Texas Tech (10-0, 6-0 Big 12) and No. 5 OU (9-1, 5-1) has more implications than any college football game this season. Both teams’ Big 12 and national title hopes hang in the balance.

Both teams have Heisman Trophy caliber quarterbacks. The winner of one of sports’ most coveted individual prizes is at stake.

And it’s just a side story.

“It’s probably the last thing that I’m thinking about this week,” OU quarterback Sam Bradford said. “When you start thinking about that, then you get away from what’s really important and that’s winning this football game.”

It’s the biggest game Texas Tech has ever played and the Sooners’ biggest of the season.

“It is as big as it gets. Just for the fact that all of our goals are still in reach, and if we win, you never know what’s going to happen in the BCS,” OU wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias said. “We are just going to try to treat it like another game, and we are just going to try to keep going and keep focused out there.”

Iglesias can say that because big games are nothing new to the Sooners. Their annual showdown with Texas always has Big 12 and national championship implications. They’ve played in three of the last four Big 12 title games. They know what late-season pressure feels like.

But tonight will be a rare treat for Sooner fans because they’ll get to see it unfold first hand. Hard to believe considering how good the Big 12 Conference has been over the last decade, but since 1999 only six top-20 teams have visited Owen Field.

Tonight’s game will be just the second during the Bob Stoops era when he isn’t coaching the higher-ranked team.

The 2000 OU-Nebraska game was the last time it happened. It’s fitting that game was being mentioned this week because of its importance.

That game completed OU’s historic “Red October” run during the national championship season. It’s still remebered as a game Sooner fans really came out at full-throat. There was a steady blanket of noise throughout and OU truly enjoyed a home-field advantage. And it was the day when the mystique of “Big Game Bob” was cemented.

“People talk about the 2000 game against Nebraska, so hopefully our fans will come in here and help us out,” running back DeMarco Murray said.

Stoops did his best to pique Sooner fans this week. He chided them for not being as consistently loud as fans are in some other famous venues. It was a dare to see how big a factor they could be.