Three Biggest Moments that Crushed Oklahoma State in Week 1 Loss to Tulsa
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Big moments happen in every football game. They set the tone. They change the narrative. They help teams win and lose.
For the Oklahoma State Cowboys, their 24-10 loss to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane turned on the three plays below. One was a lack of execution and imaginative play-calling. One was a penalty that was the right call but also clearly an accident. One was a turnover that robbed the Cowboys of a shot to build momentum.
Here are the three biggest moments of Saturday’s game that crushed OSU’s chances of beating Tulsa.
The Failed Fourth-and-Goal
The Cowboys won the toss and deferred and the set-up was perfect. The Oklahoma State defense forced a three-and-out and a punt. From their own 27, the Cowboys methodically marched down the field. Oklahoma State converted a third down and a fourth down along the way and were sitting on first-and-10 on the Tulsa 12 with 9:30 left in the first quarter.
It was OSU’s first red zone trip of the game. At minimum, the Cowboys must get a field goal there.
First down? Running back Caleb Hawkins gained two yards up the middle.
Second down? Tre Page III gains seven yards up the middle.
Third down? Page III gains no yards up the middle. Tulsa time out.
Morris and his coaching staff had some time to think about it — kick the field goal or shoot for a touchdown? It was fourth-and-1 at the Golden Hurricane 3-yard line. OSU didn’t have to score. It could get a first down and a fresh set of downs. The Cowboys went for it.
Fourth down? Hawkins gained no yards and Tulsa got the ball.
It was some of the least imaginative play-calling one is likely to see from an offense led by head coach Eric Morris. Why OSU went with four straight run plays is beyond dull. It set the tone for the rest of the game. OSU was 2-for-5 on third and fourth down on that drive. It converted only five more third- or fourth-down plays the rest of the game. Losing left tackle Jacob Sexton to injury on the drive hurt. But the failure in the red zone hurt more. OSU ran the ball well enough on that drive to run play-action at least once but didn’t.
Tulsa turned the goal-line stand into a field goal and a 3-0 lead.
The Roughing the Passer Call
With the game tied 3-3 the Golden Hurricane got the ball back at their own 35 with 2:01 left in the second quarter. Tulsa drove it the length of the field and had the ball at the Cowboys 1-yard line with 1:16 left, thanks to a terrific 47-yard hookup between Tulsa quarterback Baylor Hayes and wide receiver Jimmy Calloway.
On the next play, running back Damari Alston scored on an off-tackle play in which he had nothing but green turf in front of him. It became apparent why — holding on Tulsa’s Ian Mayes. It was a huge break for the Cowboys.
The OSU defense stymied Hayes on the next three plays. He passed incomplete twice and rushed for no yards on another. Oklahoma State took a timeout to set its defense for fourth down, anticipating Tulsa would go for it, which it did. On the play, Hayes was flushed out of the pocket to his left and he threw into the back of the end zone. It was incomplete. OSU goal-line stand complete.
Except … OSU defensive end Jaleel Johnson was called for roughing the passer. It was the right call. Johnson ran into Hayes and knocked him to the ground after the play was over. It did not appear intentional on the replay, and it didn’t even look like Johnson knew Hayes was in front of him until the last second. But the rule doesn’t go by intent. It goes by what happened.
Tulsa got a fresh set of downs at the OSU 5-yard line. Two plays later, Alston got the touchdown he was denied on the previous series of downs and Tulsa was up 10-3.
The Drew Mestemaker Fumble
The Cowboys got the football to start the second half. It was an opportunity at a fresh start. OSU had a chance to adjust and to figure out what to do without Sexton. The best-case scenario would have been to drive the field, score a touchdown and tie the game.
Instead, OSU got the worst-case scenario. On the third play of the drive, a third-and-7 from the OSU 28, quarterback Drew Mestemaker dropped back to pass. He was cocking his right arm back as Tulsa’s Thomas Davis hit him from behind and he lost the football. Arias Nash recovered the ball. It was reviewed — because all turnovers are reviewed — and it was clear Mestemaker had not started his forward motion before he lost the football.
That, to me, was the turning point in the game. Even though Tulsa didn’t score on the following possession — Tulsa’s Marlon Hauck missed his second field goal of the game — the Cowboys were now suffering from a lack of confidence. Mestemaker was hit from his blind side, the side Sexton was supposed to protect. The rest of the game the Cowboys were in catch-up mode, Mestemaker started pressing and nothing worked.
There was more than 29 minutes left in the game at that point. But, in hindsight, it felt over— because it was.
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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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