Coming in as nearly a two-touchdown underdog, 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 on Saturday.
The Golden Hurricane (1-0), despite not converting on third down until there were three minutes to play (1-for-11 in the game), never trailed 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.
–Field Level Media
