Coming off a game in Stillwater that Tulsa fans have seen too many times - great effort and close but no cigar - it is time for TU to face a team that is at another level.

That other level is No. 9 Ohio State, the other OSU that is in a different league, both literally and figuratively, than Oklahoma State.

This is going to be a tough one.

Tulsa (0-2) played much better at Oklahoma State than it did in its embarrassing opening week loss to UC Davis. There are lots of positives to draw from.

But the Golden Hurricane still needs a huge improvement in week three if they are going to compete with the mighty Buckeyes in Columbus on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 pm.

The point spread of around 26 points suggests that nobody is taking the Golden Hurricane seriously in this one. Tulsa's only other visit to Columbus was a 48-3 loss in 2016 to then No. 4 Ohio State. The game was close for most of the first half until critical mistakes in a monsoon at the end of the half doomed TU.

Remember, that Dane Evans led 2016 team ended up 10-3 and was really, really good.

As for this year, Ohio State (1-1) is coming off a surprising 35-28 home loss to No. 12 Oregon last Saturday where the Buckeyes moved the ball up and down the field, but it didn't translate into as many points as it should have.

Could Ohio State lose two home games in a row? Bet that would knock the Buckeyes out of the top 25.

To pull off what would be perhaps the biggest upset in TU history, Tulsa has to eliminate costly mistakes that kept it from beating the other OSU last week.

Like leaving a wide open hole on kickoff coverage that allowed a devastating OSU touchdown on a kickoff return in the fourth quarter last week. The same type of poor kickoff coverage that killed TU at the end of last season. It would be better to kick the ball out of bounds or squib kick it than have that type of kickoff coverage.

Costly penalties must be eliminated. When making big plays, Tulsa can't afford to have them called back. On either side of the ball.

Stopping Ohio State's potent passing game is going to be challenging, to say the least. Quarterback C.J. Stroud torched the Ducks last week, completing 35 of 54 passes for 484 yards and three touchdowns. But he was intercepted.