Tre Lamb's Bulletin Board Material Came Back To Bite Tulsa Against Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE — Tulsa head coach Tre Lamb said Monday that a good Group of Six team would win Saturday's road game against Arkansas.

By all accounts, Tulsa (3-1) is a good Group of Six team. But the Razorbacks had their way with the Golden Hurricane on Saturday in a 34-6 win that was by far Arkansas' most complete performance of the season.

"They outplayed us in every phase," Lamb said. "We got beat at the point of attack today. I think everybody could see that. We physically got beat at the point of attack across the board... We struggled to block them. Offensively, we got nothing going. Every time we did get something going there was a penalty. Our untimely penalties are absolutely killing us right now.

Sep 26, 2026; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Tulsa Golden Hurricanes head coach Tre Lamb watches a replay during the fourth quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"We hit an explosive play and we turn it over. We cross the 50, got a chance to cut it to one score, and Dexter fumbles. Two turnovers, penalties are absolutely gutting us on offense. Defensively, we can't be out there for 36 minutes against an SEC team. The dam's going to break eventually. You gotta control those games. You gotta make the key plays."

Tulsa had nine penalties for 64 yards on Saturday. Twice, would-be first down runs from QB Dexter Williams were called back.

"The first one, the guy's past [JaQuan Adams], he beats him on an inside move and he's just better than us," Lamb said. "And he has to grab him or the quarterback's going to die. The next one I thought was close. it was kind of a bang-bang, quarterback's escaping, I can't really fault [Ian Mayes] for that one. He's just gotta know when to let go."

Twice, Tulsa's defense appeared to get off the field on third down, including via an interception by Tyson Williams, but both of those stops were wiped out by offsides calls. Tulsa also had two penalties on special teams — a holding call that backed the TU offense back to its own seven-yard-line in the first half, and a kick catch interference penalty in the second half that gave Arkansas excellent field position.

Despite what Las Vegas and the rest of the college football world thought, it was going to take a near-flawless game from Tulsa on Saturday for the Golden Hurricane to waltz into Fayetteville and steal a win. In a game where Tulsa made a plethora of back-breaking mistakes, it had no chance.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield (left) talks with Tulsa Golden Hurricane coach Tre Lamb during pregame warmups. | Nilsen Roman, Hogs on SI Images

"There were some penalties that showed up," Lamb said. "When you're playing good people, your fundamentals get exposed. We really worked hard on fundamentals last week, and it didn't show.

"I could feel this coming a little bit with, you're playing really good talent and [an] athletic SEC roster. One false step, one grab, it becomes so much more exposed than it does when you're playing an American team."

Arkansas shouldn't celebrate Saturday's win like a road victory over an SEC team, but beating a decent Tulsa squad that most predicted would at least give Arkansas a four-quarter fight by 28 had to feel good.

As for Lamb and Tulsa, things won't get any easier. Tulsa will host North Texas on Thursday in a massive game to open American conference play.

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