What Happened Last Time Oklahoma State Cowboys Played Tulsa Golden Hurricane
In this story:
Oklahoma State was used to getting its way on the football field when it comes to Tulsa.
The Cowboys have a record of 44-28-5 against the Golden Hurricane. That includes a 28-7-3 record at home. Under former coach Mike Gundy, Tulsa has hard pressed to pull off a win. In fact, it only happened once. It’s part of the reason Gundy is the former head coach.
Last year’s loss was hard to swallow for many reasons. The Cowboys hadn’t fallen to the Golden Hurricane since 1998. OSU had won 11 straight matchups before falling, 19-12, in Stillwater. That was the other sore spot. Tulsa hadn’t beaten Oklahoma State in Stillwater since 1951.
After the game, Gundy was fired. As painful as it might be to review, here’s what happened last time.
What Happened Last Time Between OSU and Tulsa?
On Sept. 19, 2025, the two teams met in Stillwater. Oklahoma State was coming off a devastating loss to Oregon on the road and was 1-1. Gundy was already under fire after he and the Cowboys lost every Big 12 game the season before. Tulsa was supposed to be an elixir before Big 12 play started.
Tulsa had a new head coach in Tre Lamb. The Golden Hurricane had already played three games, and their only win was over FCS Abilene Christian (35-7). Tulsa had losses to New Mexico State (21-14) and Navy (42-23). On paper, this looked like the Cowboys would win.
The Cowboys opened the game with a field goal from Logan Ward from 35 yards out. OSU would have liked a touchdown, but their drive was stopped after nine plays. Tulsa flipped the game on the next possession.
Golden Hurricane quarterback Baylor Hayes put together a quick response, a six-play, 75-yard drive that ended with his 16-yard touchdowns pass to Braylin Pressley. It was barely two minutes after OSU’s field goal and the Cowboys were down 7-3. By the end of the first quarter, they were down 10-3 after Tulsa’s Seth Morgan hit a 27-yard field goal.
Both offenses sputtered, even though both compiled more than 400 total yards. After their initial scoring drive, the Cowboys’ next four drives ended in punts. In the second half, OSU saw its first two drives end on downs. Tulsa wasn’t doing much better, but it built a 19-3 lead with 11:14 left in the third quarter on three more Morgan field goals.
Oklahoma State cobbled together 10 points in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Zane Flores scored on a five-yard run and Ward hit a 49-yard field goal, the latter of which came with 5:49 left in the game. The OSU defense forced Tulsa out on downs and forced them to miss a field goal attempt on its last two drives. But the Cowboys couldn’t cash in.
OSU was 4-of-15 on third down and 1-of-4 on fourth down. Tulsa was 7-of-19 on third down and 3-of-3 on fourth down. Their conversion rate allowed the Golden Hurricane to possess the ball for nearly 35 minutes, limiting OSU’s chances to tie or win the game.
That loss led to Gundy’s firing that weekend. It will also be a game more remembered for that than OSU’s ineptness on offense, something that persisted through 2025.
The Cowboys get a chance to change that narrative on Sept. 5 when they head to Tulsa to open the season against the Golden Hurricane.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
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.
Follow PostinsPostcard