Chris Thompson Jr. returned to Tulsa’s lineup with a game-high 10 tackles and a fumble recovery, then earned American Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors. His work helped the Golden Hurricane force four takeaways, add two sacks and stop Oklahoma State on three other fourth downs in a 24-10 Tulsa win.
That is a genuinely promising beginning for Tre Lamb’s second season. Tulsa went 4-8, 3-9 and 4-8 over the previous three years, posting a combined 4-20 conference record, so one opener cannot erase the larger record. It can, however, raise the ceiling. Thompson looked like an immediate difference-maker, the defense repeatedly took the ball away, and newcomers produced rather than merely occupying spots on a rebuilt roster.
The next question is whether those gains travel. Tulsa visits Sam Houston at 6 p.m. CT Saturday on ESPN+, with the interactive guide giving the Golden Hurricane a 52.8% chance to win. That is essentially a toss-up, despite the teams arriving with very different Week 1 feelings.
Make Sam Houston earn its drives
Sam Houston quarterback Landyn Locke completed 30 of 46 passes for a career-high 335 yards and three touchdowns in a 24-21 loss at Troy. Tulsa therefore should not expect four more takeaways simply because four appeared last week. The useful thing to watch is whether Thompson and the front can create bad downs before the secondary has to survive another long passing game.
There is an opening. Sam Houston planned to replace four offensive-line starters, then managed 38 net rushing yards and allowed four sacks at Troy. If Tulsa can squeeze the run and pressure Locke, the Bearkats will have to keep exposing their offense to the unit that just generated four different takeaways.
The setting adds some resistance. Sam Houston played its designated 2025 home games at Shell Energy Stadium during renovations, and Tulsa’s visit is scheduled as the football debut of the new West Side Complex at Bowers Stadium. A loud reopening makes this a more revealing trip than the point spread alone suggests. Tulsa has to create its own energy after controlling last week at home.
The offense cannot waste the same chances
Baylor Hayes completed 17 of 24 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown without taking a sack against Oklahoma State. Yet Kevin Barbay’s offense converted only one of 11 third downs, scored on one of two red-zone trips and lost another scoring chance when Hayes was intercepted at the OSU 8.
That split is the game. Hayes showed that Tulsa can move the ball efficiently; now he has to keep manageable drives alive when a takeaway does not provide an extra possession. The score looked comfortable last week because the defense kept extinguishing Oklahoma State possessions. In a close road game, a repeat of one-for-11 on third down could leave Tulsa asking its defense to manufacture the margin again.
Damari Alston already looks like the lead answer in the backfield after starting and carrying 15 times for 73 yards and two touchdowns. His Week 2 task is less about piling up a dramatic total than giving Hayes usable third downs and finishing the drives Tulsa reaches.
The broader newcomer story also deserves another look. Incoming transfers Alston, Oran Singleton, Jimmy Calloway and Thomas Davis started in the opener; the group supplied two rushing touchdowns, a receiving touchdown, two substantial receiving performances and a strip sack. That immediate production makes Lamb’s roster reconstruction feel more credible, although dependable cohesion still has to be shown over time.
DJ McKinney supplies the personal connection in Huntsville. He spent his first two college seasons at Sam Houston and won 2024 Conference USA Freshman of the Year after rushing for 481 yards and three touchdowns. He returns behind Alston in the current pecking order, so any productive complementary work would matter more than forcing a homecoming showcase.
Then there is the part of the Oklahoma State win that could become expensive Saturday. Marlon Hauck made a 40-yard field goal but missed from 31 and 40 yards, while freshman Owen Carey took Tulsa’s final two extra points after Hauck made the first. That sequence did not establish a permanent change, but it left both reliability and responsibility unsettled. Tulsa fans should pay close attention to who gets the first meaningful kick, and whether a promising drive produces points when the game tightens.
Inside Bowers Stadium, watch whether Tulsa can pressure Locke without relying on turnovers, use Alston to keep Hayes out of third-and-long and turn scoring chances into points. The methodology says this is nearly a coin flip; Tulsa can make it feel less precarious by proving the defense no longer has to cover every leak.