Seldom this decade have Texas Tech and Oklahoma played with less at stake than today. Two six-win teams, neither ranked, hoping to salvage a decent bowl game.

Not the week-before-Thanksgiving scenario either side had in mind going into the season.

Texas Tech head coach Mike Keach checks on defensive end Daniel Howard during an injury timeout in the tech-NewMexico game. Howard missed the next game with a stinger.

Certainly, the anticipation for today’s Tech-Oklahoma game won’t match that of the last two when first Oklahoma, then Tech came in with shots to play for the national championship.

Tech’s 34-27 win two years ago took OU out of the national title race, and the Sooners returned the favor last year with a 65-21 verdict that ended the Red Raiders’ perfect season.

The Sooners can say their pursuit of an eighth national championship came unglued early because of season-ending injuries to returning Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford and all-America tight end Jermaine Gresham.

“You’re talking to a person that has a tough time as far as having any real particular sympathy,’’ Tech coach Mike Leach said this week. “We’ve had our own struggles, so we’ll spend our time focusing on our own.’’

Discussing injuries is taboo to Leach, so his assistant coaches and players tread lightly around the subject. But there’s no denying that a concussion Taylor Potts suffered in game five and a broken foot Steven Sheffield suffered in game seven wreaked havoc on Tech’s all-important quarterback position.

And after giving up Leach-era lows for sacks the last two years, Tech’s offensive line wasn’t helped by losing massive left tackle Terry McDaniel to a knee injury in the first quarter at Nebraska, the same day Sheffield got hurt.

Since Tech doesn’t release injury information, it’s hard to be precise, but it’s a close approximation to say the Red Raiders have had five offensive starters miss a total of 10 games this season for injury or suspension and have had five defensive starters miss a total of seven games because of injury or suspension.

That might not sound like a tidal wave of hurts. But consider that in
Tech’s charmed 2008, the losses of defensive tackle Ra’Jon Henley for three games and offensive guard Louis Vasquez and cornerback L.A. Reed for two each were the only significant games missed to injury all
season.

“We haven’t been perfect this year; that’s why it kind of stands out more,’’ senior cornerback Jamar Wall said last week. “I honestly think we’re closer as a family, as a team, than it was last year, because we’ve gone through more adversity than we did.’’

Oklahoma’s injury list didn’t stop with Bradford and Gresham; those were
just the most high-profile players. They’re two of five starters that the Sooners have lost to season-ending injuries. The five, according to OU research, ties for the most season-ending injuries the Sooners have endured in Bob Stoops’ 11 years as head coach.

Have those been a factor?

“We’ve been talking about it all year,’’ Stoops said recently. “I’m not going to sit here and say no. It’s just odd, too, because the injuries are unusual.’’

Oklahoma’s 10-3 loss two weeks ago at Nebraska was disastrous for more than just the offensive meltdown.

Versatile tight end-lineman Brody Eldridge, who had graded highest in all five of his starts at center and guard, exited that night with a shoulder injury. Defensive end Auston English went down with an ankle injury, and offensive tackle Jarvis Jones suffered a fractured heel.

“Scott Anderson (OU’s head trainer) has never seen a fractured heel,’’ Stoops said. “The tendon that Auston English (injured), Scott has never seen that tendon injured in all his years in training. We have never seen Brody’s situation — it’s actually in his neck. So we’ve had a lot of odd situations and odd injuries that are really highly unusual.’’

As a result, the Sooners come to Lubbock today only two games over .500. For the week before Thanksgiving, that’s highly unusual, too.