History was made at the University of Tulsa on Saturday as the TU football team defeated Oklahoma State, 24-10, in front of a sold-out crowd at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

It had appeared history was made last year when Tulsa beat OSU, 19-12, winning in Stillwater for the first time since 1952, but this game was historic in that Tulsa had not defeated OSU in back-to-back years since they did so in 1951 and 1952. Another historic event happened last year after the game in Stillwater; OSU head coach Mike Gundy was fired. This was Tulsa’s first win over OSU at home since 1998.

So, with that backstory, and the fact that OSU was playing their first game under new head coach Eric Morris, this game was expected to be quite a showdown. Although OSU was coming into this game as a heavy favorite, Tulsa’s head coach Tre Lamb had stated earlier this year that Tulsa would beat OSU again. Some thought it was a bold prediction and locker room motivation for the Cowboys, but he wasn’t wrong.

“We got outcoached today, we got outplayed, out-physical, out-schemed,” said Morris. “On so many different levels, they just beat us. I can sit here all night and talk about how disappointed I am for our fan base, for our administration, all of the people that put so much into this, and we’ve got a lot of problems to fix.”

Tulsa controlled the game from start to finish, and the TU defense played especially well. The Golden Hurricane scored first with a 40-yard field goal by Marlon Hauck, with 2:18 left in the first quarter.

OSU tied the game with a 35-yard field goal by Sam Keltner with 2:04 remaining in the second quarter.

Tulsa took the lead before halftime as Damari Alston ran the ball into the end zone from one yard out, and the Golden Hurricane led 10-3 at the break.

Tulsa extended its lead to 17-3 midway through the third quarter, when Baylor Hayes connected with Oran Singleton Jr. on a 21-yard touchdown pass. Hauk missed a couple field goals earlier in the game and was replaced by Owen Carey who kicked the extra point.

OSU had one offensive bright spot, scoring on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Drew Mestemaker to Miles Coleman with 1:52 left in the third, to make the score 17-10.

Tulsa finished out the scoring with a 29-yard touchdown run by Alston, his second touchdown of the game, with 7:52 left in the fourth quarter.

The victory for Tulsa was sealed when Zach Williams intercepted Mestemaker in the end zone with 4:13 remaining.

In talking about the score after the game, Lamb said he thought his team could have scored even more points.

“It probably should have been even better,” Lamb said. “I thought we kicked their butts, in every phase of the game. Lines of scrimmage were a big difference. Their quarterback was dirty all day, he was hit all day – his uniform, he’s tired. I don’t think we gave up a sack. So, I thought we had the better quarterback and the better lines of scrimmage. If you watched that game, it wasn’t a fluke, I thought we were the better team. I really did.”

Tulsa’s defense was stellar, forcing four turnovers, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries, while also recording two sacks. Tulsa stopped OSU on fourth down, four times. Chris Thompson Jr. recorded 10 tackles and recovered a fumble.

For Tulsa, Hayes completed 17-of-24 passes for 227 yards and one touchdown and added 28 rushing yards. Alston finished with 73 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Singleton caught four passes for 99 yards and a touchdown.

Much fanfare surrounded OSU’s transfer quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who is a potential Heisman Trophy candidate, but he did not have an award-winning game. Mestemaker completed 29-of-49 passes for 241 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

“I have to be better, first of all,” Mestemaker said after the game. “I definitely didn’t play my best game. We just gotta go and watch the film, because that’s not us, and that was honestly embarrassing.”

Morris said facing Oregon this week will be a challenge.

“I don’t know what they’ll be, number one, two or three in the nation, coming into town next week, and I tell you, if they watch that film, they’ll be licking their chops,” Morris said.

OSU will host Oregon on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. It’s sold out but will air on ESPN.

Tulsa will travel to Huntsville, Texas, to play Sam Houston State this Saturday at 6:00 p.m. The game will be available on ESPN+.