Oklahoma State Looking to Continue Dominance in Tulsa Rivalry

The Cowboys have had the Golden Hurricane's number for decades and will look to continue that success.

Sep 11, 2021; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys wide receiver Brennan Presley (80) looks to get around Tulsa Golden Hurricane cornerback Kenney Solomon (5) during the fourth quarter at Boone Pickens Stadium. The Cowboys won 28-23. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images / Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

Oklahoma State will renew its rivalry with Tulsa in a matchup that has become lopsided in recent years.

OSU will travel east to face Tulsa for the first time since 2021 on Saturday and look to improve to 3-0. With OSU in the race for the Big 12 title and a College Football Playoff bid, this matchup likely represents OSU’s easiest and most overlooked matchup on the schedule. However, it did not used to be that way.

Although the teams have met only four times in the past decade, there have been 75 matchups since 1914. In that first meeting, OSU, then Oklahoma A&M, won 13-6. While Tulsa lost the first matchup, it had firm control over the series in the early stages, winning 19 of the first 30 meetings that did not end in a tie.

Since OSU lost the 1952 matchup to fall to 11-19-4, the Cowboys have gone 32-8-1 against the Golden Hurricane. OSU has not lost against Tulsa in Stillwater since 1951, with all nine of Tulsa’s most recent wins coming at home.

2024 marks the first of eight consecutive years the Turnpike Classic will take place. Four games will be played at each team’s home stadium, alternating each year. Despite not losing to Tulsa since 1998 and being a perennial power conference contender, OSU’s past three matchups with its rivals have been tight.

OSU trailed at halftime in its last trip to HA Chapman Stadium in 2019 before pulling away. In the 2020 and 2021 games in Stillwater, OSU never gained true separation and won the two matchups by a combined 14 points.

OSU will look to extend its series-record nine-game winning streak against Tulsa on Saturday. As Kevin Wilson looks to turn around the Golden Hurricane’s program, Tulsa could put the Cowboys on upset alert as the matchup heats up over the next decade.

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