Oklahoma State Suffers First Home Loss to Tulsa Since 1951 in Rough Outing

Oklahoma State’s 10-game winning streak in the Turnpike Classic was snapped in an underwhelming performance.

OSU lost to Tulsa 19-12 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater on Friday night, moving to 1-2 this season. Still without an FBS win in over a year, the Cowboys suffered their first loss to Tulsa since 1998 and their first home loss to the Golden Hurricane since 1951.

With 5:49 left in the fourth, Logan Ward nailed a 49-yard field goal to cut the Tulsa lead to 19-12. The Cowboys forced a stop and got the ball back, still trailing by seven with just over three minutes remaining.

Needing to convert a fourth-and-5 with 2:20 left, Zane Flores couldn’t connect with an open Rodney Fields Jr. on the left side to turn it over on downs. Thanks to the two-minute warning, OSU still had a slim chance, getting the ball back on its own 32 after Tulsa missed a field goal with 26 seconds left. Despite a couple of last-second prayers into the end zone, OSU couldn’t make the miraculous play it needed.

Trailing by 16 midway through the third quarter, OSU forced the first Tulsa turnover of the night, with former Cowboy Dominic Richardson losing the ball on a carry, leading to an OSU recovery. After a roughing the passer penalty helped OSU get to the Tulsa 5-yard line, Rodney Fields Jr.’s 4th-and-1 rush came up short, resulting in a critical turnover on downs.

After the Cowboy defense came up with another stop, OSU’s offense finally paid it off. Flores’ keeper into the end zone on fourth down from the 5 gave OSU its first touchdown of the night. However, he would follow that by throwing a pick on the two-point conversion to keep the game a two-possession score at 19-9.

On the ensuing Tulsa possession, a 39-yard rush from Richardson quickly got the Golden Hurricane into OSU territory before the Cowboys would force a punt. Making up for his earlier blunder, Richardson’s big run pushed him over 100 yards on the night, eventually finishing with 146 yards on 31 carries.

Receiving the second-half kickoff, Tulsa quickly marched downfield against the Cowboys, adding another field goal to take a 19-3 lead early in the third quarter. Desperately needing a score to get back into the game, Mike Gundy chose to roll the dice on fourth-and-10 from the Tulsa 37.

While Flores had some room to run, he was ultimately 5 yards short of the first down, giving OSU a turnover on downs on what was a somewhat promising drive.

Tulsa running back Braylin Presley scored the first touchdown of the game, with his 19-yard reception in the first quarter giving the Golden Hurricane a 7-3 lead. Considering how the game evolved, it might have been a sign of things to come, given that Presley started his career at OSU. The former Cowboy wide receiver finished his return to Stillwater with 66 total yards across three carries and two receptions.

After failing to find a rhythm after their first bye week of the season, the Cowboys will shift their focus to next week’s Big 12 opener against Baylor, still searching for their first FBS win of the season.