Good morning West Texans and all you good, fine, friendly folks out there who wish you were . . .

What if Spike Dykes had lived in different times. What if William Taylor had grown up on microwave ovens and cordless phones instead of lying under the big living room radio listening to Kern Tips describe big plays by Doak Walker? What if . . .

With Mike Leach looking to become the all-time win leader at Texas Tech we thought we’d see how different Spike’s record might look if he’d coached in today’s college football environment. Yes, things a vastly different today at Texas Tech from a money stand-point thanks to the Big 12 as well as just the hyper-inflation of college football. The Red Raiders don’t do pay-check games any more and Leach will get the all-time games coached record a full year ahead of what it took Dykes to reach it thanks to expanded schedules.

So, what would Spike have done given the same variables and with everything being equal? ( Things never are equal, but it is fun to play with history )

Currently Mike Leach is 81-42 and Spike finished his career at Tech 82-67-1.

Now we begin the dicey business of trying to figure out what Dykes would have done at Texas Tech if you substitute out the pay-check games at places like Florida State in 1987 when they were Prime Time Players, Ohio State, Nebraska pre-Big 12, Georgia, Tennessee and Arizona State. By my rudimentary count you’ve got about eight pure pay-day games that Mike Leach has been able to avoid. Let’s say you sub in a home game against UTEP or the likes and Spike goes 5-3 over that stretch. After that, you can include another 5 or so road games against BCS teams that Leach has avoided scheduling for the most part since ending the series with the likes of Ole Miss and NC. St. Let’s say Dykes wins three of those five. When you add in about seven years of playing an “extra” game to get a win at home that coaches get today I figure you add in about five more wins for Dykes.

All total, if Spike had grown up watch The Dukes Of Hazzard his record might be closer to 95-54-1 as a Head Coach at Texas Tech. We’re not going to factor in bowl games in this deal and I’m sure given his record Coach Dykes is glad we don’t.  That number is almost identical to what Mike Leach has done winning percentage-wise at Texas Tech.

Now, all of this isn’t to say that Leach hasn’t moved the forward program, because he has. Leach has built on what Dykes did, he’s energized a fan-base and helped spur massive growth in facilities that Tech couldn’t make happen for Dykes’ crew. Whether it was Leach or any other coach coming in in 2000, I think they would have demanded and got the same considerations that Leach has, so you can’t just say it is Leach not wanting to play tough competition and not wanting to do the pay-check games. No coach wants to, including Spike Dykes.That said, Mike Leach has certainly elevated the program since he took over, but he’s also had a better set of variables to work with as a coach. To his credit, he demanded that consideration and got it. The cost of doing business in today’s college football world for Universities like Texas Tech.

I do think it is important though to try and put certain numbers and records into perspective. When Mike Leach’s passes Spike on the all-time wins list, and he surely will, I hope people understand the different circumstances that led to his record and that contributed to Spike’s record. Sometimes people get caught up in the Now and forget how things actually progressed to where they are. Imagine that.

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HYATT