Michael Peters
Tulsa World TU Sports Reporter
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A year ago, the Tulsa football team was coached by Steve Spurrier Jr.
This year, the Hurricane program is being led by a man, who at least verbally, seems equally akin to ‘The Ol’ Ball Coach.’
Hurricane coach Tre Lamb doesn’t lack for confidence, and he was at his big-talking, brash best after his team’s 19-12 win over Oklahoma State.
And Friday night, a nationally-televised audience — likely TU’s largest TV audience of the season — got the full Tre Lamb experience. It may have even been enough to make Spurrier, who led Florida to the 1996 national championship, sit up and take notice.
“We’re tired of being little brother, man,” Lamb said on ESPN after the game. “Tulsa football is back. We’re not going to be on the third page of the paper anymore.
“That was a statement win for us.”
The TU athletic department quickly backed up its coach’s bravado, getting up “19-12” electronic billboards along Interstate-44 in Tulsa, which is home to more than 52,000 OSU alumni.
After back-to-back losses to New Mexico State and Navy, Lamb had started to walk back some of the more aggressive talk that marked his nine-plus months as Hurricane head coach.
But the victory over OSU, TU’s first in the series since 1998 and its first in Stillwater since 1951, reestablished his preseason confidence.
On Saturday night, ESPN debuted its new partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment with its broadcast of Wrestlepalooza. On Friday night, college football fans watching ESPN — and the state-wide media at Boone Pickens Stadium — were treated to Lamb-apalooza. Here are some of the highlights.
To his team in the post-game locker room:
“I’ve never been more proud as a coach. I hope you’ve never been more proud as a player. I’m tired of being on the second page of the paper. This is new Tulsa, new Tulsa, new Tulsa.”
Part of his opening statement to the media:
“I know we caught them at a bad time, and they’re struggling right now, but it’s all about us right now. That’s a huge win for our program. That’s a statement win for me and our staff and our administration. I told the team, new Tulsa is back.”
On OSU’s defensive front:
“Our starting right guard had trouble last week. He got exposed a little bit. No. 96 (Landon Robinson) is really good for Navy. He’s better than anybody they’ve (OSU) got on the interior.”
On building from Friday’s win:
“Look, we needed to win one of those like that. This team has lost close games. Obviously, in the first three weeks we’ve lost two of them. And last year, last two years, all these guys feel is losing around the program, and it’s hard to overcome that. But moments like tonight, make our guys feel like it’s possible.
“We’ve got to let this springboard us, not only this year, but our program moving forward. We just beat a Big 12 football team, with, I don’t know what their budget is, but it’s a lot. And we took it to them. It wasn’t a fluke, it wasn’t a turnover disaster. It was 424 yards to 403, 80 plays to 75. We beat ‘em, straight up.”
On running back Dominic Richardson, who transferred from OSU:
“He played with a chip on his shoulder, like 31 carries, 149 yards. He was a werewolf all week. He had a look in his eye, because he sat in Coach Gundy’s office, and they said he wasn’t quite good enough to play here. So he had something to prove tonight. And he had that look in his eye all week, and I was proud of the way he played tonight.”
On what he told his team before the game:
“I talked a lot about that at the hotel this morning, just being the underdog and the little brother. And there’s probably 30 or 40 guys on our team that were recruited by Oklahoma State that they didn’t end up taking or ended up offering a scholarship to. And I just had them raise their hands in the team meeting, like, how many of you guys got offered here? How many guys are from Oklahoma or Texas? How many guys played on the team and didn’t feel like you were good enough to play here? This is your opportunity.”
On his post-game radio show when asked about what he said on ESPN:
“I’m tired of being on the second page of the paper. I’m tired of being the disrespected little brother. And if you want to do something, you do something about it and punch them in the mouth. That was the message.”
Tulsa Schedule
Aug. 30: TU 35, Abilene Christian 7
Sept. 6: New Mexico State 21, TU 14
Sept. 13: Navy 42, TU 23
Sept. 19: TU 19, Oklahoma State 12
Sept. 27: Tulane, 3 p.m. or 6
Oct. 4: at Memphis, TBA
Oct. 16: at ECU, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Oct. 25: Temple, TBA
Nov. 8: at Florida Atlantic, TBA
Nov. 15: Oregon State, TBA
Nov. 22: at Army, 11 a.m., CBSSN