Tulsa survives Sam Houston to improve to 2-0 for first time since 2015

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Perhaps Tulsa’s most notable win of the weekend of the transitive variety. Hours before the Golden Hurricane’s Saturday night kickoff, Oklahoma State upset No. 6 Oregon, 39-31. Just seven days prior, Tulsa handled Oklahoma State at Chapman Stadium in 24-10 fashion, and those two results significantly raised the national profile of Tulsa football.

But Tulsa still had to take care of business on its own in Huntsville, TX. This wasn’t an ordinary atmosphere at Sam Houston. Last season, the Bearkats were forced to relocate 70 miles from campus to downtown Houston due to ongoing renovations at Bowers Stadium. But the renovations were completed over the summer, and Bowers Stadium opened its gates to fans for the first time since November 2024.

Sam Houston opened the new Bowers with a bang. In the program’s first drive on the turf in 652 days, the Bearkats traveled 75 yards, producing a 7-0 lead on a 39-yard Chris Reed touchdown reception. Later in the first half, quarterback Landyn Locke fooled the Tulsa defense on a fake handoff, allowing Jerrian Parker Jr. to break free for a 94-yard touchdown reception.

The Bearkats had the Golden Hurricane on major upset alert in the first half, but Tulsa’s defense shored up from that point forward. So did the offense. Tulsa produced two explosive touchdowns on its first two drives of the third quarter. The first one required creativity. The Golden Hurricane called a fake punt on 4th and 9 from its own 44. However, it was a direct snap to defensive end Tristan Lawyer. Thanks to two outstanding blocks and an impressive broken tackle, the 6’4”, 245-pounder raced 56 yards to the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.

On Tulsa’s ensuing possession, Old Dominion transfer running back Trequan Jones made a spectacular cut to navigate through the Bearkat defense, allowing him to break free for an 81-yard touchdown. Jones’ breakaway run capped a 16-0 run for the Golden Hurricane, which established a multi-score advantage at 23-14.

However, Sam Houston wasn’t going to reopen Bowers Stadium without a fight. The Bearkats climbed within striking distance with a third quarter field goal, and the defense responded by impeding Tulsa’s offense on back-to-back possessions.

With under two minutes remaining, the Bearkats faced a 3rd and 11 from the Tulsa 16-yard line. Locke completed a short 6-yard pass to Grady O’Neill to set up a 4th and 5 from the 10. However, O’Neill was suplex slammed by Tulsa free safety Zach Williams — the hero of the Oklahoma State game — at the end of the play, breathing new life into the Sam Houston offense. Now, the Bearkats had four opportunities from the 5-yard line for the game-winning touchdown.

Tulsa stopped all four.

The Golden Hurricane defense rose to the occasion with three consecutive pass breakups in the end zone. Linebacker Dax Collins broke up Locke’s first attempt. Then strong safety Ashton Williams nearly intercepted the second try. And Sam Houston’s third down was batted away by cornerback JD Drew. The stakes amplified for a game-deciding 4th and 5, and this time, Tulsa didn’t even need a heroic pass deflection. The defensive front swarmed Locke for a strip sack, allowing the Golden Hurricane to survive their road opener in Huntsville.

Sam Houston dropped to 0-2, but both losses were by one score. The Bearkats have shown progress in year two of the Phil Longo era, especially at quarterback. Locke threw for 316 yards to follow his 336-yard showing in Week 1, and those are the two statistically greatest passing performances by a Bearkat quarterback since the program became FBS in 2023. Sam Houston hopes Locke’s numbers translate to a victory next Saturday when the Bearkats host FCS foe Nicholls.

Tulsa is 2-0 for the first time since 2015. The Golden Hurricane are situated six spots outside of the AP Poll, despite taking down Oklahoma State (four spots outside the AP Poll), which defeated Oregon (which is No. 21). On-field results may not matter to AP Poll voters for whatever reasons, but Tulsa remains perfect to start Tre Lamb’s second year at the helm. The Golden Hurricane may be without quarterback Baylor Hayes for the near future, as he suffered a knee injury in Saturday’s contest. But they’ll move forward against FCS East Texas A&M before concluding non-conference play at Arkansas.

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