Three Storylines I'm Watching Most in Oklahoma State’s Week 1 Matchup Against Tulsa
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It's been more than a year since the Oklahoma State Cowboys won a football game. On Saturday they get a chance to change that.
The Cowboys match up with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane is new head coach Eric Morris’ first game leading the program. After Saturday's game, he'll no longer be the “new” head coach at Oklahoma State. He'll just be the head coach.
The Cowboys hope to leave Tulsa with a victory, which would be their first since late August of last year when they beat Tennessee-Martin.
Tulsa holds an important place in last year's 1-11 campaign for the Cowboys. It was their loss to Tulsa in the season's third week that finally forced Oklahoma State’s leadership to fire Mike Gundy. They hired Morris in December.
Morris led North Texas to a 12-2 season in 2025. He also oversaw one of the biggest roster flips in college football history, as 92 transfers joined him from across the country, including nearly 20 from North Texas.
But enough about that. There's finally a game to talk about. As we prepare to watch the Cowboys take their first paces of the season, here are three storylines I'm watching the most.
The Pass Rush
If there was an area of the defense that needed serious improvement from a year ago it was the pass rush. Oklahoma State’s rush wasn’t consistent and at times it was non-existent.
While the offense is filled with players with high-level track records, the defense has a bit more of a “no-name” feel to it. That doesn't mean the defense can't be successful. It just means there are some unknowns, and many of those are on the edge.
Both Morris and defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity have said they will rotate several players on both sides of the defensive line, including starters Jaleel Johnson and James Williams. Cowboys fans will probably see anywhere from six to eight different ends during the Tulsa game.
This is the first chance to see the quality of the rush the Cowboys can get on a quarterback. How often the unit can pressure Golden Hurricane quarterback Baylor Hayes will give us a glimpse of what this pass rush could do against Oregon next week and Big 12 opponents once league play begins.
The Offensive Firepower
Morris is known as an offensive coach. During Big 12 Media Days he joked that he would love to become a defensive analyst in his old age just to see what the other side of the football is like.
The Cowboys hired him for his ability to build a program and to build an offense that can score a lot of points. Athletic director Chad Weiberg referenced that during an appearance on Big 12 Today last week.
This will be Cowboys fans’ first opportunity to see what a Morris offense can do with a blend of his North Texas stars, such as quarterback Drew Mestemaker and running back Caleb Hawkins, along with the other transfers, wide receivers Chris Barnes and Justin Bowick.
The North Texas offense was the only unit in the country last season to average more than 500 yards of total offense. That might be asking too much from the Cowboys this season. But what Cowboys fans want right now is to feel excited by the on-field product. Nothing excites Oklahoma State fans more than great offense. I'm interested to see how quickly and how often the Cowboys can light it up against Tulsa.
The Remaining Road Roster
Morris has talked about finding players that can be four-unit special teamers. These are players that can help them on both kickoff units and both punt units. The one thing he hasn't talked about is who these players are. On Tuesday he said that they do have a special teams depth chart but didn’t share it.
But Morris did say that he intended to carry 76 or 77 players on the road trip to Tulsa. Assuming everyone on the two-deep roster goes, that leaves 11 or 12 spots. Theoretically those spots would go to those players. I’m interested to find out who they are because those are players that aren’t quite ready for the two-deep roster, but Morris believes can become a two-deep player one day.
If you don't think it's important to him, you should have listened to the story he told about Quinton Hammonds on Tuesday. Hammonds was a walk on at North Texas in 2024 and proved he was worthy of more playing time after excelling on special teams. Special teams was his avenue to starting safety. I’m interested to see which players may be on that path.
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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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