Countdown to Kickoff: 33 Days

PREVIOUS COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF ENTRIES: 50 | 49 | 48 | 47 | 46 | 45 | 44 | 43 | 42

41 | 40 | 39 | 38 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 34

Texas Tech's 2016 football season will begin in exactly 33 days with a Sept. 3 kickoff against Stephen F. Austin.

Today, we continue our Countdown to Kickoff series with a notable way the number 33 relates to Red Raider football.

Texas Tech's football series with Southern Methodist is the program's most active non-conference series, with the two teams meeting 49 times between 1932 and 2013. Indeed, the Red Raiders have played the Mustangs more than any other opponent except for Baylor, Texas A&M, Texas and TCU.

The series began in 1932 with a two-year arrangement. Texas Tech won the opening game 6-0, and SMU evened things out with a 14-0 win in 1933. The ensuing 27 seasons would see the the two teams play each other just four times.

That changed in 1960 when the Red Raiders began competing in the Southwest Conference. From that point on until the NCAA hit the Mustangs with the Death Penalty, Texas Tech and SMU played every season.

The Red Raiders and Mustangs have played eight times since the breakup of the Southwest Conference, with Texas Tech winning all eight meetings. There are currently no future scheduling agreements in place between the two programs.

All told, Texas Tech owns the all-time series with SMU 33-16. The Red Raiders' last loss in the series came in 1986.

Tomorrow: 32 - We look back at a career-mark for one of Texas Tech's all-time greats.