3 Matchups That Will Decide Oklahoma State’s Week 1 Game Against Tulsa
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For 10 months, this is all Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris has been thinking about — the first game of the season against Tulsa.
He has said repeatedly this week that he’s done with his players practicing against one another. He needs them to play someone else. He needs to see them measure up against an opponent. He and his players need some adversity. The Golden Hurricane hope to give the Cowboys all that and more on Saturday.
Oklahoma State hopes to return to Stillwater with win No. 1 under Morris. Here are the three matchups that will decide the game for the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday.
Oklahoma State RB Caleb Hawkins vs. Tulsa Run Defense
Many will focus on the quarterback, Drew Mestemaker, and that’s fair. But Morris pointed out that Tulsa runs the same 4-2-5 defense Oklahoma State does and that the Golden Hurricane uses many of the same run fits that the Cowboys defense uses. That means that Caleb Hawkins has, in some way, been running against Tulsa’s scheme and run fits since spring practices.
That could allow him to be dominant, especially early in the game where Morris wants to get off to a fast start. Hawkins and the Mean Green didn’t face Tulsa last season. But the freshman all-American finished with 1,434 rushing yards, 1,804 all-purpose yards and with 29 total touchdowns, setting a new FBS freshman record.
It’s a pick your poison kind of situation for the Golden Hurricane. The Cowboys could lean into Hawkins early to establish the offense, build a lead and use it to salt away the game if it gets a big lead.
Oklahoma State Pass Rush vs. Tulsa QB Baylor Hayes
The Cowboys had a terrible pass rush a season ago and most of it left either in the transfer portal after Gundy’s firing or due to graduation. Morris and his staff have had to rebuild it, except for the returns of Jaleel Johnson and DeSean Brown, who are both on the two-deep roster. Johnson missed much of last season due to an injury.
The Cowboys are trying to build a pass rush rotation built around several players that haven’t had the opportunity to be “the man” yet. It might work. Baylor Hayes set several freshman records for the Golden Hurricane last year and he hopes to take a big step forward. If the Cowboys can make him take a step back on Saturday, that will be a big step forward for the unit.
Oklahoma State Run Defense vs. Tulsa Backfield
Tulsa head coach Tre Lamb made it clear earlier this week that the Golden Hurricanes wants to establish the run and maintain possession to keep OSU’s offense off the field. He even said that three first downs and a punt would be a win. Naturally, Lamb wants his offense to score points. But he’s put together a new backfield in the wake of the departure of Dominic Richardson.
As bad as the Cowboys’ pass rush was a season ago, the run defense might have been worse. Iman Oates is back and is set to be the starting defensive tackle. Former North Texas star Saadiq Clements is the starting nose tackle. Behind the pair are five other players that the Cowboys will rotate in throughout the game, part of which will be due to the heat.
If Lamb wants to run the ball, how successful the Golden Hurricanes are against the Cowboys’ front four will play a big part in who wins the game.
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Matthew Postins is the publisher of Oklahoma State on SI. He is an award-winning sports journalist who was formerly the editor of the College Football America Yearbook and covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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