Tulsa opens the 2026 season against Oklahoma State in a sold-out Gateway Turnpike Classic at H.A. Chapman Stadium on Sept. 5 with kickoff at 2:45 p.m. on ESPNU.

The Golden Hurricane beat the Cowboys 19-12 in Stillwater last season, snapping Oklahoma State's 10-game series winning streak and earning Tulsa's first win in the series since 1998. Saturday's rematch marks the 78th meeting in a rivalry dating to 1914 and the first time the Cowboys have opened a season in Tulsa since 2000, according to the Tulsa World.

Oklahoma State is a 13.5-point favorite.

The Cowboys look nothing like the team Tulsa upset a year ago. Oklahoma State fired Mike Gundy on Sept. 23, 2025, three days after that loss. The Cowboys finished 1-11. Eric Morris, hired from North Texas on Nov. 25, 2025, brought roughly 20 former Mean Green players with him. That group includes quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who threw for 4,379 yards and 34 touchdowns at North Texas in 2025. Morris's North Texas offense ranked No. 1 nationally at 512.4 yards per game, according to OddsShopper. Oklahoma State's roster features 92 new players, with 65 portal additions carrying a combined 501 career Division I starts.

Tulsa head coach Tre Lamb called Mestemaker "a cross between Philip Rivers and Brett Favre" during a Monday media session, praising the quarterback's arm talent and toughness, according to Sports Illustrated. Lamb also called the Cowboys "the most talented team we're gonna play," per SI.

Lamb, entering his second year, has leaned on roster stability. He retained about 80 percent of his roster and 90 percent of his coaching staff. In July, Lamb said he believes this could be a "sleeper" year for the program.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Baylor Hayes returns after setting Tulsa freshman records in 2025 with 2,158 passing yards and 12 touchdowns across nine starts. Hayes threw for 219 yards against Oklahoma State in last year's upset. He is one of five team captains, joined by running back Sevion Morrison, linebacker Chris Thompson Jr., defensive lineman Jaylen George and offensive lineman Malachi Preciado.

Senior running back Trequan Jones, a transfer from Old Dominion, averaged 7.5 yards per carry in 2025, sixth nationally. Defensive lineman Kyran Duhon, a former Oklahoma State player, and Jones both earned spots on Bruce Feldman's annual Freaks List. Duhon, at 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds, bench-pressed 425 pounds and squatted 615.

One of the more intriguing storylines involves Micah Tease, a Booker T. Washington product who switched from wide receiver to cornerback during fall camp. Lamb proposed the move after veteran cornerback NuNu Campbell sustained a shoulder injury in a preseason scrimmage. In an Aug. 22 Tulsa World report, Lamb described Tease's reaction: "He went in the locker room, yelling and screaming. He was excited."

Tease is one of 27 players from the Tulsa metro area on the roster, including four from Owasso, three from Bixby and one each from Jenks, Collinsville and Mannford.

Morris, in a Monday media session, called Lamb "a superstar in the making," according to SI.

All 30,000 seats at H.A. Chapman Stadium are spoken for. Radio coverage is on Big Country 99.5 FM. Tulsa's next game is at Sam Houston.