Oklahoma State and Tulsa are set for another chapter in a rivalry that has been going on for more than a century, with the Cowboys heading east for the Gateway First Bank Turnpike Classis on Saturday, September 5. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
This matchup has deep roots. OSU and Tulsa have met 78 times since their first game in 1914, making Tulsa the only opponent the Cowboys have faced more often than Oklahoma.
Oklahoma State owns the series lead at 45-28-5, and the edge has been especially clear in recent years. The Cowboys have taken 10 of the last 11 meetings, including a 45-10 win in 2024 during their last trip to Tulsa.
That recent run includes four straight victories in Tulsa, with wins there in 2000, 2011, 2019 and 2024. If OSU wins again Saturday, it would mark the longest winning streak at Tulsa in series history, pushing that run to five.
The coaching history adds another wrinkle. OSU coach Eric Morris is 2-0 against Tulsa after beating the Golden Hurricane in 2023 and 2024 while at North Texas. Tulsa coach Tre Lamb has one win in one try against OSU as a head coach.
The schools are also in the middle of an eight-year scheduling agreement that started in 2024. The 72-mile separation between the programs means the games will keep coming annually through 2031, with Tulsa hosting at H.A. Chapman Stadium in even-numbered years and OSU hosting in Boone Pickens Stadium in odd-numbered years.
A quick look at the series history shows how lopsided things have been in Stillwater compared with Tulsa. Oklahoma State is 28-7-3 at home and 21-17-2 in Tulsa, with the teams never having met at a neutral site. The first meeting came in 1914, when OSU beat Tulsa 13-6.
The most recent results in the series include Tulsa’s 19-12 win in 2025, OSU’s 45-10 victory in 2024, and a long list of Cowboys wins stretching back through the past 40 meetings.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Still Has One Crucial Battle To Settle In Week 1
Oklahoma State heads into Week 1 with one of the more interesting position battles on its hands, and it comes in the secondary. The cornerback spots on the depth chart are still marked by OR designations, a sign that nobody has fully separated from the pack after fall camp. Head coach Eric Morris said all five corners have put together strong work in camp, giving the staff multiple viable options as the Cowboys prepare for Tulsa.
Even with the competition still open, the first game should offer a clearer picture of how that group is going to shake out. Morris indicated the corners are expected to be used in rotation against Tulsa, with the final pecking order tied to what happens on the field rather than what was shown in practice. For a unit that has been evenly matched all month, Week 1 may end up being the real test that decides who keeps earning those snaps. [Read more 🡒]
Drew Mestemaker Faces The Oklahoma State Question That Will Define 2026
Drew Mestemaker arrives at Oklahoma State with a growing reputation and a much harder stage ahead. After a productive year at North Texas, the quarterback is now stepping into a season that will test him against a far more demanding schedule, the kind of jump that tells a program plenty about where it stands and what it can become. For the Cowboys, his transition matters because it is about more than simply carrying over past success. It is about whether a quarterback who has already shown he can handle volume and responsibility can do it when the speed, pressure and weekly stakes all rise.
Head coach Eric Morris, who has spent enough time around good quarterbacks to recognize what translates, sounds convinced Mestemaker has the traits to make it work. Morris has pointed to his decision-making and preparation as strengths, and he expects those habits to travel with him as Oklahoma State leans on him in 2026. The bigger question is how that growth plays against tougher competition, because the Cowboys are betting that Mestemaker's development will shape not only their season but also the path he eventually builds toward the NFL. [Read more 🡒]
Eric Morris Sees Familiar Stakes In Tulsa Showdown
Tre Lambs rise has drawn an easy comparison to Eric Morris, and it makes sense why the Tulsa coach brought it up this week. Both have climbed the coaching ladder through FCS stops before moving into bigger jobs, and both have done it as younger voices trying to prove their systems can travel. Morris, who has seen his own path accelerate in similar fashion, spoke highly of Lambs approach and the way he has gone about reshaping Tulsa.
The matchup adds another layer to a game already carrying plenty of regional interest for Oklahoma State. Morris also pointed to the support Tulsas administration has given Lamb as he tries to rebuild the program, a detail that tends to matter when a coach is trying to establish himself early in a tenure. For two staffs with familiar backgrounds and overlapping ambitions, the meeting carries the kind of stakes that can make a regular game feel a little larger. [Read more 🡒]