Coming in as nearly two-touchdown underdogs, Tulsa put on a show for its home crowd by subduing new-look Oklahoma State in a 24-10 season-opening win at H. A. Chapman Stadium.
The Golden Hurricane (1-0), despite not converting a third down conversion until there were three minutes to play (1-for-11), led wire-to-wire and held the Cowboys to just 368 yards of offense. Tulsa scored 17 points off of Oklahoma State failed fourth down conversions.
Damari Alston had 73 rushing yards with two touchdowns, including a 29-yard score that served as insurance with 7:52 to play. Baylor Hayes finished 17-for-24 with 227 yards passing and a touchdown, while Oran Singleton Jr. had four catches for 99 yards and a touchdown.
The Eric Morris era started with disappointment for Oklahoma State (0-1) as the new head coach’s offense was never able to find its footing, going just 2-of-6 on fourth downs and finding the end zone just once. Star transfer Drew Mestemaker was 29-of-49 for 241 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
The Cowboys turned the ball over on downs on their second drive of the second half, which led to Singleton’s 21-yard touchdown. Tulsa led 17-3 with seven minutes left in the third.
Oklahoma State responded on its next drive with Mestemaker getting his first touchdown in a Cowboys uniform; it was a 16-yard pass along the sidelines to Justin Bowick to pull within 17-10.
After Alston’s second touchdown, Mestemaker led another drive into the red zone but threw a game-sealing interception in the end zone.
The Golden Hurricane started the day by capitalizing on an Oklahoma State turnover on downs with a 40-yard field goal for the early 3-0 lead.
The Cowboys got on the board themselves with 2:04 to play in the first half by way of a 35-yard field goal.
The Golden Hurricane used an 8-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by an Alston 1-yard run to give Tulsa a 10-3 lead into halftime.
Tulsa got its second straight win over Oklahoma State after losing its previous 10 games against the Cowboys.
