Eric Morris' ambitious Oklahoma State plan starts with game at Tulsa

Oklahoma State head football coach Eric Morris is pictured during an Oklahoma State football practice in Stillwater, Okla., Aug. 18, 2026. The Eric Morris era at Oklahoma State kicks off Saturday as the Cowboys head to H. A. Chapman Stadium to take on host Tulsa in the Turnpike Classic. Morris comes to Stillwater with high aspirations of turning around a program that has gone 4-20 across the past two seasons. He arrives from North Texas, where he led the Mean Green to the most wins in program history. Morris also comes along with 91 new players on the team, including 66 transfers. Far and away the most important of those transfers is the trio of quarterback Drew Mestemaker, running back Caleb Hawkins and wide receiver Wyatt Young. They all came from North Texas with Morris, who spearheaded the No. 1 offense in college football last season with 512.4 yards per game. Mestemaker led the nation with 4,379 passing yards and was tied for second with 34 touchdowns. Hawkins finished fifth with 1,434 rushing yards and Young finished third with 1,264 receiving yards. The three of them will lead an offense that averaged 292.4 yards per game last season, 128th out of 134 FBS teams. Morris knows the pedigree his group brings, but it is ready to prove it on the field. "We've won the press conference this offseason, and we've got a lot of preseason accolades," Morris said. "I told the players the other day, I don't really care about preseason accolades. It's what happens at the end of the season." Tulsa will look to improve in its second year under Tre Lamb after going 4-8 last season. The Golden Hurricane have quarterback Baylor Hayes back under center. He helped Tulsa beat Oklahoma State last September. Hayes was 23 of 36 for 219 yards and a touchdown in the 19-12 win. Tulsa will attempt to get its second consecutive victory over Oklahoma State after last beating the Cowboys in 1998. "We want to beat these guys. We don't want to keep it close," Lamb said. "Our goal is to win the football game, and that's gonna be our goal every week. But particularly this one. It means a lot to our fanbase and I understand that." --Field Level Media