The University of Tulsa’s season opener against Oklahoma State has been postponed one week and will now be played on Sept. 19 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater.

The game was originally scheduled for this Saturday, Sept. 12. 

The Tulsa football team has been limited in practice sessions since the beginning of preseason camp on August 7. Tulsa had a nine-day pause due to multiple positive coronavirus tests and was limited to seven practices in the 17 days of preseason camp.

“The safety and health of our student-athletes is always at the core of all of our discussions and decisions. Without time to properly prepare physically we would be putting our student-athletes at a greater risk of injury,” said Dr. Derrick Gragg, Tulsa’s vice president & director of athletics. “An open date for both schools presented us with the opportunity to reschedule the game for a week later. I’m appreciative of Mike Holder and Oklahoma State University for their cooperation in coming to this decision.”

Kickoff and network television details are pending.

Tulsa was supposed to play No. 15 Oklahoma State at 6:30 p.m. Saturday to open the abbreviated 2020 college football season with the Turnpike Classic rematch.

When the game is played, the stands will be 75% empty as OSU is limiting attendance to 25% due to the pandemic. Tailgating won’t be allowed on the Stillwater campus. The game will be televised on ESPN or ESPNU.

Last season, OSU beat the Golden Hurricane 40-21 in Tulsa. OSU running back Chuba Hubbard ran for a career-high 256 yards and three touchdowns. OSU holds the series advantage with 41-27-5 record (16-21-2 in Tulsa). The Cowboys have won three straight against Tulsa.

Last year, OSU went 8-5 with a 5-4 record in the Big 12. The Cowboys lost five games by an average margin of 11 points. They fell to Texas A&M 21-24 in the Texas Bowl.

OSU was supposed to open the season with a home game against Oregon State but that was canceled because of the Pac-12 Conference. The Big 12 decided on a 10-game schedule with nine conference games and one nonconference, which for OSU is Tulsa.

OSU was picked to come in second in the Big 12 Preseason Poll and is ranked No. 15 in the AP Preseason Poll. Much of that is due to a high-powered offense featuring All-American running back Chuba Hubbard, the return of star wide receiver Tylan Wallace from injury and the off-season improvement of quarterback Spencer Sanders, a first-time starter last season. True freshman Shane Illingworth is ready to step in should Sanders slip or be injured.

ESPN.com ranked the Top 15 most exciting players in college football and Hubbard was No. 3. But his continued success depends on solid play from the OSU offensive line.

“Chuba is a great player and when you have someone like that, you want to raise your level,” lineman Anthony Hunter  said. “I feel like all our running backs are excellent, especially Chuba. It makes you want to play to the next level to see him do great. If we do our part, he makes a lot of things happen.”

OSU has a reputation for developing great receivers. Braydon Johnson caught five passes for 124 yards and two scores against Texas A&M.

“Making those plays at the end of the year boosted my confidence,” Johnson said. “(In the offseason) I was ready to put in work with my team and get better and to get them better and lead them so we can all come together and get a Big 12 championship.”

OSU should be better on defense. The Cowboys held each of their final six opponents below their season scoring average. Against Iowa State, the defense forced three fourth-quarter interceptions on consecutive possessions, including the game-clincher by safety Tre  Sterling.

“After that Iowa State game we knew we weren’t just trying to hold teams back from getting points, but we’re trying to get shutouts,” Sterling said. “That’s the mentality this year.”

Ten of 11 defensive starters return from last season.

“Some people are going to be surprised,” Sterling said. “Oklahoma State and the Big 12 is not really known for its defense, but some people are going to be surprised what they see come week one. Just be ready for it.”

Defensive lineman Trace Ford was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection in 2019.

“I think I have matured a lot over the offseason,” Ford said. “I have learned to like film and watch it to learn what tackles do and how to make myself better.”

Can Tulsa pull off an upset win?

Tulsa has a chance to take a giant step Saturday if the Golden Hurricane can pull off an upset win over No. 15 Oklahoma State in Stillwater.

Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery has high expectations for the Golden Hurricane offensive line after a serious rebuilding effort in 2019.

Tulsa was so close to some major victories last year and an OSU win would be a big boost.

Central Florida was picked in the preseason media poll to win the American Athletic Conference while Tulsa was picked to finish ninth. Tulsa beat No. 1 UCF last and had close losses to the next three preseason picks – No. 21 Cincinnati (24-13), No. 25 Memphis (42-41) and No. 24 SMU (43-37 in overtime).

The Tulsa-South Florida game scheduled to be played in Tampa, Fla, on October 23, will kick-off at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.

In the last game of the season last year, the offensive line helped TU gain 338 rushing yards (669 yards in total offense) against East Carolina.

“Last year we were really, really young and had to throw guys into the fire, but as the season progressed they showed steady improvement. We’re multi-training a lot of guys, getting them to play multiple positions upfront,” said Montgomery.

TU’s offensive front returns six players who started at least one game a year ago.

“The offensive line has progressed well during the preseason,” said Montgomery. “We’re changing up some things and looking at different things schematically. They’re doing well.

“It takes time to jell on the offensive line. There’s so much communication that goes on upfront, but I feel confident that those guys are handling it and they’ll be the strength of what we do. As well as they play is as well as we’ll play this season.”

Right tackle Chris Paul (6-4, 331), left tackle Tyler Smith (6-5, 332), guard Dylan Couch (6-3, 299), guard Dante Bivins (6-3, 299) and center Gerard Wheeler (6-3, 331) are the projected starters.

“We’re still trying to make our guys interchangeable. It’s hard to do, but we’re still doing it,” said Montgomery.

“This year is going to be different when you take into consideration all the different factors of the season with the virus and potential quarantines. You’re going to have to play guys in multiple spots and they need the knowledge to move around like that, so we are still training to do that. They’ve handled it pretty well.”