Three Things to Know about Oklahoma State’s Matchup against Tulsa

The Cowboys are back home after an early bye week followed a huge loss to No. 6 Oregon. The need for a win goes without saying (it’s been a while), but with a revamped roster and coaching staff obviously not firing on all cylinders and the Big 12 slate looming, they need to figure some things out quickly. Starting Friday night.

Let’s take a look at the Cowboys’ matchup with the Golden Hurricane and three things to know before things kick off.

An Ugly Year, Bookended (Hopefully) by Tulsa

If the Cowboys are able to bounce back from their loss to Oregon on Friday, it will end an over year-long drought in victories over FBS opponents. OSU beat Tulsa on the road 45-10 on September 14, 2024 and will have not put a check in the W column for 370 days. It’s the longest FBS losing streak in program history.

Needless to say, that needs to end. Tulsa has struggled as well this season, but there is one thing that has been working for the Golden Hurricane so far this season. One which could give the Pokes trouble.

Tulsa Is Getting after QBs

The Cowboys are already short one QB due to injury and have been pretty ineffective at moving the ball overall thus far. To make things worse, Tulsa has been pretty good at pressuring opposing QBs in its three games this season. The Golden Hurricane is posting a pass-rush grade of 90.1 according to Pro Football Focus. That’s second-best in the FBS, behind only Louisville (91.3).

Zane Flores has been sacked twice in each of his two appearances, and the Cowboys are already banged up along their offensive line. Tulsa has eight sacks through three games as a team and has snagged three interceptions to three touchdowns allowed. It’s still early, but we’ve got a big enough sample size to know that Tulsa is getting after opposing QBs and that the Cowboys have struggled in the passing game.

Even more, TU is ranked fourth in defensive rating at 91.9, and fifth in overall grading (88.5) — quite a feat for a team that managed to go 1-2.

To that point…

One Slipped Away, Another Ran Them Over

How does a team turn in grades like that and lose its first two FBS games (a QB carousel notwithstanding)? Tulsa let one slip away and then get absolutely housed on the ground in another.

Tulsa took a 14-13 lead with 7:33 to go on the road at New Mexico State but then allowed the Aggies to score a touchdown on the next drive and then threw interception No. 2 of the game on their next possession, in New Mexico State territory, with just 34 seconds left.

The Hurricane’s home loss to Navy was never really that close. After taking a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, Tulsa got absolutely run over by the Midshipmen. I guess they can get you by land or by sea. Navy employed its hybrid triple-option offense for five rushing scores and doubled up Tulsa in rushing yards 367 to 140. The Hurricane won’t face an offense that unique again until TU plays Army in late November, and Tulsa won’t likely have that much trouble from OSU’s rushing attack.

The Cowboys and Golden Hurricane square off at 6:30 p.m. Friday night in Stillwater.

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