Bang for the buck

I can always count on Walter Riggs of Wells Fargo Bank to put Texas Tech in the best light possible. Don't know if there's a bigger fan of the Red Raiders than Walter, a Clarendon native who walked on with the Tech football team in the mid-1970s and even felt the wrath of then-defensive coordinator Bill Parcells while on the scout team.

Walter owns the Tech Cruiser, a converted 1970s Suburban that he got in Las Vegas that's used for tailgating the last few seasons. The Tech Cruiser has rapidly become an institution belonging to someone who sometimes belongs in an institution. But that's another story for another day.

Walter got his dander up against an Okie State alum, and uncovered this gem from Sports Illustrated on how Big 12 football (the still hanging-on Big 12) fared against schools that spent more money in their football program since 2005.

Tech led the conference with an 18-10 record for a .642 winning percentage. Texas was second at 3-2. I can't believe there are five schools in the country that spend more money on football than Texas. Kansas was the only other Big 12 team to post a winning mark (26-20).

Most losses? That would be Baylor at 10-38. Worst winning percentage? That goes to the Aggies, who are 3-16 (.157) against schools that spent more money in their football program the last five years.

Nationally, Tech is No. 5. The top spot belongs to West Virginia, which is 14-3. The remainder of the top six are No. 2 Florida (9-4), No. 3 LSU (13-6), and the Oregon schools -- No. 4 Oregon (19-9) and No. 6 Oregon State (27-16).