Oklahoma State’s 24-7 loss to Tulsa left head coach Eric Morris with plenty to own, and he did just that after the game. He praised the Golden Hurricane, took aim at his own team’s performance and made clear this was not the opener he wanted after nine months of building a roster with 91 new players.
The Cowboys now turn the page to Oregon, but Week 1 still says a lot about where this group stands right now. On this first look back, only one position group came out better than a seat.
At quarterback, Drew Mestemaker had a rough debut. He completed fewer than 60% of his throws, tossed two interceptions and lost a fumble. The touchdown pass to Justin Bowick was a sharp throw, but three turnovers are three turnovers, and that kind of afternoon doesn’t earn a passing grade.
The ground game had a chance to carry more of the load, and Caleb Hawkins made the most of his work. He ran for 79 yards and flashed enough to make you think more carries could have pushed him over 100. Tre Page III looks like he can become a useful change-of-pace option, while he and Ayo Adeyi both came away with limited production on their touches.
At receiver, Wyatt Young stood out as the one wideout who consistently brought something to the offense. Of the 29 catches on the day, 22 went to wide receivers, but Young was the only one who was truly productive.
The downfield passing game never really got going, and that wasn’t on the receivers. Bowick hauled in the lone touchdown, though OSU didn’t fully use his 6-5 frame.
Tight end was basically a blank spot. No tight end caught a pass, making it the most invisible position group in the game. Carson Kolb and the rest of that room may look different once the tape is in, but on Saturday there was nothing there.
Up front, the offensive line had a hard time even before factoring in Jacob Sexton’s injury. Tulsa adjusted to Oklahoma State’s zone blocking as the game wore on, and the Cowboys never found the right answer. Protecting Mestemaker against a four-man rush should not have been that difficult, even with only a light blitz package mixed in, but the line struggled to hold up.
The defensive front had a better day than many probably expected, even if it faded by the fourth quarter because of the heat and the workload. It held Tulsa to 4.1 yards per carry, which is a solid run-stopping effort.
But the pass rush never got home, and Baylor Hayes was too comfortable in the pocket. That lack of pressure took away what could have been a stronger showing from the front four.
Inside, Tate Romney got the start next to Ethan Wesloski over Isaiah Chisom, though the reason for that choice wasn’t clear. Romney and Wesloski each finished with seven tackles, which led Oklahoma State’s defense, but neither one changed the game. There were no takeaways, no splash plays and not much reason for Tulsa to worry about either linebacker.
The secondary at least produced the defense’s only turnover. LaDainian Fields picked off a deep ball in the third quarter for Oklahoma State’s lone takeaway.
Baylor Hayes completed 71% of his passes, but he wasn’t pushed down the field often. The back end mostly held up, with Jimmy Calloway’s 47-yard catch in the second quarter standing out as the one major breakdown.
Special teams didn’t swing the game either way. Sam Keltner hit his only field goal attempt and his only extra point try.
Lachie Pozzobon averaged 44 yards per punt. Oklahoma State returned only four kickoffs and punts combined for 29 total yards, which at least meant the unit didn’t add to the problems.
Morris was especially critical of his own play calling, and some of the biggest third- and fourth-down decisions did look conservative. Once Sexton went down, the Cowboys never really solved the offensive line issue, and the staff’s adjustments didn’t produce the right answer.
Tulsa seemed to stay a step ahead of almost everything Oklahoma State tried. The one area that wasn’t a mess: clock management, which never became a problem.
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Oklahoma States Eric Morris Debut Raised Concerns Fans Cant Ignore
Tulsas 24-10 win in Stillwater did more than snap Oklahoma States 11-game season-opening streak. It exposed how quickly a promising afternoon can tilt when the Cowboys lose control of field position, give away possessions and fail to finish drives, all while trying to sort out what the Eric Morris era is supposed to look like in real time. The game never found a steady rhythm for Oklahoma State, and Tulsa made sure the few explosive moments belonged to the visitors.
The Cowboys also took an early hit up front when left tackle Jacob Sexton went down and had to be carted off, a blow that only added to the sense of unease around the offense. Tulsa, meanwhile, created the kind of chunk gains Oklahoma State never matched, and the Cowboys problems on fourth down kept them from turning scattered progress into anything lasting. For a fan base hoping for a clean reset, the opener left plenty of questions and not many easy answers. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Has A Tulsa Problem Fans Can't Ignore
Tulsas latest trip to Stillwater ended with a result Oklahoma State fans did not want to see and one that carried a little more historical weight than a normal nonconference loss. Baylor Hayes managed the game efficiently, completing 17 of 24 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown, while the Golden Hurricane defense kept the Cowboys off balance by forcing four turnovers and limiting their fourth-down chances in a 24-10 win.
For a program trying to reset momentum, the part that stings is how complete Tulsa looked doing it. Tre Lamb had sounded confident before kickoff, and afterward the Golden Hurricane coach had reason to feel even better about the way his team handled the moment. The scoreboard told one story, but the way Tulsa controlled enough of the game to make the final margin feel manageable left Oklahoma State with a problem it cannot just brush aside. [Read more 🡒]
Eric Morris Debut Just Sparked A Bigger Oklahoma State Debate
Eric Morris Oklahoma State debut arrived with plenty of attention, but the bigger story from the opener was how thoroughly Tulsa dictated the terms. The Golden Hurricane were the sharper, more physical team from the start, winning the turnover battle and coming up with the kind of early fourth-down stop that set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. For a Cowboys roster that had been overhauled and was supposed to carry more offensive talent than this showing suggested, it was a sobering first look.
The frustration is bigger than one loss because Tulsa has now had the upper hand in back-to-back meetings, something Oklahoma State supporters have not seen in generations. A program trying to reset under Morris does not need this kind of early setback, especially not one built on self-inflicted mistakes and an offense that never found a steady rhythm. The opener was supposed to answer some questions about where the Cowboys are headed, but instead it left a more uncomfortable one hanging over the program. [Read more 🡒]