Eric Morris’ first game as Oklahoma State’s head coach looked a lot like the end of the Mike Gundy/Doug Meachem run: another loss to an FBS opponent.
The Cowboys fell 24-10 to Tulsa on Saturday, dropping to 0-1 to open the 2026 season and pushing their skid against FBS teams to 21 straight games. That is the number hanging over this program now, and it is a brutal one.
The last time Oklahoma State beat an FBS opponent came in Week 3 of the 2024 season, when the Cowboys were ranked No. 13 and handled Tulsa 45-10. Since that win, the losses have piled up in a way that has turned every upcoming FBS matchup into a question mark.
Oklahoma State closed the 2024 season with nine straight defeats, all against FBS competition. The Cowboys then opened 2025 with a win over FCS Tennessee-Martin before losing the final 11 games of that season, again all against FBS schools.
Next week does not offer much relief. No.
2 Oregon is on deck, and the Ducks beat Oklahoma State 69-3 a year ago. A Week 3 game against FCS Murray State should provide a chance to get in the win column, but it will not count toward ending the FBS losing streak.
After that, the path gets a little more interesting. West Virginia and UCF are the next FBS opponents that could offer a realistic shot, followed by a trip to No.
23 Houston. If the streak survives that stretch, a home game against Colorado on Oct. 24 starts to look like another possible landing spot.
However this plays out, the larger picture is impossible to ignore. Oklahoma State was not all that long ago a steady 10-win program that lived in the top 25. Now it cannot find a way to beat an FBS team.
The Cowboys did make major offseason investments through the transfer portal and NIL, including quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who arrived after helping North Texas to a 12-win season and a College Football Playoff push. But his debut in orange and black was rough, with two interceptions in the loss to Tulsa.
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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 🡒]