Tulsa Wins the Turnover Fight and Beats Oklahoma State 24-10
Oklahoma State outgained Tulsa 368 yards to 363 and still lost by 14. Four turnovers will do that. Two interceptions and two lost fumbles later, Tulsa had the opener 24-10.
It was close for a while. Tulsa kicked a 40-yard field goal in the first quarter, Sam Keltner tied it at 3-3 with a 35-yarder with 2:04 left in the second, and then Damari Alston ran in from a yard out with 21 seconds left in the half. That made it 10-3 at the break. Oran Singleton caught a 21-yard touchdown from Baylor Hayes with 7:00 left in the third and Tulsa led 17-3. Justin Bowick got one back on a 16-yard pass from Drew Mestemaker, and it was 17-10 entering the fourth.
Alston answered with a 29-yard run at 7:52, and that was the last score. Mestemaker threw 49 passes, completed 29 and gained 241 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, and he also lost a fumble. Those are the numbers of a quarterback who kept trying and a team that could not hold on to the ball. Tulsa gave it away once, on a Hayes interception, and sacked Oklahoma State's quarterback twice.
Tulsa is 1-0 and Oklahoma State is 0-1. Turnovers ran 4-1 in Tulsa's favor, and with the yardage this close, that is the whole game.
It is a fair reminder that a 14-point loss can hide a close game. Oklahoma State had 127 rushing yards on 37 carries and Tulsa had 136 on 32, and the real separation was the ball security.
Fantasy-wise, it was Alston's week: 15 carries, 73 yards and two touchdowns for 19.3 points. Singleton's 99 receiving yards and a score were worth 19.0, and Hayes added 17.9.