Game Eleven
#21
Game Notes
--- Heading onto the road for our final two games of the season, first up was the Roadrunners from UTSA, sitting at 2-8 on the year. This had all the signs of a blowout, as UTSA had not had much success statistically. Ranking #108 in the nation in total offense, #75 in rush offense and #113 in pass offense, to go with 16.2 points per game, good enough for #111, it could be a long day for the Roadrunners on offense. An even worse defense could spell even worse doom, the Roadrunners ranking #120 in both total defense and rush defense, while ranking #114 in pass defense. Our coin toss failures continued, as we lost the coin toss, UTSA electing to kick.
Beginning the drive on our 22 yard line, Roy Smith got us moving quickly with a 13 yard rush to give us first down at the 35, the UTSA defense slow off the snap. A heavy blitz by the Roadrunners left them chasing Smith, as the blitzing linebackers and safety left nothing but green in front of the hole, allowing Smith to take it for a 35 yard gain before being brought down from behind at the UTSA 29 yard line. The Roadrunners would finally get a stop on the ground, as Smith was brought down on first down for a one yard loss. Turning to the air on second down, Brandon Booth found Sean Parks behind the middle linebacker for a 14 yard pickup and first down at the 16. A 5 yard rush by Smith and a 6 yard gain by Ryan Strong, and we had first and goal at the 6 yard line. After a one yard rush on first down, Smith would find the end zone on the next play, carrying it in off the right tackle from 5 yards out for the touchdown, as we hit the scoreboard first, a 7-0 lead with 6:03 left in the quarter.
After a touchback on the kickoff, our defense was caught with their pants down, as Bobby Davis hit Steve Bright for a 36 yard pass on first down, getting the Roadrunners to our 39 yard line. A pair of 5 yard rushes by Davis and Jarod Allen left UTSA with third and inches, before a two yard loss by Allen left the Roadrunners facing fourth and three at our 32 yard line. Allen would pick up three yards on the fourth down play, but the chains would stretch just a few inches in front of the ball, and we took over on downs at our 29 yard line. A 10 yard rush by Smith and we were left with second and inches. With UTSA jamming the middle, Smith bounced outside on the second down rush, finding a gap as the defensive end was pushed out of the play, and Smith was off to the races with the safety, being pushed out of bounds at the one yard line for a 60 yard gain. Strong would take it in from one yard out for our second touchdown of the day, increasing our lead to 14-0 with 3:48 to play in the first quarter. A 16 yard kickoff return found the Roadrunners on their 23 yard line. After an incomplete pass, the Roadrunners got 8 free yards and a first down after a penalty thrown against our defense. After another incomplete pass on first down, Davis found C.J. McCormick for a 7 yard gain, before Davis got the first down with a four yard rush to get to the 43 yard line. After an incomplete pass, Allen was brought down for a loss of three yards and UTSA was left with third and 13. They would convert the third down, as Davis hit Bright for a 14 yard gain and the Roadrunners were breathing again on our 47. After a three yard rush by Davis, an incomplete pass was followed by a false start penalty on the offense to leave UTSA with third and 12 at our 49. Davis’ pass would fall incomplete and the Roadrunners would be forced to punt. The 40 yard punt was returned 7 yards by Parks and we started our drive at the 16 yard line.
Our drive would only survive for three plays. Despite Smith picking up 8 yards on first down, both Smith and Strong were tackled for one yard losses and we were forced to punt on fourth and four from our 22. The 46 yard punt was returned three yards and UTSA was back in action at their 35. It would be over in a flash however, as Keith Battle intercepted a pass by Davis on the first down play, and our offense was back on the field at the UTSA 42 yard line. After a 9 yard gain to start the drive, Smith would get the first down this time around, picking up three yards on the next play to give us a new set of downs at the 30 yard line. After an incomplete pass, Booth went for the homerun on second down, hitting Chad Fisher at the back of the end zone for a 30 yard touchdown pass and a 21-0 lead with 9 seconds to play in the first quarter. Starting on their 25 after the touchback, UTSA would get out to the 38 yard line with a 13 yard pass from Davis to Stephen Alston, where the first quarter would come to an end.
After an incomplete pass to begin the second quarter, Davis picked up another first down, finding Alston again, this time for 16 yards to get to our 46. Yet another pass to Alston went for a gain of 8, before Davis was sacked for a one yard loss and the Roadrunners faced third and three at our 40 yard line. A 5 yard rush by Davis would keep the drive alive. A 16 yard pass to Lamont Tyler and the Roadrunners were looking at first down from our 19 yard line. A pair of rushes by Allen for gains of two and four yards and the Roadrunners had third and four. They would go backwards on the next play, as the left tackle got flagged for holding, pushing UTSA out to our 23 yard line and third and 14. An incomplete pass on third down and UTSA was left with fourth down. Refusing to settle for a field goal, the Roadrunners found the end zone instead, as Davis hit Bright up the left sideline for a 23 yard touchdown and it was suddenly 21-7 with 7:04 to play. A 19 yard kickoff return by Parks left us starting at our 17 yard line for the drive. A pair of rushes for 5 and two yards by Smith left us with third and three, when Booth found Andrews along the left hash, John Andrews dashing forward for extra yards, resulting in an 11 yard gain and first down at the 36 yard line. After a 5 yard pass to Parks, Booth found Carlos Anderson for a 21 yard gain and first down at the UTSA 37 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Fisher would haul in a pass over the middle and fight forward for a 10 yard gain to give us first down at the 27 yard line. Heading back to the ground, Smith picked up 6 yards on first down, before rushes of three and 6 yards by Strong gave us first down at the 13 yard line. After a three yard gain by Smith got us to the 10 yard line, it was Parks hauling in the 10 yard touchdown pass from Booth and our lead grew to 28-7 with 3:35 left in the first half.
After a 24 yard kickoff return out to the 30 yard line, the Roadrunners would move quickly downfield. Davis hit Allen on first down for a 25 yard gain to get to our 45. After an incomplete pass, Davis found Tyler for 20 yards and first down at our 24 yard line. A holding penalty would leave UTSA with first and 20 from our 34 yard line. A four yard rush by Davis was followed with a pass to Guy McCauley for 15 yards, leaving the Roadrunners with third and one at our 15. Davis would hit McCauley again for a 6 yard gain and UTSA had first and goal from our 9 yard line. A loss of four yards by Allen was followed with a 10 yard pass from Davis to Allen and the Roadrunners faced third and goal from our two yard line. Allen would punch it through on the next play with a two yard rush and the Roadrunners cut our lead to 28-14 with 1:42 to play. A 19 yard kickoff return got us started at our 23 yard line with 1:31 remaining. It would be a poor start, as Booth would get sacked for a 10 yard loss, leaving us with second and 20. The defense would push us back even more, as Booth was sacked for a loss of 9 and we were left with third and 29 at our own four yard line. A timeout by UTSA froze the clock with 1:05 to play. An incomplete pass, Booth being hit as he threw, and our punt team came out. The 43 yard punt was caught on a fair catch and the Roadrunners were starting at our 46 with 57 seconds to play. After an incomplete pass, Davis found Valentine for a gain of 14 and first down at our 32. Davis was sacked for a loss of two yards on the next play, forcing the Roadrunners to call their second timeout with 36 seconds to play. A rush by Allen for a loss of one yard and UTSA was left with third and 14 from our 35. Davis’ pass was dropped on third down, stopping the clock with 14 ticks left. UTSA would convert on fourth down, as Davis hit Valentine for a 24 yard gain and first down at our 11 yard line. The clock would hit all zeros during an incomplete pass on first down and UTSA would end up stranded at our 11. We headed into halftime with a 28-14 lead, but the UTSA offense picking up steam with each new drive.
A touchback on the kickoff to open the second half got UTSA started at their 25 yard line. The drive would never move an inch, as three straight incomplete passes brought out the punt team. Parks called for a fair catch on the 39 yard punt and we began our drive from the 36 yard line. Heading back to the air, Booth’s first down pass was nearly intercepted. Our pass blocking failing again, the defense once again clobbered Booth, sacking him for a 10 yard loss to leave us facing third and 20. The defense bringing the house on third down to try and push us back even further, blitzing both safeties ended up backfiring. Parks was able to beat his guy off the line, getting the step downfield on him, hauling in Booth’s pass in stride and racing his pursuer 67 yards downfield before being tackle at the UTSA 7 yard line. Two rushes by Strong gained only three and one yards, and we were left with third and goal from the three yard line. Strong would haul in the three yard pass from Booth for the touchdown, opening our lead up to 35-14 with 6:11 to play in the third quarter.
A 25 yard kickoff return and UTSA was starting on their 27. It would go from bad to worse for the Roadrunners, as Marcus Owens intercepted Davis on the first down pass, and our offense was back on the field with barely a breather, starting on the UTSA 40 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Booth hit Anderson on an out route, and thanks to a downfield block from Parks, was able to outrace the two defenders chasing him for the 40 yard touchdown and a 42-14 lead with 5:44 to go. Starting on their 25 after the touchback, Davis gained four yards on first down for the Roadrunners, before a pair of incomplete passes would leave UTSA punting on fourth and 6 from their 29, Parks called for a fair catch on the 48 yard punt and our offense was once again back on the field at our 23. Two rushes for 5 and three yards by Smith left us with third and two, which Strong would convert, fighting forward for a three yard gain and first down at our 34 yard line. Going into the air on first down proved fatal, as Booth was hit while he threw, knocking the ball in the air in front of four UTSA defenders. Left outside linebacker Derek Larson would snag it out of midair and return the interception 28 yards for a touchdown, closing the gap to 42-21 with 4:02 to play.
Starting on our 25 after the kickoff, it was right back to the air, to punish the UTSA defense and restore Booth’s confidence. It would take only a single play for that to happen, as the cornerback covering Fisher was left flat footed at the line of scrimmage, Fisher hauling in the pass from Booth and then running the remaining 50 yards to the end zone, never a defender within 10 yards of him, for the 75 yard touchdown pass. Alphonso Pratt would clank the PAT off the left upright and our lead was stuck at 48-21 with 3:46 to play. Starting on their 25, UTSA got a four yard rush by Davis, before he was sacked for a loss of 6 yards to leave the Roadrunners with third and 12 at their 23. An 8 yard pass to Alston wouldn’t be enough and UTSA was forced to punt on fourth and four. Parks returned the 46 yard punt for 5 yards and we began our drive on the 28 yard line. The defense broke through and stopped Smith for no gain on first down. Going back to the air, Booth found Parks on the slant route for an 18 yard gain and first down at our 46. A four yard rush by Smith was followed with a 6 yard gain by Strong and we had first down at the UTSA 44 yard line. Strong was brought down for a one yard loss on the first down rush, and it was back to the air. It was back to the end zone on the next play, as Parks got past the corner off the line, leaving the corner and safety chasing him, and hauled in the 45 yard touchdown pass from Booth to make it 55-21 with 1:10 left in the third quarter.
A 19 yard kickoff return started UTSA at their 17 yard line, as Davis hit Alston for a 5 yard gain, before connecting with Tyler for a pickup of 17 yards and first down at the 39 yard line. Davis would get sacked on first down for a 9 yard loss, but recover with a 22 yard strike to Allen and first down at our 48. The final seconds would tick off the clock and the third quarter would come to a close with a 34 point lead.
UTSA opened up the fourth quarter with another pass, as Davis hit Adrian Valentine for a 39 yard strike and the Roadrunners had first and goal at our 9 yard line. An 8 yard pass to Alston set up second and goal at the one. After an incomplete pass to go to third down, Allen would punch it in from one yard out to make it 55-28 with 8:24 to play in the game. Starting on the 25 after the touchback, Smith gained four yards on the first down rush, by some controversy entered the game. Smith had managed to fight forward for a 5 yard gain on second down, but the ball came loose during the play, UTSA recovering at our 37 yard line. After a booth review, it was declared that Smith’s knee was down before the fumble, and the play was overturned, under a chorus of boos from the UTSA faithful, and we were left with third and one at our 34 yard line. Strong would pick up the first down with a 6 yard rush and a first down at our 40 yard line. Strong was brought down quickly on the next play, tackled for no gain by the right outside linebacker. Going back into the air, Booth hit Parks for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the UTSA 44. Deciding to keep it in the air, Anderson hauled in a pass along the left sideline for a 17 yard gain and we had first down at the 27 yard line. Back to the ground game, Strong never had a chance as he was brought down instantly for a one yard loss. With the ground game suddenly stonewalled, it was back to the passing game, the second down pass was nearly intercepted. Another nearly intercepted pass on third down, and the field goal unit came out. The 45 yard field goal from Pratt was good and our lead extended to 30, 58-28 with 5:36 left in the game.
A 22 yard kickoff return by Bright gave UTSA the ball at their 27. After an incomplete pass, Davis found Allen for a gain of 12 yards and a first down at the 39. A 7 yard pass to Alston was followed by an incomplete pass and a loss of two yards by Allen, leaving UTSA with fourth and four from their 44 yard line. Parks would call for a fair catch on the 39 yard punt, and our second team offense would come onto the field at our 17 yard line with 4:29 to play. A pair of rushes by Smith for 6 and one yards left us with third and three from our 24. Going to the air, Casey Bishop found Anderson for a 7 yard pass and a first down at our 31 yard line as the clock dipped under and the UTSA fans started to exit the stadium in droves. A two yard rush by Jason Hall was followed with a gain of 6 and we were left with third and two at our 39 yard line, the clock down to 1:35 to play. Hall would bust it up the middle for an 11 yard gain, and with 1:15 to go, two kneels by Bishop was all it took to run out the clock on our 58-28 win.
With the win, we improve to 10-1 on the year, 7-0 in C-USA action, UTSA drops to 2-9, 2-6 in C-USA action. Up next, our regular season finale at Tulane. The Green Wave enter the game 3-8 on the year and a 1-6 mark in C-USA play. Tulane started the year with back to back wins, 31-21 against Wyoming and 20-17 vs. Kentucky, before losing four straight, 27-17 to FIU, 30-10 at Army, 34-10 at #5 Notre Dame, and 31-23 at Southern Miss. Tulane got back in the win column with a 24-14 victory at UTEP, before losing another four straight, 31-28 to North Texas, 31-17 at Rice, 28-26 against UTSA and 34-24 at East Carolina.
Final Score
#2128
Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – A great day by Booth. 382 yards and 6 touchdowns. The pick six that Booth never mattered for a moment. Smith, forced into the starting role at halfback this week, had a strong game against a severely over-matched UTSA defense, rushing for 193 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. For receiving, only 6 people touched the ball today, 5 of them getting double digit receiving yards. The stars of the receiving corps were Parks and Fisher. Thanks in part to them both hauling in long touchdown passes, Fisher ended the day with 115 yards receiving and two touchdown, Parks finishing with 108 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
Tulsa Defense – Had their moments where they stuck their heads up their asses, and continued have some failures on third and long situations, but overall a pretty good day. Held UTSA to only 21 points (the other touchdown coming on the pick six) and kept the Roadrunners at bay in the second half, allowing us to pull away in the second half.
Tulsa Kicking – Pratt made his only field goal, a 45 yard kick, but went 7-8 in PATs, clanking one off the left up right to screw up perfection for yet another game.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score 21 7 27 3 58 0 14 7 7 28
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter 6:03 Touchdown R. Smith, 5 yard run (A. Pratt kick) 3:48 Touchdown R. Strong, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick) 0:09 Touchdown C. Fisher, 30 yard pass from B. Booth (A. Pratt kick) Second Quarter 7:04 Touchdown S. Bright, 22 yard pass from B. Davis (K. Ostrander kick) 3:35 Touchdown S. Parks, 10 yard pass from B. Booth (A. Pratt kick) 1:42 Touchdown J. Allen, 2 yard run (K. Ostrander kick) Third Quarter 6:11 Touchdown R. Strong, 3 yard pass from B. Booth (A. Pratt kick) 5:44 Touchdown C. Anderson, 40 yard pass from B. Booth (A. Pratt kick) 4:02 Touchdown D. Larson, returned interception 28 yards (K. Ostrander kick) 3:46 Touchdown C. Fisher, 75 yard pass from B. Booth (missed kick) 1:10 Touchdown S. Parks, 45 yard pass from B. Booth (A. Pratt kick) Fourth Quarter 8:24 Touchdown J. Allen, 1 yard run (K. Ostrander kick) 5:40 Field Goal A. Pratt, 45 yard field goal
Game Stats
Tulsa Stat UTSA 58 Score 28 20 First Downs 16 599 Total Offense 399 45 - 210 - 2 Rushes - Yards - TD 18 - 34 - 2 16 - 24 - 6 Comp - Att - TD 23 - 44 - 1 389 Passing Yards 365 3 Times Sacked 4 8 - 11 (72%) 3rd Down Conversion 6 - 14 (42%) 0 - 0 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 2 - 3 (66%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%) 4 - 4 - 0 (100%) Red Zone - TD - FG 6 - 3 - 0 (50%) 1 Turnovers 2 0 Fumbles Lost 0 1 Intercepted 2 12 Punt Return Yards 3 62 Kick Return Yards 106 673 Total Yards 508 2 – 44.0 Punts - Average 5 - 42.6 1 - 8 Penalties 3 - 25 23:58 Time of Possession 12:02
Tulsa Contract Goals Update
Fail Impact Goal Progress Pass Impact Win 8 games in one season 13+ passing TD in one season 14+ points per game in each season 41 7+ rushing TD in one season 2400+ total offensive yards in one season 2400+ total offensive yards in each season 1/2 Passed Win 4 games in one season 2000+ total offensive yards in one season
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