Not since the Pony Express days with Eric Dickerson and Craig James has SMU been undefeated this deep into a season.
Ranked for the first time in 33 years, the No. 24 Mustangs overcame a three-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter, converted six fourth downs and finally beat Tulsa 43-37 when Shane Buechele threw a 25-yard touchdown to James Proche in the third overtime Saturday night.
"For us to go down 21 and just for them to keep playing, hang in there and figure out a way to win the game, it's a real credit to their character," second year SMU coach Sonny Dykes said.
After Tulsa missed its second field goal in overtime, Proche made a leaping catch in the front corner of the end zone over a defender and got a foot down before going out of bounds. The play was initially ruled incomplete before being overturned on replay review.
"We knew we were a second-half team" said Proche, who had 11 catches for 153 yards and two TDs. "I don't think it was anything with Tulsa's defense. We just stayed the course and played SMU football."
SMU (6-0, 2-0 American) this week moved into the AP poll for the first time since October 1986, before NCAA sanctions that included the death penalty. The Mustangs didn't field a team in 1987 and 1988.
They were last 6-0 in 1982, when Dickerson and James were part of an unbeaten 11-0-1 season.
Xavier Jones ran for 121 yards and scored two game-tying touchdowns for SMU before he fumbled in the second overtime. But Tulsa couldn't take advantage when Jacob Rainey missed a 43-yard field goal attempt wide left.
Tulsa (2-3, 0-1) had the ball to start the third overtime, and used a different kicker after failing to get a first down. But Zack Long was wide left on a 42-yard attempt.
"A tough game to come out on the wrong side of," Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery said. "I thought our guys played extremely hard. I thought they emptied their tanks, didn't leave anything out there."
Jones had a 4-yard TD run on a fourth-down play with 1:02 left in regulation. His 3-yard score after a 15-yard pass on fourth down forced the second overtime after Zach Smith's fourth touchdown pass, a 7-yarder to Josh Johnson, opened the overtime scoring.
The Mustangs were down 30-9 before touchdowns on their last three possessions in regulation. They Mustangs went at least 73 yards and converted fourth downs on each of those possessions. They converted 6 of 7 fourth downs overall.
"A team that's been playing extremely well. We know that they can catch fire and do some things," Montgomery said. "I think it helped them a little bit in the fourth quarter being down, because every possession is crucial, so they're really playing four-down territory all of the way through it. ... One stop here or there and we're off the field and it could be a different story."
Buechele, the former Texas quarterback, finished 23-of-40 passing for 280 yards and the two TDs to Proche.
Smith was 23 of 41 for 346 yards, but also threw three interceptions before halftime. The first was returned 64 yards by Ar'mani Johnson for a touchdown in the first quarter.
Ke'Mon Freeman had a 1-yard scoring run for SMU on the first play of the fourth quarter, capping a 19-play drive with two fourth-down conversions, one near midfield on a run and the other a pass interference penalty in the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 1. Buechele threw a 30-yard TD to Proche with 8:24 left, two plays after the quarterback's 3-yard keeper on fourth-and-1.
Tulsa had a 16-6 lead early in the second quarter after scoring two touchdowns with only one second ticking off the clock. Smith threw the first of his two TDs to a wide-open Keylon Stokes for a 58-yard catch-and-run. On the ensuing kickoff, SMU didn't secure the loose ball and Kendarin Ray dove on it in the front corner of the end zone for another touchdown.
THE TAKEAWAY
Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane will bemoan the mistakes that cost them a chance for the upset on the road, considering the 23-9 halftime lead despite the three interceptions and the missed field goal that would have ended the game in the second overtime. They have lost 17 in a row to Top 25 teams since a 62-35 over No. 24 Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve nine years ago. Tulsa won the regular-season finale at home against SMU last November to keep the Mustangs from getting bowl eligible in coach Sonny Dykes' first season.
SMU: This matched the second largest comeback in school history, the largest being a win at Baylor in 1975 after being down 25 points. ... The Mustangs have scored at least 41 points in their last five games. While they needed two overtime touchdowns to do that against Tulsa, they clearly have plenty of offense with AAC passing leader Buechele, rushing leader Jones and two of the top receivers in Proche and Reggie Roberson Jr.
UP NEXT
Tulsa is home next Saturday night to play Navy (2-2, 1-1), which is coming off a home loss to Air Force.
SMU has an open date before hosting Temple (4-1, 1-0) on Oct. 19.
OU:
Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley was dissecting his team's latest easy victory, this time a 45-20 blowout of Kansas, when he was interrupted by the sound of a toilet flushing in the nearby visiting locker room.
"That's what they thought of my play-calling," Riley said with a sardonic grin.
It wasn't that bad, coach.
Heisman Trophy hopeful Jalen Hurts threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns while running for two more. Rhamondre Stevenson added 109 yards rushing and a score on just five carries. And the sixth-ranked Sooners (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) still ripped off seven straight scores to put the game away early.
Not to mention allow them to cruise to their 22nd straight true road win, the second-longest streak since at least World War II in major college football. Bud Wilkinson's Sooners won 25 from 1953-58.
"Every team in the country circles our team and the offense and we like that," said Riley, whose Sooners had 545 yards. "What's exciting is you see glimpses of what it can be, and it's on us to turn those glimpses into longer stretches of dominant play."
It might take some better play in next weekend's Red River Showdown with No. 11 Texas.
"I know that's always a hot topic on the outside," Riley said, "but that wasn't mentioned before the game, not one time. Maybe we didn't handle the early start, whatever it was. But we can do better."
Carter Stanley threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns for Kansas (2-4, 0-2), including a pair to Stephon Robinson, while sophomore running back Pooka Williams followed his breakthrough 252-yard rushing performance against the Sooners a year ago with 137 on Saturday.
"Our football team, I talked to them coming off the field. There's no hang-dog," Kansas coach Les Miles said. "They want to do what we set out to do. They're going get there. And it's going to be — they are going to take the strides they need to have the success they want to have."
The rout most people anticipated didn't happen right from the start.
In fact, the Jayhawks outplayed the Sooners throughout most of the first quarter.
They had forced a punt but were pinned at their goal line midway through the quarter when Stanley marched them 98 yards. And when the senior quarterback lofted a pass to Daylon Charlot for a 22-yard TD, the home fans that stuck out a 30-minute lightning delay cheered the 7-0 lead.
"There's still improvement," Miles said afterward. "You can see it."
Hurts and the Sooners eventually got on track, though.
They answered the touchdown with one of their own when Trey Sermon plunged in from 2 yards out. Hurts added a TD run of his own, then found CeeDee Lamb just before halftime to give Oklahoma a 21-7 lead.
Hurts kept adding to his impressive stat line after the break.
He ran for 36 yards, completed both of his passes and scored a TD to cap an 84-yard drive, then ran for 53 yards before hitting Sermons with a 15-yard touchdown pass.
Stevenson ripped off a 61-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to punctuate the win.
Still, it wasn't a perfect performance by the Sooners.
They had a long punt return TD brought back by a penalty, and Hurts threw his first interception of the season in the fourth quarter. And while the Oklahoma defense held the Jayhawks in check outside of their long touchdown drive, new coordinator Alex Grinch's bunch failed to produce a turnover.
It was still plenty good enough to remain unbeaten as the Sooners set their sights on Dallas.
"Early on we left them off the hook in some situational deals," Grinch said, "and our inability to finish changes your outlook in the postgame news conference."
QUOTEABLE
"It took us a little while to get on track, then we had a really nice surge there end of the first half, even despite a couple of really, really dumb calls by me that set us back." — Riley.
THE TAKEAWAY
Oklahoma could be forgiven for getting off to a slow start. Lightning delayed kickoff, and periods of heavy rain hurt an already sparse crowd that contributed to a sleepy atmosphere.
Kansas was battered so soundly by TCU last week that fans were bracing for the worst, but coach Les Miles at least kept his team in the game into the second half. That constitutes progress in Lawrence.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma heads to the State Fair of Texas to face the Longhorns next Saturday.
Kansas gets next week off before its own shot at the Longhorns.
OSU:
Jett Duffey has won as Texas Tech's starting quarterback before and has had a 400-yard passing day before. But Red Raiders coach Matt Wells' post-game compliments following Saturday's 45-35 upset of No. 21 Oklahoma State included a different element of the junior quarterback's game.
"Jett Duffey was stingy with the football," Wells said. And turnovers made a huge difference in the game.
Duffey passed for four touchdowns, ran for another and avoided turnovers, which have previously plagued him, in his first start of the season. Alan Bowman started Texas Tech's first two games at quarterback before injuring his non-passing shoulder. Transfer Jackson Tyner started the Red Raiders' previous game at Oklahoma before being replaced early by Duffey, who went 1-2 in three starts last season.
"From the get-go, I felt confident in our game plan," Duffey said. "I felt confident in my teammates."
Texas Tech (3-2, 1-1 Big 12), coming off a 55-16 loss at Oklahoma two weeks ago, built a 20-0 lead 30 seconds into the second quarter to win its second straight in the series after going 0-10-2 in the teams' previous 12 meetings.
"This was a tough week. It was an emotional week," Wells said. "Nobody was very happy about the way we played last week. I thought they responded. Tremendous amount of guts."
Duffey completed 26 of 44 passes for 424 yards with scoring passes to Erik Ezukanma (56 yards), T.J. Vasher (21), KeSean Carter (14) and Dalton Rigdon (8). He ran for a 16-yard touchdown.
Conversely, Oklahoma State (4-2, 1-2) committed five turnovers, three interceptions and two fumbles by redshirt freshman quarterback Spencer Sanders. Cowboys running back Chuba Hubbard, first in the FBS averaging 187.6 rushing yards going into Saturday, rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns.
Cowboys coach Mike Gundy pointed to multiple issues that led to defeat, including the possibility that he worked the team, which hasn't yet had an off week this season, too hard during the last two weeks.
"There was a lot of blame to be thrown around - quarterbacks, offensive line, corners, coaches, everybody," Gundy said. "But in the big picture, if you turn the ball over that many times, no matter what forced those turnovers, and if you give up big plays, it's difficult to win."
Gundy cited poor pass protection on Sanders' first two interceptions, in which he threw toward the sideline into tight coverage. Sanders was 22 of 37 passing for 276 yards with touchdowns of 73 yards to Jordan McCray and 10 yards to Tylan Wallace.
After the game, Sanders sat in a stadium tunnel, left hand to his forehead, as he answered questions from the media.
"I mean, I had five turnovers," Sanders said. "Not offensive line. Not the receivers. Not the defense. I did; Spencer Sanders had five turnovers. I can't do that. I've got to do better."
Wallace, who went into play leading Division I averaging 22.07 yards per catch among his 123.6 yards per game, had 11 catches for 85 yards, one touchdown in the closing minutes, and a long gain of 14 yards.
Trey Wolff converted three of four Texas Tech field-goal attempts ranging from 26 to 38 yards.
AND TWO MAKES FIVE
Texas Tech safety Douglas Coleman III made two interceptions, giving him five in five games this season.
"We had to show the world, like, we can play defense at Texas Tech," Coleman said. "I think it was a big statement we had to prove."
THIRD DOWN NOT THE CHARM
The teams combined to go 0 for 17 on third-down conversions until the closing minutes of the half, when Hubbard took the ball on 3rd-and-1 at Texas Tech's 3-yard line and scored. On one of those Cowboys possessions, a conversion was negated by a blocking penalty on Wallace.
THE TAKEAWAY
Texas Tech ended a 10-game losing streak at home against ranked opponents since beating No. 24 TCU 20-10 in September 2013 for first-year coach Matt Wells' first conference win. Three of those losses were to the Cowboys.
Oklahoma State is 0 for 2 in the Lone Star State this season, having lost 36-30 at Texas on Sept. 21. Their next chance to return to Texas would be for the conference championship at Arlington's AT&T Stadium.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State hosts Baylor on Oct. 19 following its first off week.
Texas Tech visits Baylor next Saturday, its first trip to Waco since 2007. The series had been played at neutral sites beginning 2009, with nine games in Arlington and one at the Cotton Bowl stadium in Dallas.