Southland Conference trolls Oklahoma State amid struggles vs. Tulsa

As Oklahoma State struggled in Friday’s matchup against Tulsa, an X user joked the Cowboys were exploring a move to the FCS Southland Conference. The league’s social media team had a response at the ready.

@CFBHome trolled the Cowboys by joking they were reportedly exploring a departure from the Big 12 for the Southland Conference. The “source,” of course, was “trust me” as Oklahoma State’s offense had a hard time getting anything going against Tulsa.

The Southland Conference’s account saw the post and had a troll of its own. With a screenshot, the league said it was sending Oklahoma State “straight to voicemail.”

Straight to voicemail. https://t.co/PvoHvZiRcn pic.twitter.com/wrE5c212SM

— Southland Conference (@SouthlandSports) September 20, 2025

This marks the second straight week an FCS conference trolled a struggling team during a Friday night game. The Big Sky took aim at UCLA last week as the Bruins eventually fell to New Mexico, which proved to be the last game for DeShaun Foster as head coach.

Friday’s game is looming as a big one for Mike Gundy as rumors swirl around his future amid a 1-1 start to the year – with the one loss coming in 69-3 fashion against Oregon. His buyout currently sits at $15 million if Oklahoma State was to move on from its all-time winningest coach.

Boos rang out at Boone Pickens Stadium as Oklahoma State struggled through two quarters against Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane’s 16-3 halftime lead marked the first time it took a double-digit lead into the break against a power conference opponent in 20 years.

The Cowboys totaled 117 yards of offense in the first half, including just 45 passing from Zane Flores. He got the start once again as Hauss Hejny works his way back from an injury suffered in the season opener against UT Martin.

Oklahoma State was able to find new life in the third quarter, though, and eventually got its first touchdown since Week 1 when Zane Flores scored less than a minute into the fourth quarter. That made it a 19-9 game after the two-point conversion failed, but the Cowboys weren’t going down without a fight.

Oklahoma State is paying Tulsa $300,000 for Friday’s game, according to The Oklahoman. It marks the second game of an eight-year contract between the two teams, and the Cowboys won last year’s matchup 45-10.

The pressure continues to ramp up around Gundy as Oklahoma State comes out of its bye following the blowout loss at Oregon. ESPN’s Pete Thamel said he is the next coach likely “in the crosshairs” of a departure, but he also considered the situation as a whole considering Gundy’s stature at OSU.