--- Continuing down the homestretch of the 2018 season, now on a two game winning streak, our next game brought about our rivals, the Houston Cougars. This would be the first time coaching against Houston, so the fog of war was present. While the Cougars entered the game 6-3, their stats and rankings painted a different picture. While they were ranked #57 nationally in rushing offense with 183.9 yards/game, every other category had them ranking anywhere between #74 and #95 in the nation. One thing was for certain, sitting at 4-5 on the year, we wanted that win to keep our bowl hopes alive, and playing on national TV, we had no desires or plans of laying an egg in front of the entire country. Houston won the coin toss and elected to kick. A stiff 12 MPH crosswind was going to make any potential field goal kicking a challenge today.
A touchback on the kickoff got the game underway, as we started at our 25 yard line. Will Oliver took the ball on first down, establishing our running game early with an 8 yard gain. Another rush by Oliver went for 11 yards and a first down at the 44 yard line. Oliver kept the attack going with a 7 yard rush, followed by a three yard gain to leave third and inches at the Houston 46. A one yard gain by Oliver was enough to move the chains at the 45 yard line. Coming out in play action pass on first down, Joe Vaughn pulling the pass for an 18 yard gain and a first down at the 27 yard line. Returning the run game, Oliver took the ball straight up the gut for a 9 yard pickup, then fought his way forward for a 13 yard rush to set up first and goal at the 5 yard line. Coming in to give Oliver a breather, Eric Silva would finish off the drive with a 5 yard touchdown rush to give us a 7-0 lead with 5:39 left in the first quarter.
No return on the kickoff gave Houston the ball at their 25 yard line. Lawrence Bryan started the drive with a pair of rushes for gains of 6 and 8 yards, giving Houston an early first down at their 39 yard line. Going into the air on first down, two incomplete passes from Bo Penn left Houston facing third and long, before Penn was able to connect with Chris Washington for a 12 yard gain and a first down at midfield. Our defense would waste little time shooting itself in the foot, like it does every game, as a 15 yard facemask penalty tacked onto the end of a 21 yard pass to Washington left Houston sitting pretty with a first down at our 14 yard line. The Cougars would go backwards on first down, as a false start left them with first and 15, but it was a temporary setback, as Penn found Washington again for a 19 yard touchdown to tie the game up 7-7 with 4:22 to go in the quarter.
A 19 yard kickoff return by Jason Johnson got us lined up at our 21 yard line for the next drive. Coming out on the ground, Oliver followed a hole around the right tackle and was able to pick up 7 yards on the first down play. Another rush by Oliver went for a gain of 5 yards and a first down at the 33 as the rushing attack was firing on all cylinders. Oliver had a hole at the beginning of the first down play, but a desperation tackle by the middle linebacker limited what would have been a large gain to just three yards, leaving second and 7. While he was limited to a small gain the previous play, Oliver was able to run free on second down, picking up 7 yards on the play and a first down at the 43 yard line. Receiving a pitch to the right, Oliver nearly broke free on the play, brought down by the safety after a 17 yard rush to give us a new set of downs at the Houston 40 yard line. Taking over for Oliver on first down, Silva was brought down for a one yard gain, Houston starting to cheat to the run. Trying to catch Houston sleeping, we would do exactly that as the Cougars brought the house, allowing Vaughn to get open down the right sideline, bowling over the safety and falling into the end zone for a 39 yard touchdown to retake the lead, 14-7 with 1:46 left in the quarter.
No return on the kickoff gave Houston the ball at their 25 yard line as both offenses dueled it out. Penn dropped back to pass on first down, but the ball intended for Corey Gibson never found its target, falling incomplete. Penn would hook up with Will Jude on the next play, the pass going for 9 yards, leaving Houston facing third and one, before a 5 yard pass to Washington would get the first down and move the sticks to the 39 yard line. A 5 yard rush by Bryan was followed with an incomplete pass, leaving Houston again facing third down and 5. This time Penn wouldn’t be able to work his magic, his pass intended for Gibson falling incomplete to bring out the punt team, Houston’s offense the first one to blink. While they didn’t put points on the board, Houston still ended up with a victory, as no return on the 49 yard punt left us starting our next series from our 6 yard line.
Oliver took the ball on first down, just barely able to pick up two yards before being swarmed. With Houston still keying to our run game, it was into the air on second down, as Vaughn hauled in a pass for a gain of 16 yards and a first down at the 24. Another pass to Vaughn would picked up 8 yards, leaving second and two at the 32 yard line. That would be the final play as the first quarter came to an end, leading 14-7.
Opening up the second quarter with second and two, despite shredding them the last few plays through the air, Houston was still ready to stuff our run game, Oliver just managing to pick up three yards and the first down at the 35. With the run game still being targeted, it was back to the aerial attack, the pass intended for Carl Barnes, sailing high and incomplete. Vaughn continued to be the man of the hour, Stephens just barely avoiding a sack and getting the ball off for an 18 yard completion and a first down at the Houston 47. A first down rush by Oliver went for a gain of four yards, following by a loss of two yards to leave third and 8. The third down pass intended for Barnes was knocked incomplete, leaving us punting away. That punt wouldn’t come however, as an encroachment penalty gave us 5 free yards, leaving fourth and three from the 40 yard line. Lining up for a long field goal attempt with a 13 MPH crosswind, Alphonso Pratt nailed the longest field goal of his career, curving the kick off to the right, letting the wind push it back inside the right upright and through for a 57 yard field goal, giving us a 17-7 lead with 7:14 left before halftime. With the amount of distance Pratt had on that kick, he easily could have made it from 60+.
A touchback on the ensuing kickoff gave Houston the ball at their 25 yard line. Washington started the drive with a two yard rush, before an incomplete pass left the Cougars facing third and 8. Bryan would be the hero of the moment, pulling down a 19 yard pass from Penn to pick up the first down at the 46 yard line. A two yard rush by Penn was followed with a three yard rush by Bryan, leaving third and 5 at our 49. The defense would put up a brick wall on third down, breaking through the line and sacking Penn for a 7 yard loss, forcing Houston to punt on fourth and 12. Once again, despite the defense getting the stop, Houston would still walk away with a victory, as no return on the 51 yard punt left us starting from our 5 yard line for the next series.
Opening up our drive, Oliver took the handoff on first down, rushing for a 5 yard gain, followed by a huge 12 yard rush to get the first down at the 22 yard line. Keeping it on the ground, Silva came in for a 5 yard gain, before a blown up option play resulted in Stephens getting instantly tackled by the defensive end for a two yard loss, leaving third and 7. The third down pass intended for Vaughn was broken up by the cornerback, forcing us to punt the ball. We would see the first error of the game happen as Houston broke through and blocked the punt, Christian Johnson managing to recover the ball to save the touchdown, but quickly tackled to force the turnover on downs, giving Houston first and goal at our three yard line. Houston would need only one play to punch it in, as Bryan ran in standing up for the three yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 17-14 with 4:03 left until halftime.
A touchback on the kickoff left us starting at our 25 yard line. Johnson was able to get the first down pass into his hands, on what would have been at least a 20 yard gain, but he was unable to hold onto the ball, dropping it incomplete. A quick pass to Silva picked up 5 yards, leaving third and 5. Despite not running the ball, Oliver was still able to make the defense pay, taking advantage of a two on one situation to pull down a pass for a 28 yard gain and a first down at the Houston 42 yard line. A first down pass to P.J. Stephens went for a 17 yard gain, moving the chains to the 25 yard line. Vaughn was able to snag down the ball on first down while coming across the middle, but a lockup with the middle linebacker was enough to jar the ball loose and incomplete. A pass to Barnes picked up 5 yards, followed by a second reception by Barnes for a gain of 10 yards to leave first and 10 at the 10 yard line. Still firing away, Stephens was able to chuck up a pass to avoid a sack, needling it between the cornerback and safety and into the hands of Vaughn for a 10 yard touchdown and a 24-14 lead with 2:03 left in the half.
A touchback on the kickoff got Houston lined up from their 25 yard line. It was a very short drive as three straight incomplete passes left the punt team coming out, the Cougars starting to fall apart a bit on offense. A fair catch by Johnson on the 52 yard punt gave us the ball at our 22 yard line with 1:35 remaining and all three timeouts. After an incomplete pass on first down, it would be Johnson to strike at the heart of the defense. Isolated out to the left with only the cornerback over top, Johnson was able to get a great start at the snap and beat the cornerback off the line and racing downfield. Stephens chucked up a rainbow pass, hitting Johnson perfectly in stride, who then raced nearly 40 yards towards the end zone before being tripped up from behind at the one yard line, the entire play resulting in a gain of 76 yards, leaving first and goal at the one yard line. Rushing the ball on first down, Oliver impaled the dagger in the heart, rushing it in for the one yard touchdown to give us a 31-14 lead with 53 seconds remaining.
An 18 yard return on the kickoff gave Houston back the ball at their 22 yard line and the game starting to slip away. The Cougars would end up going backwards on first down as Penn was sacked for a three yard loss. It would get even worse as a holding penalty on second down resulted in Houston facing second and 23 from their 9 yard line, with 19 seconds left on the clock. A second down rush by Bryan picked up 8 yards, but left Houston still with third and 15, our defense calling a timeout with 12 seconds left. Another rush by Bryan went for three yards, leaving Houston punting away on fourth and 12 after a second timeout by the defense stopped play with 9 seconds to go.
A fair catch on the 35 yard punt left us lining up at our 45 yard line with just two seconds on the clock. Our attempt at a hail mary would go nowhere, as, despite a wide open receiver, Stephens was hit as he threw the ball, the pass landing incomplete just a couple yards away, ending the second quarter and taking us into halftime with a 31-14 lead.
Opening up the second half, no return on the kickoff gave Houston the ball at their 25 yard line to start the third quarter. The drive started off with more of the same for the Cougars, as an incomplete pass and a dropped ball by Jude left Houston facing third and long, before Bryan came through with a 14 yard reception and a first down at the 39 yard line to save the drive. Bryan would go from savior to goat in one play, dropping a pass on first down, followed by another incomplete pass to bring up third and long yet again. It would be Chad Mack coming through in the clutch this time with a 26 yard reception to move the chains to our 35 yard line. Another incomplete pass and a dropped ball by Gibson gave Houston a third down and long for the third time this drive. It apparently was a system that was working for the Cougars though, as Penn dropped back and threw a bomb to Washington for a 35 yard touchdown, immediately cutting our lead down to 31-21 with 7:47 left in the quarter.
That 10 point gap lasted all of one play, as Johnson received the kickoff at our three yard line, got a pair of blocks to spring him outside and up the left sideline, before cutting in around midfield, getting one more block to peel off a defender, and racing all the way to the end zone for a 97 yard kickoff return, instantly increasing our lead to 38-21 with 7:21 left.
A touchback on the kickoff brought the Houston offense right back on the field, starting from their 25 yard line. Despite being absolutely asinine, Houston had found a system, as two incomplete passes were followed with a 10 yard completion to Bryan, converting third and long at the 35 yard line. Another incomplete pass on first down was followed by a sack for a four yard loss this time, leaving Houston facing third and 14. That finally proved to be enough to put an end up the streak of third down conversions, as Gibson dropped the pass from Penn, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 14. A fair catch by Johnson on the 48 yard punt gave us the ball at our 21 yard line.
We got our next drive underway with a carry by Oliver, the rush only gaining two yards as Houston refused to give up anything on the ground. Going back into the air, the second down pass intended for Harper was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving third and 8. Oliver came through in the clutch on third down, hauling in a pass from Stephens for a gain of 20 yards, until he fumbled the ball on the tackle, P.J. Stephens and Barnes both trying to recover the fumble, but unable to before outside linebacker Jamel Hawkins came in an swooped it up for Houston, Hawkins promptly tacked at our 49 yard line. Just when it look like disaster had struck, we got saved from above, as the fumble was challenge, the replay booth signaling that Oliver’s knee was down before the fumble, saving us from a turnover and giving us a first down at the 43 yard line. Miraculously back on the field after the reversed turnover, Stephens threw across the middle to Vaughn on first down, complete for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the Houston 44. A quick pass to Harper went for a gain of 5 yards, followed by a 12 yard pass to Barnes for a first down at the 26. Dropping back into the shotgun on first down, Stephens rifled a ball just out of reach of the middle linebacker and into the hands of Johnson, who turned up the field and took it into the end zone for a 26 yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 45-21 with 4:15 left in the third quarter.
No return on the kickoff gave Houston the ball at their 25 yard line. Penn got the drive started with a three yard completion to Bryan, before a dropped pass and a one yard dump pass to Bryan would bring the drive crashing to an end on fourth and 6, Houston beginning to look listless on offense. A fair catch by Johnson on the 52 yard punt got us lined up at our 18 yard line, looking to put this one away.
Starting off the drive on the ground, Oliver was quickly brought down for only a two yard gain on the first down play, before being tackled for a two yard loss to leave us facing third and 10. Dropping back on third down, Stephens was able to hook up with Oliver for a 22 yard gain and a first down at the 40 yard line to keep our drive alive. Returning to the ground, Oliver pounded it up the middle for a 9 yard play, leaving second and inches. Silva would pick up the first down and then some, breaking loose into the secondary and rushing for a 23 yard gain, moving the chains to the Houston 28 yard line. A 5 yard rush by Oliver would bring the third quarter to an end, our lead standing at 45-21.
Opening up the fourth quarter, facing second and 5 at the Houston 23 yard line, Oliver was able to shake off an initial tackle, picking up three yards to leave third and two. Oliver would convert the third down, rushing through a huge hole and picking up 11 yards on the play to set up first and goal at the 9 yard line. Keeping it going on the ground, Silva was able to pound his way through a pair of defenders for a 7 yard gain, before a one yard rush by Oliver left us looking at third and goal from the one yard line. Oliver would hammer the final nail in the coffin as he ran it in for the one yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 52-21 with 6:29 left in the game.
An 18 yard kickoff return gave Houston back the ball at their 17 yard line, all hopes of a comeback long since shattered. Starting off the drive with a pass, the throw intended for Jude was batted away and incomplete, followed by a 5 yard scramble by Penn to leave Houston facing third and 5. Trying to pick up the first down, Penn dropped back to pass, but was forced to get rid of the ball to avoid a sack, the punt team coming out on fourth and 5 as another Houston drive came to a fruitless conclusion. A fair catch by Johnson on the 42 yard punt got our offense lined up at our 35 yard line, just 5:49 away from victory as the second team offense came in to kill the clock.
Silva took the ball up the middle on first down, picking up 6 yards on the play. Silva made sure to get the first down, and extra, on the next play, rushing for a 14 yard gain to move the chains to the Houston 45 yard line. Another rush by Silva went for four yards, followed by a 7 yard gain to pick up a first down at the 34. Keeping the clock moving, Silva was only able to manage one yard on the first down carry, before racing up the middle for a 15 yard gain. That gain however ended up erased as we were called for holding, left with second and 18 from the 42. Kyle Jones was able to recover the lost yards with a 9 yard rush, putting us right back where we were on third and 9. Passing the ball on third down, Freddie Woods was able to get the ball off to Jones for a 15 yard gain. We would then get a helping hand from cornerback James Lacey, who was flagged for a facemask penalty, setting us up with first and goal at the 9 yard line. Putting the ball back into the hands of Silva, he took it up the middle for a 6 yard gain, leaving second and goal from the three yard line. Silva would end up inadvertently punching it into the end zone, tackled forward for the three yard touchdown, giving us a 59-21 lead with 50 seconds left that would be sure to enrage sports fans and fill up the headlines.
No return on the kickoff gave Houston the ball at their 25 yard line, just 42 seconds left to go. The Cougars, despite being long since beaten, refused to leave their gameplan, coming out passing on first down. The first down pass intended for Washington was batted incomplete, before Penn was able to connect with Cedric Mueller for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 37. Bruce Porter took the ball on first down, rushing for a one yard gain as Houston seemingly raised the white flag, only to run a play action pass on second down, the ball intended for Washington nearly intercepted by our secondary to leave Houston facing third and 9, just 6 seconds left on the clock. Still airing it out to the very end, the pass from Penn was dropped by Darren Parker, the clock finally running out and sealing our 59-21 win.
With our third straight win, we improve to 5-5, 4-2 in Big East action. With the loss, Houston drops to 6-4, 3-3 in Big East play. Up next, it’s senior night as we close out our home schedule, facing off against another former C-USA foe in East Carolina. The Pirates enter the game at 4-6, 2-4 in Big East play. East Carolina opened their year with a 38-14 win over Utah State, before losing 24-10 at Illinois and 55-21 to Marshall. They got back in the win column with a 27-21 win over Buffalo, but then went on a four game losing streak, losing 37-32 to Houston, 13-10 at SMU, 38-10 at Central Florida and 49-31 to Connecticut. The Pirates finally broke the losing streak with back to back victories, 21-18 at South Florida and 26-14 over Temple heading into our game.
Final Score
59,
21
Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A pretty much perfect day for Stephens for a change, ending 18-26 for 348 yard and three touchdowns, most importantly no interceptions. Woods, in limited action, was 1-1 for 15 yards. Rushing, Oliver led the way with 150 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries, Silva ended with 81 yards and two touchdowns on 12 rushes. Receiving, Vaughn had another big day, ending with 122 yards and two touchdown on seven receptions. Right behind him was Johnson with 102 yards and one touchdown on two receptions (to go along with a 97 yard kickoff return for a touchdown). In all, eight receivers caught a pass, six receivers ended with double digit yards, Vaughn and Johnson were the only receivers to hit triple digits, as well as score a touchdown.
- Tulsa Defense – A sluggish first half, letting Houston get some drives together and stay in the game, as well as the first drive of the third quarter, but then kept things under control most of the rest of the game. Third downs continued to kill however. One or two drives during the middle of the game, Houston would throw two incomplete passes, just to turn around with a 10+ yard completion on third and long to keep their drive alive. The defense has got to stop that crap. It could have been worse, but Houston shot themselves in the foot plenty of times, the tale of the tape for them being 6 dropped passes, three alone dropped by Gibson.
- Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day for Pratt, going 1-1 in field goals, kicking a career long 57 yard field goal, in a kick that angled like a curve ball wide of the right upright and then back inside due to the angle of the kick and the 13 MPH crosswind at the time. Pratt also ended 8-8 for PATs.
Scoring Summary
| Team |
1st Quarter |
2nd Quarter |
3rd Quarter |
4th Quarter |
Final Score |
|
7 |
7 |
7 |
0 |
21 |
|
14 |
17 |
14 |
14 |
59 |
| Time |
Team |
Result |
Play |
Score |
| First Quarter |
| 5:39 |
|
Touchdown |
E. Silva, 5 yard run (A. Pratt kick) |
7-0 |
| 4:22 |
|
Touchdown |
C. Washington, 19 yard pass from B. Penn (J. Montgomery kick) |
TIED 7-7 |
| 1:46 |
|
Touchdown |
J. Vaughn, 39 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick) |
14-7 |
|
| Second Quarter |
| 7:14 |
|
Field Goal |
A. Pratt, 57 yard field goal |
17-7 |
| 4:03 |
|
Touchdown |
L. Bryan, 3 yard run (J. Montgomery kick) |
17-14 |
| 2:03 |
|
Touchdown |
J. Vaughn, 10 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick) |
24-14 |
| 0:53 |
|
Touchdown |
W. Oliver, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick) |
31-14 |
|
| Third Quarter |
| 7:47 |
|
Touchdown |
C. Washington, 35 yard pass from B. Penn (J. Montgomery kick) |
31-21 |
| 7:21 |
|
Touchdown |
J. Johnson, returned kickoff 97 yards (A. Pratt kick) |
38-21 |
| 4:15 |
|
Touchdown |
J. Johnson, 26 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick) |
45-21 |
|
| Fourth Quarter |
| 6:29 |
|
Touchdown |
W. Oliver, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick) |
52-21 |
| 0:50 |
|
Touchdown |
E. Silva, 3 yard run (A. Pratt kick) |
59-21 |
| Houston |
Stat |
Tulsa |
| 21 |
Score |
59 |
| 8 |
First Downs |
24 |
| 230 |
Total Offense |
600 |
| 11 - 45 - 1 |
Rushes - Yards - TD |
42 - 237 - 4 |
| 13 - 38 - 2 |
Comp - Att - TD |
19 - 27 - 3 |
| 185 |
Passing Yards |
363 |
| 3 |
Times Sacked |
0 |
| 7 - 15 (46%) |
3rd Down Conversion |
7 - 9 (77%) |
| 0 - 0 (0%) |
4th Down Conversion |
0 - 0 (0%) |
| 0 - 0 (0%) |
2-Point Conv |
0 - 0 (0%) |
| 4 - 1 - 0 (25%) |
Red Zone - TD - FG |
5 - 5 - 0 (100%) |
| 0 |
Turnovers |
0 |
| 0 |
Fumbles Lost |
0 |
| 0 |
Intercepted |
0 |
| 0 |
Punt Return Yards |
10 |
| 36 |
Kick Return Yards |
116 |
| 266 |
Total Yards |
726 |
| 7 – 48.9 |
Punts - Average |
0 - 0.0 |
| 4 - 29 |
Penalties |
3 - 35 |
| 10:46 |
Time of Possession |
25:14 |
| Fail Impact |
Goal |
Progress |
Pass Impact |
 |
21+ points per game in each season |
41 |
 |
|
Win 10 games in one season |
5 |
|
|
3300+ passing yards each season |
 |
 |
|
65% pass completions over the entire contract |
60% |
|
 |
Win 6 games in one season |
 |
|
|
15+ rushing TD in each season |
3/4 Completed |
|
 |
3200+ total offensive yards each season |
3/4 Completed |
 |
|
3400+ total offensive yards each season |
3/4 Completed |
 |
|
| Bonus |
|
Beat a higher ranked team |
|
|
38%
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Originally Posted by SmoothPancakes
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