Tulane claimed a 38-26 victory over Tulsa in front of 27,417 fans at Yulman Stadium Saturday afternoon. Tulane improved to 6-3, while Tulsa dropped to 2-7 on the season.
Trailing 24-16 at halftime, Tulsa pulled to within 5 points in the second-half at 31-26, but a Green Wave touchdown at the 4:53 mark gave them the 12-point victory. The Hurricane scored 6-of-8 times in the red zone, but 4 of those only went for field goals.
Tulsa gained 398 yards on the day with 270 coming through the air and 128 yards on the ground. Zach Smith completed 17-of-33 passes and one TD, while Shamari Brooks led the Hurricane in rushing with 65 yards and Keylon Stokes had a team-high 78 yards receiving. On defense, Kendarin Ray had a career-best 12 stops, while Reggie Robinson had 2 itnerceptions.
Jacob Rainey connected on Tulsa’s 4 field goals covering 40, 32, 37 and 38 yards,.
Tulane took its opening 2nd half drive 75 yards in 9 plays as a 4th down-and-4 play saw the Green Wave score on a 32-yard pass play at the 10:40 mark to make the score 31-16. The score gave Tulane its 21st point in less than 7 minutes of game time going back to the 2nd period.
Tulsa took the subsequent possession to the Tulane 5-yard line but missed getting a 1st down on a 4th down play by inches, thus giving way to Tulane’s offense taking possession at its own 3.
The Hurricane added 10 points in the first 5 minutes of the 4th quarter pulling to within 5 points at 31-26 with 10:00 left on the game clock. Tulsa scored on a 16-yard Smith to Keylon Stokes 16-yard pass and after Robinson’s second pick-off, Rainey knocked through his 4th field goal of the game, a 38-yarder at the 10-minute mark.
A major turning point in the game came in just an 0:13 span of the 2nd quarter when Tulane went ahead 17-13, and then scored again on a controversial touchdown return on what was ruled a pass completion and fumble that put the Green Wave ahead 24-13. The Hurricane responded with a drive that accounted for 3 points off the leg of Jacob Rainey to make the halftime score 24-16.
At the intermission, Tulsa held a 235 to 219-yard edge in total offense, and a 17:11 to 12:49 advantage in possession time. The Hurricane gained
The Green Wave took an early 3-0 lead on its first possession of the game with a 31-yard field goal, to cap a 9-play, 45-yard drive. On the subsequent possession, Tulsa took the ball to the Tulane 25-yard line, but gave it back to the Green Wave on downs.
Tulane took its possession 87 yards for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead, capping a 6-play, 87-yard drive.
On Tulsa’s subsequent possession, the Hurricane went 75 yards in 10 plays to put 7 points on the board as Corey Taylor rushed for his 4th TD in the last 2 games with a
1-yard run at the 13:11 mark in the 2nd quarter.
Jacob Rainey’s 40-yard field tied the game at 10-10 with 8:33 on the second quarter clock, capping a 33-yard, 7-play drive. After an interception by Reggie Robinson II, the Hurricane went 43 yards and Rainey knocked through his second field goal of the afternoon with a 32-yarder at the 4:30 mark to put Tulsa ahead 13-0.
Tulane responded with a 65-yard, 5-play drive, taking just 2:17 of the clock as McMillan added his second TD run of the game to put the Green Wave back ahead 17-13.
The controversial fumble call, that stood after review, came on a pass to Josh Johnson that was returned for a touchdown by Tulane, giving the home team its 2nd score in just 0:13 for a 24-13 lead.
With under 2 minutes before intermission, Tulsa drove to the Tulane 20-yard line, but had to settle for Rainey’s 3rd field goal of the game, this one coming from 37 yards out to make the score 24-16.
Tulsa made it to the Tulane 20-yard line 4 times on 5-second quarter drives, but scored 7 points only once, relying on field goals 3 times.
Tulsa returns home to H.A. Chapman Stadium Friday night for a nationally-televised ESPN2 game against the 7-1 UCF Knights.
Public Radio Tulsa is owned and operated by the University of Tulsa