We are officially at Week 3 of college football, and the last of the preseason games for most of the schools. This football weekend, the Oklahoma State Cowboys travel just 63 miles to take on the Tulsa Hurricanes on their home turf. The two schools may be close in distance, but Oklahoma State should be the more dominate team on the field.
Last week, the Cowboys had a tough matchup versus Arkansas. They came out with the win in double overtime, but it was a hard fought win in Stillwater. Likewise, Tulsa had a tough showing against Arkansas State. Unfortunately, the game didn’t swing their way and the Red Wolves came out with the win.
Oklahoma State vs. Tulsa History
Oklahoma State and and Tulsa go all the way back 1914, when the Cowboys took the first win 13-6. Since then, Oklahoma State holds a winning record against the Hurricanes at 44-28-5. Tulsa will look to break its losing streak at home this year. The Hurricanes have not won against Oklahoma State since 1998. The Cowboys have a nine game win streak, winning most recently in 2021 where they won 28-23.
Key Players for Oklahoma State
As always, running back Ollie Gordon will be a talking point every week. He is a tough runner and the Cowboys will scheme to get him the ball. Tulsa gave up 141 rushing yards a week ago to Arkansas State.
On the flip side, the Cowboys only had 59 rushing yards in the game. With a back like Gordon, Coach Gundy will look to change their offensive play calling and make sure their best player gets the ball in his hands. The inefficiency a week ago should be fixed moving forward, as the offense makes the necessary adjustments.
The defense once again stepped up, stopping a forth down run in second overtime to seal the deal on their win. Linebacker Collin Oliver left with injury, but in his place, transfer linebacker Obi Ezeigbo stepped up in his place.
Ezeigbo came away with the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week and fellow linebacker Nick Martin received Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. Martin has already recorded 15 solo tackles on the year, putting him in fifth place overall for 2024.
Key Players for Tulsa
One of the more interesting stories to this game is the matchup between the Presley brothers. Brennan Presley is Oklahoma State’s leading receiver and for a brief moment in time, he played with his brother Braylin on this Oklahoma State team. Unfortunately their playing time together was cut short and Braylin transferred to Tulsa in 2022. This is the first time the two brothers will face off against each other.
As for the rest of the Hurricanes, quarterback Kirk Francis should be the guy to watch. So far, he has thrown for almost 500 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. His favorite target in the receiving game isn’t the younger Presley brother, but Kamdyn Benjamin. Benjamin has almost 200 yards through the air and two touchdowns in the two games so far this season.
Oklahoma State’s Blueprint for Victory
The football game against Tulsa should be an easy layup for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. They are currently 19.5 point favorites in the game.
The Cowboys need to figure out their run game, and balance it with their elite passing attack. Gordon will need to be more efficient on the ground, instead of his 2.9 yards per carry against Arkansas. Versus this Tulsa team though, the Cowboys offense should be in a better position to feed Ollie and spread the ball around to the receivers.
Oklahoma State’s secondary is still getting torched by receivers. Arkansas put up 648 yards on the game, compared to Oklahoma State’s 385. Arkansas’ running back averaged 6.2 yards per carry during the game, which is something Oklahoma will need to fix, especially before their upcoming conference schedule. Oklahoma State should have a comeback game for them, with the Cowboys winning 38-24.
Erika Brown
Erika Brown is a fantasy football writer for The League Winners. A journalism graduate from Oklahoma State University, she enjoys watching OkState football games and writing about college football.