By Bryan Carr
Special to the News Star
TULSA - What was supposed to be the beginning of a new era for the Oklahoma State Cowboys football team, turned into another frustrating chapter Saturday afternoon. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane spoiled Eric Morris’ debut as Oklahoma State’s head coach, controlling the Cowboys for much of the game on the way to a 24-10 victory at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
Tulsa’s victory marked the Golden Hurricane’s second consecutive win over Oklahoma State and the first time Tulsa had beaten the Cowboys in back-to-back seasons since 1951-52. It was also the first time since 1998 that Tulsa beat the Cowboys in the friendly confines of H.A Chapman Stadium.
For the Cowboys, the loss extended the losing streak to 12 and immediately put Morris and his revamped program under the microscope. Oklahoma State entered the contest with plenty of optimism surrounding its new coach and a roster dramatically reshaped through the transfer portal. Instead, the Cowboys struggled to turn opportunities into points and repeatedly gave Tulsa chances to seize control.
The biggest difference for the Cowboys was turnovers. Tulsa forced four Oklahoma State turnovers—two interceptions and two fumble recoveries—while the Cowboys could manage only one takeaway. Oklahoma State also turned the ball over on downs three times.
“You can’t beat anybody when you give the ball like that,” Morris said in his postgame press conference.
The Cowboys did manage to move the football down the field. OSU finished with 368 total yards of offense to Tulsa’s 361 and picked up 27 first downs to the Golden Hurricane’s 15. However, yards do not win games, points do, and the Cowboy’s stalled drives were the difference in the contest. The Cowboys converted just 5 of 16 on third down and went 2 for 6 on fourth downs.
“I’m utterly embarrassed. Embarrassed for our fans, for our players, for everybody involved,” Morris said after Saturday’s loss.
Morris said Oklahoma State was beaten across the board and acknowledged that the offense, which was expected to be a strength of the new-look Cowboys, failed to live up to expectations.
“We played awful.” Morris said. “I mean, there’s no other way to put it.”
He also took responsibility for his decisions as a play caller, particularly the failed fourth down attempts.
Cowboy QB Drew Mestemaker had a less than stellar performance going 29/49 for 241 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
“Yeah, it sucked honestly,” Mestemaker said when asked about the game. He said the performance was not representative of the identity Oklahoma State expected to have entering the season. “That wasn’t our brand of football that we play.”
Cowboy RB Caleb Hawkins lead the Cowboy running attack with 18 carries for 79 yards and Cowboy WR Wyatt Young lead the Cowboys in receiving with 8 receptions for 84.
While one game with Morris at the Cowboy helm should not be the entire litmus test for how the rest of the season will go, the Cowboy’s schedule does not get any easier this week. The number 2 Oregon Ducks come into town this Saturday coming off a 34-27 win over the Boise State Broncos.
“I don’t necessarily put a ton of stock into they didn’t win the game. You look at the scheme, and it’s been effective everywhere he’s been,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said, speaking of Morris. “It’s a first team. When you have 91 new players, I imagine that’s tough to get that figured out in a short amount of time, especially when you don’t see what it looks like until you really get on the game field.”
Oklahoma State takes on Oregon this Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium for their home opener at 11 a.m. on ESPN/Disney+.