Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris isn’t leaning too hard on last year’s Tulsa loss as fuel for Week 1. The roster turnover on both sides has made that a tricky angle to sell.
Most of the Cowboys who were on the field in that game are gone, either through transfer or eligibility running out. Tulsa is in the same boat, which takes some of the edge off last year’s result for second-year Golden Hurricane coach Tre Lamb, too.
What Morris did focus on Tuesday was the group of Tulsa players who could shape Saturday’s game. Four names stood out to him, and they start with the quarterback.
The obvious one is the player Lamb brought with him last season. Hayes spent his freshman year at ETSU under Lamb before following him to Tulsa and taking over as the Golden Hurricane’s full-time starter.
In 2025, as a redshirt freshman, he threw for 2,158 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions while setting several program freshman records. His best outing came against Temple, when he put up a career-high 296 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Hayes also piled up six 200-yard passing games and finished with 2,346 yards of total offense as a freshman, and Lamb is hoping that production keeps climbing. He wants Hayes to reach 3,000 passing yards this season.
Tulsa also had to rebuild around the run game after losing Dominic Richardson, who went over 1,000 yards last year. Lamb can mix and match in the backfield, but Morris singled out Alston as the one who jumped off the tape.
Alston arrives from Auburn for his fifth season after spending his whole college career there. The 5-10, 205-pound back never became a full-time feature, but he still played in 38 games, made three starts and totaled 809 rushing yards on 162 carries. He scored six touchdowns, and his size gives Tulsa a clear goal-line option.
Morris also noted Wells, a transfer from Oregon State who Oklahoma State pursued in the portal before he ended up with the Golden Hurricane. Wells spent three seasons with the Beavers, played in 22 games and caught 51 passes for 551 yards and six touchdowns.
Last season was his real breakthrough: he started all 11 games, caught 44 passes for 466 yards and four scores, and logged two 100-yard games. If he had been at Tulsa a year ago, he would have ranked second on the team in receiving behind Zion Booker.
On defense, Morris pointed to Williams as one of Tulsa’s key players. Williams put together a strong 2025 season that earned him a spot on Phil Steele’s American Conference fourth team.
He started all 12 games and finished with 73 tackles, including 39 solo stops, good for third on the team. His best games came against Navy and East Carolina, when he had 11 tackles in each.
Williams also brought some playmaking punch. He forced two fumbles, broke up seven passes and gives Tulsa a safety who can cover and find the ball.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Has A Walk-On Breakthrough Fans Need To Watch
Quinton Hammonds has been one of the more interesting under-the-radar stories around Stillwater, a former high school wide receiver who walked on at North Texas, shifted to defense and kept climbing until Oklahoma State found a role that fit. His path has been built on special teams work, steady defensive snaps and the kind of gradual rise that usually gets noticed only after it has already become impossible to ignore.
Hammonds has already flashed enough to earn national defensive player of the week recognition, and his arrival in the rotation carries extra weight because the Cowboys have kept rewarding players who can carve out value wherever the staff needs it most. Now he is in position to take the next step in a familiar-looking climb, one that has roots far deeper than a single season and leaves open how far his breakout can go once the games start demanding more of him. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Fans Finally Get A Real Look At Eric Morris
Saturday offers the first true look at Eric Morris running Oklahoma State, and the timing feels significant after the program moved on from a disappointing season and turned the page with a coach known for building productive offenses. Morris arrives with a track record from North Texas, where he helped guide a strong attack while navigating plenty of roster change, and now the Cowboys finally get put on the field in a setting that starts answering real questions about what his version of this team looks like.
Tulsa makes for a useful measuring stick because this opener is more than just a debut on the schedule. It is Oklahoma States first chance to see how the defense holds up under Morris, whether the offense reflects the pace and structure he prefers, and how the special teams fit into the bigger picture. For fans, the intrigue is less about the opponent and more about the first glimpse of who Morris trusts and how quickly his ideas translate once the game starts counting. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State Brings Real Pressure To Oregons Early Season Showcase
Oregons 2026 opener against Boise State is already giving the Ducks an early-season spotlight game, and it is not the only date on the home schedule drawing attention. The Ducks also have upcoming home games against Oklahoma State, Portland State and USC, with ticket prices for the Boise State matchup currently listed from $69 to $620 as fans start looking ahead to a season that will again bring a mix of conference and nonconference intrigue.
For Oklahoma State followers, the Boise State game matters because it is part of the same stretch of premium road and home inventory that tends to disappear fast when a marquee opponent comes to town. Oregons home streaks and Boise States key players add to the appeal, but the ticket market is already doing some talking of its own, and the demand around the Ducks schedule suggests the Cowboys trip to Eugene is going to be one of the harder tickets on the board. [Read more 🡒]