Burning Answers: Lessons Learned in Oklahoma State's Loss vs. Tulsa

The Cowboys had a rough outing against the Golden Hurricane.

Oklahoma State running back Rodney Fields Jr. (20) runs the ball along the sidelines in the third quarter during an NCAA football game between Oklahoma State (OSU) and Tulsa at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. | NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oklahoma State answered plenty of questions in its loss on Friday night.

OSU fell to Tulsa 19-12, marking its first loss against the Golden Hurricane in the Mike Gundy era. After years of dominating the Turnpike Classic, the Cowboys fell flat in their nonconference finale.

With Mike Gundy’s team dropping to 1-2 ahead of Big 12 play, things are looking rather rough in Stillwater.

Burning answers from Oklahoma State’s loss to Tulsa:

Is Oklahoma State still a tier above Tulsa?

No.

The Cowboys proved on Friday night that they simply aren’t ahead of the Golden Hurricane at this point. Sure, it could be a one-year blip in the Turnpike Classic series that OSU has dominated in recent history, but it might simply be a sign of the times.

OSU has looked awful since last season, and it doesn’t appear to be making any strides to change that. As Tre Lamb and company look to build a winning program in Tulsa, this could be a milestone win for the Golden Hurricane.

Can anyone break out for the OSU offense?

The Cowboys managed to put only 12 points on the board against Tulsa, but they also saw one player break through as a potential star. Of course, that was Rodney Fields Jr.

The redshirt freshman running back secured the first 100-yard game of his career, rushing 17 times for 113 yards. He also made a game-high six receptions for 39 yards.

While Fields didn’t reach the end zone for the Cowboys on Friday night, he was still a clear bright spot for the Cowboys. After Ollie Gordon II broke through and saved the Cowboys in 2023, OSU is as desperate as ever for Fields to have a similar year in 2025.

Can OSU show improvement after a bye week?

The Cowboys had four times as many points as they did against Oregon while holding Tulsa to just over a quarter of what they allowed at Oregon. Of course, that means a whole lot of nothing when the Cowboys had a 69-3 loss in that game.

It appeared OSU had nothing going its way at any point in the game and struggled to even look competitive against Tulsa. While the defense did a solid job of holding Tulsa to field goals a few times, the offense never capitalized on the never-expanding margin. 

While the Cowboys had overcome some disappointing starts with resurgent performances off bye weeks in recent years, the lack of aggression and care from them against Tulsa tells the story of the season thus far.

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