Oklahoma State's total teardown gets its first live test on the road, against a Tulsa team that spent the offseason plugging holes with players who know exactly what OSU's roster used to look like.
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Best BetOklahoma State
Oklahoma State is bringing in the nation's leading passer and the nation's leading rusher in touchdowns from a North Texas offense that finished No. 1 overall, and that kind of proven, plug-and-play production is hard to find in a Week 1 spot like this. Tulsa's defense held up against teams that couldn't throw, but Mestemaker is a different kind of test than the Golden Hurricane saw for most of 2025. The offensive talent gap tips this toward the Cowboys even on the road.
Oklahoma State
+Imported nation's-leading passer Mestemaker from North Texas
+Also added nation's-leading rushing-TD back Hawkins
+Coach Morris brings a No. 1-ranked offense system
−Coming off 1-11, winless in Big 12 last year
−Defense unproven despite offseason additions
−80-plus new players means real integration risk
Tulsa
+Retains All-American CB Elijah Green (5 INTs)
+Year 2 continuity under Tre Lamb after 4-8
+Added portal WRs to replace lost production
−Lost leading receiver, TE Brody Foley, to departure
−Sophomore QB Baylor Hayes largely unproven as starter
−Defense leaked deep balls to teams that could throw
Eric Morris didn't rebuild Oklahoma State this offseason, he basically reconstructed it. After a 1-11 season with zero Big 12 wins, the Cowboys lost 60-plus players to the portal and brought in more than 80 new ones, headlined by a wholesale import from Morris's old North Texas offense. Quarterback Drew Mestemaker led the entire FBS in passing yards a year ago, and running back Caleb Hawkins led the country in rushing touchdowns. That's the offense Morris is now installing in Stillwater, and it's arriving fully formed for a season opener against a Tulsa team that's had a full year to figure out who it is.
Tulsa's own portal work has a familiar name attached. Edge rusher Kyran Duhon spent last season at Oklahoma State before hitting the portal and landing with the Golden Hurricane, and he'll get his first crack at his old team in Week 1. Tre Lamb's defense returns a strong core around All-American cornerback Elijah Green, who led the American Athletic Conference with five interceptions last season, giving Tulsa a real answer at the one position where OSU is bringing an unproven quantity in Mestemaker against real competition for the first time.
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OKST Oklahoma State
TLSA Tulsa
The bigger question for Tulsa is whether the offense can hold up its end. Sophomore Baylor Hayes takes over at quarterback, and the receiving corps lost its top target in tight end Brody Foley while adding transfer wideouts from Oregon State, Tulane and West Virginia to replace that production. It's a lot of new pieces on both sidelines for a Week 1 kickoff, which tends to make openers unpredictable no matter how the phone-book stats stack up in July.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Recent form.
What makes this one worth watching is how differently the two programs got here. Oklahoma State blew the whole thing up and bet on volume, more new players than almost anyone in the country, with Morris importing an entire offensive identity wholesale. Tulsa took the steadier path, keeping its defensive spine intact and using the portal to patch specific losses rather than start over. Openers rarely settle those debates cleanly, but this is the first data point for both.
For Morris, it's also personal proof of concept. He was 9-3 with a top-ranked offense at North Texas a year ago; now he needs to show that offense travels to a program that scored 14 points a game in 2025. For Lamb, it's a chance to open Year 2 with a signature win over a Big 12 opponent before conference play even starts. Both coaches have reasons to treat September 5 like it matters more than a typical opener.
