The Oklahoma State Cowboys (24) and Texas Tech Red Raiders both have a lot to gain in their Big 12 opening game Thursday night.

Both teams could benefit from joining Oklahoma and Kansas State as the only 1-0 teams in the conference and Oklahoma State stands to climb up from the bottom of the AP poll. The Cowboys and Red Raiders are also chasing the likes of Baylor and TCU for the Big 12 runner up.

CLICK HERE to listen to the game live online via TuneIn. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Stillwater, Okla.

Thus far Oklahoma State is exceeding expectations and Mike Holder, the school's highly involved athletic director, is taking notice, according to ESPN.

"From my perspective, I had some reservations about this season," Holder told The Associated Press. "A lot of youth, and you wonder where your leadership's going to come from. I knew we had some good athletes, but you really don't know how that translates into big-time football players."

Knowingly coming into the season in a transitional phase and having to compete with Oklahoma and Baylor, Oklahoma State opened their season against the defending National Champions, the Florida State Seminoles. Though they lost 37-31 on a neutral field, Oklahoma State forced the college football world to take notice.

"I told you [Oklahoma State coach] Mike [Gundy] has a got a good football team, and he's a heck of a football coach," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher previously told reporters. "He has done a great job for a long time."

Texas Tech is coming off a rough 49-28 loss at home against Arkansas and now play two straight road games against currently ranked opponents: Oklahoma State and Kansas State. A proud program, the Red Raiders have a lot of work to do to get back to the AP poll, but they can start by beating Oklahoma State.