Damn. Not making things easy on myself.Originally Posted by jaymo76
I need to try and keep dynasties straight better.I was looking back at souljahbill's post, about me becoming OC at Vanderbilt, then at your post, wondering when the hell I left Vanderbilt and become HC at San Jose State.
HC at Vanderbilt.Damn. Not making things easy on myself.
I need to try and keep dynasties straight better.
It was head coach? Damn, I thought it was OC. See what I mean? It can get hard to keep track of.
I've finally gotten around to getting back into my dynasty. I've been meaning to play a game or two since Monday, but ended up getting sidetracked with various things both days and never got the chance. I'm 3 minutes into the Oklahoma State game, and I'm wishing right now I had been sidetracked again today as well.Anybody got some spare lube?
Game Six
#20
Game Notes
--- Coming off the very difficult win over Marshall, where we faced an offensive ineptitude of epic proportions, it was back onto the road to face our toughest challenge yet, a visit to one of our rivals, #20 Oklahoma State. To say our defense was going to have its hands full would be a severe understatement. The Cowpokes enter the game with the #4 scoring offense in the nation, averaging just under 44 points per game, while racking up 462 yards of total offense, ranking #18 in the nation, and passing for 317 yards each contest, good enough for #9 in the country. This would be a far cry from the offenses of UNLV, New Mexico or UAB. Oklahoma State’s defense was mediocre, giving up over 350 yards per game, ranking 40th in the nation, but our offense would still have to find a way to overcome its incompetence from the Marshall game if we were to have any hope.
A contest was held in the week leading up to the game to determine a name for the previously unnamed rivalry. Many different names were submitted, including some simple ones like Okie-geddon, Tulstilly, The Red Dirt Apathy Bowl, The Highway 412 Shotgun Challenge, The Arkansas River Rivalry and The Old Money Rivalry. Some more colorful submissions were made, including The Arkansas River Fuckfest and the "Who The Fuck Has Seen A Hurricane In Oklahoma" Bowl. But the name that was selected as the winner in the end and will bear the name of the Oklahoma State-Tulsa rivalry going into the future, was The Golden Poke Bowl. Heading into the game, Oklahoma State won the coin toss and elected to kick, putting out offense to the test first.
A touchback on the opening kickoff started us at our 25 yard line for the first offensive drive of the game, and the Golden Poke Bowl was underway. Going on the ground to start the drive, Will Oliver was able to pick up four yards on the ground. Oliver kept the ball again on the next play, fighting his way forward before being tripped just before the first down line, picking up 5 yards on the carry to set up third and one at the 34. Third time proved to NOT be the charm, as Oliver was swallowed up quickly for no gain, and our punt team was forced to come out on fourth and one. Oklahoma State wasted little time in digging the knife into us, as the 51 yard punt was taken by Zac Williams at the Oklahoma State 15 yard line and taken all the way back to the house for an 85 yard punt return touchdown, giving Oklahoma State a very early 7-0 lead, with 7:18 left in the first quarter.
A 20 yard kickoff return by Eric Hayden on the kickoff set us up at our 22 yard line for a second try on offense. Oliver took the handoff on first down, managing to get only two yards before being brought down by the middle linebacker, leaving second and 8. Going to the air for the first time today, the pass from Brad Stephens intended for Hayden was broken up by the safety, leaving third and long from the 23. The third down pass intended for Roy Smith was rushed under the pressure of the defense and the loud and hostile crowd, causing the pass from Stephens to carry long and overshoot Smith, bringing our punt team out for the second time today, only two and a half minutes into the contest. This time our punt team did its job, forcing Williams to call for a fair catch on the 43 yard punt, giving Oklahoma State the ball at their 33 yard line. Now it was time for our defense to be put to the test, our offense and special teams already having failed their previous tests.
It didn't take long for the defense to be overwhelmed by the Oklahoma State offense, as Nathan Gordon chucked up a deep pass to Chad Russ on first down, completed for a 29 yard gain to move the ball to our 37 yard line. We caught a minor break when the offense was flagged for false start, moving the ball back to leave first and 15. It was but a minor setback for the Cowboys, when Gordon connected with Kyle Cunningham on the next play for a 38 yards gain to set up first and goal at our four yard line. The Cowboys found the end zone for the second time today, as Gordon kept the ball himself with a pair of two yard sneaks to punch it into the end zone, giving Oklahoma State a 14-0 lead with 5:42 left in the quarter.
No return on the following kickoff left us starting from our 25 yard line and looking for an answer, any answer, to claw our way out of this quick and early hole. Oliver took the ball up the middle on the first down carry, but could only manage a single yard before being swarmed by multiple defenders. We were finally able to pick up our initial first down of the game, as Connor Jefferson hauled in a 14 yard pass from Stephens to advance the chains to the 40 yard line. Jefferson came through a second time, hauling in a bullet pass on an out route, catching the ball for a 12 yard gain just before running out of bounds to give us a first down at the Oklahoma State 48 yard line. Hoping that would be enough to open up the ground game, our run attempt proved futile, as Oliver was leveled in the backfield by the middle linebacker for a one yard loss, leaving second and 11. Hayden was able to get enough separation from the cornerback on the next play to haul in a pass for a gain of 8 yards, leaving us with third and three from the 41. Going back into the air on third down, Stephens was able to lob up a pass over the middle linebacker’s head and into the arms of Smith for a gain of 13 yards and a first down at the 28 yard line. The running game still proved near-worthless, as Smith could only fight his way forward for a three yard gain, leaving second and 7. Pitching the ball to the right, Oliver was able to get an early pair of blocks, allowing him to turn up field for a 6 yard gain before being tripped up, leaving third and one at the 19. Oliver would fail to convert the first down on the next play, wrapped up in the backfield for a loss of one yard, leaving fourth and two at the 21 yard line. The 38 yard field goal attempt by David Glover was good, finally getting us on the board and cutting the gap to 14-3 with 2:10 left in the quarter.
Z. Williams received the following kickoff, returning it 20 yards out to the 18 yard line for Oklahoma State’s next drive. Starting through the air, Gordon was able to connect with Tyler Reyes for an 8 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard rush by Cornelius Lane to pick up the first down at the 32 yard line. The Cowboys headed back into the air as Gordon connected with Russ for a 12 yard strike out to the 44. Oklahoma State experienced its first incomplete pass of the game, as Z. Williams dropped the ball from Gordon on first down, before the second down pass intended for Kyle Williams sailed long and incomplete, bringing up third down. Our defense actually proved to have a backbone, as the third down pass to K. Williams went for a gain of only 8 yards, leaving fourth and two for the Cowboys. That backbone quickly disappeared on the next play, as Lane broke up the middle for an 8 yard rush, converting fourth down and moving the ball to our 40 yard line. Gordon was forced to scramble on the next play, but made the most of it as he was able to pick up 9 yards, followed by a 10 yard rush by Z. Williams to get the first down at our 21 yard line. Keeping the domination going on the ground, Lane took the first down carry for a 7 yard rush, leaving second and three from our 13 yard line. As the final four seconds ticked off the clock, Gordon threw up a pass over the middle to K. Williams, completed for a 13 yard gain to leave the Cowboys with first and goal at the one foot line, bringing the first quarter to an end with a 14-3 Oklahoma State lead.
It took only two seconds into the second quarter for Oklahoma State to find the end zone again, as Lane punched it in on the ground for the one yard touchdown, opening the lead up to 21-3 with 8:58 left in the second quarter. A touchback on the following kickoff got our offense started at our 25 yard line, and looking for any sign of hope and life now. With our run game almost non-existent, it was directly to the passing game on first down, which paid off immediately as Jefferson was able to snag in a pass for a gain of 15 yards, giving us a first down at the 40 yard line. Keeping through the air, Oliver was able to haul in a quick pass from Stephens for a pick of up 8 yards, leaving second and two. Oliver tried to pick up the first down on the ground, but had no luck at all, as he was brought down for a one yard loss to leave third and three. The third down pass intended for Randy Newman was nearly intercepted by the cornerback (which would have been a guaranteed pick-six), bringing out our punt team on fourth and three.
A shanked punt gave Oklahoma State decent field position, as they started their next drive from their 29 yard line. Gordon went into the air on first down, finding Lane for a 9 yard gain, followed by a three yard rush by Lane to get the first down at the 40 yard line. Lane continued on the ground with a 7 yard rush to the 47 yard line, where the Cowboys made their first big strike of the drive, as Gordon threw a deep bomb to K. Cunningham for a 34 yard gain, setting up a first down at our 19 yard line. The Cowboys needed just one more play, as Gordon connected with K. Williams for the 19 yard touchdown to extended their lead to 28-3 with 6:14 left in the second quarter.
Jefferson brought out the kickoff for a 23 yard return, setting our offense up at our 25 yard line, the hole getting deeper and deeper every time. The first down pass intended for Hayden was nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker, and our drive got off to a less than promising start. Jefferson continued to prove himself a go-to receiver this game, hauling in a pass from Stephens for a 13 yard gain right before the cornerback made contact, giving us a first down at the 37 yard line. Taking a chance with a deep bomb to Hayden, the ball got hung up in the wind just long enough for the safety to close the distance and make a play on the ball, nearly intercepting it, but ultimately knocking it incomplete to leave second down. The second down pass intended for Carl Barnes was nearly completed along the right sideline, but a diving swat by the cornerback allowed him to get his hand in front of the ball, knocking it out of bounds and incomplete to leave third and long and our offense again teetering on the edge of the cliff. Stephens was finally able to complete a pass again, finding Marcus Mullins cutting over the middle of the field, but it wouldn’t be enough as Mullins could only gain 8 yards before being brought down, leaving us punting away once again on fourth and two.
We finally got our first big break on special teams, as Adrian Crosby was unable to return the 44 yard punt for any yards, burying the Oklahoma State offense at their own 10 yard line to start their next drive. Our defense also came through, tackling Lane on first down for a loss of four yards to push the Cowboys back to their 6 yard line and leave them facing second and 14. Gordon was able to cut that number in half as he connected with Cunningham for a 7 yard pass to leave third down from the 13, but an incomplete pass intended for K. Williams would bring about the first Oklahoma State punt of the day on fourth and 7. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 51 yard punt gave us the ball back at our 35 yard line. Going to the air on first down, Oliver was able to sneak out of the backfield without a defender on him, hauling in a pass from Stephens for an 8 yard gain to the 43 yard line. Going on the ground on second down, Oliver could only manage one yard, leaving us with third and one from the 44. Putting our faith in the run game, Oliver was able to pick up one yard on the carry, but a bad spot left us short with fourth and inches. Coach Ludwig wasn’t willing to go for it after being unable to get the first down on the previous play, and the punt team came out yet again. A fair catch was called by Z. Williams on the 44 yard punt, and the Cowboys began their next drive from their 11 yard line.
Our defense was finally seeming to catch some breaks, as the first down pass from Gordon was dropped by Russ, leaving second down. Lane took the ball on the ground the next two plays, but was unable to get enough yards, rushing for gains of 5 and four yards to leave the Cowboys facing fourth and one from the 20 yard line. A 9 yard punt return by Jefferson on the 46 yard punt continued our streak of improving field condition, as we began our next drive from the 43 yard line. Pitching the ball to the left to Oliver on first down proved disastrous, as Oliver was tackled for a 5 yard loss, immediately putting us in a hole on the drive. A pass attempt over the middle intended for Hayden was batted incomplete by the middle linebacker, leaving us with third and 15. Chucking up a prayer down the left sideline, Antoine Banks proved the savior of the drive, out-jumping the cornerback and beating him through the air to the ball, hauling it in for a 55 yard gain and getting us the deepest into Oklahoma State territory we had been all game, setting up first and goal at the 7 yard line. Oliver took the ball on first down, picking up two yards to leave second and goal at the five yard line. Taking the ball on the ground again, Oliver was able to push his way forward for a four yard gain, leaving third and goal at the one yard line. Smith came in on the third down play, but was unable to punch the ball in, met at the line of scrimmage by a pair of defender and tackled for no gain, bringing up fourth and goal on the one yard line. We were forced to call our first time out after the play, stopping the clock with just 6 seconds left before halftime. We were ultimately forced to settle for an 18 yard field goal by Glover, cutting the lead to 28-6 with four second to play. A touchback on the following kickoff would bring the first half to a merciful end, as it was all Oklahoma State early on, heading into halftime with a 28-6 lead.
No return on the kickoff to open up the second half, got the Oklahoma State offense lined up at its 25 yard line to begin. Lane took the ball on first down and was able to gain two yards, before the air strike campaign began again, as Gordon found K. Williams for a 21 yard pickup and a first down at the 48 yard line. Taking advantage of the pass-first defense, Lane was able to break loose for a 12 yard rush to our 39 yard line, followed by a 19 yard pass from Gordon to K. Williams to set up another first down at our 20 yard line. A pair of rushes by Lane for gains of 6 and four yards left the Cowboys looking at third and one, Z. Williams doing the honors with a 6 yard end-around rush to set up first and goal at our four yard line. Z. Williams would punch it in on the next play with a four yard rush, opening the lead up to 35-6 with 7:07 left in the third quarter.
A 24 yard kickoff return by Banks got our offense lined up at our 23 yard line. The Oklahoma State defense was re-energized after the touchdown, and it showed as Oliver was blasted and thrown like a rag doll for no gain by the middle linebacker on first down. It was nowhere but backwards on the next play, as a quick pass to Newman resulted in a loss of one yard, leaving us with third and 11, our offense once again proving impotent. A pass over the middle was completed to Barnes, but it wouldn’t be enough as he could only manage 8 yards on the play, leaving the punt team trotting out on fourth and three.
A fair catch by Z. Williams on the 46 yard punt gave Oklahoma State possession at their 24 yard line. The Cowboys wasted little time in moving the ball, as a 10 yard pass from Gordon to Lane left second and inches. Lane would convert the first down on the next play with a three yard rush to the 37 yard line. After a first down pass to Lane picked up zero yards, Gordon found K. Williams over the middle for a 9 yard strike to leave third and one. The Cowpokes would continue their air assault, as Gordon converted the third down with a 10 yard pass to Lane out to our 44 yard line. Returning to the ground game, Lane took the ball for a pair of carries, picking up gains of 5 and 7 yards to get the first down at our 33. Our defense won a minor battle, forcing Gordon to throw the ball away on first down, but it was a short lived victory as Gordon turned around the next play and threw a 24 yard strike to Reyes to set up first and goal at our 9 yard line. Lane rushed the ball for a 6 yard gain on the next play, before keeping the ball on second down and rushing it into the end zone for the three yard touchdown, giving Oklahoma State a 42-6 lead with 3:11 left in the third quarter.
Hayden received the following kickoff, returning it 19 yards out to our 25 yard line, our offense now just trying to find some sign of life and try to at least keep the score within a 40-point margin. Going into the air of first down, we were finally pushed over the cliff, as Nick Kennedy came over the from the safety position to intercept a pass intended for Hayden up the left sideline, returning it 14 yards to our 25 yard line, where the Cowboys’ offense took over. The offense wasted little time, as Gordon connected with K. Williams for a 13 yard gain to our 12 yard line. Lane then took the ball on the ground, rushing for a four yard gain, before being tackled for a loss of two yards to leave third and 8 at the 10 yard line. Our defense would save our asses, as Gordon’s pass intended for Russ was batted incomplete, forcing the Cowboys to settle for a field goal. We would get an even bigger break, as the 28 yard field goal by Marcus Williams sailed wide right and no good, our offense taking over at our 20 yard line with 2:02 left in the third quarter.
Going to the air on first down, Stephens almost committed his second straight turnover, as his pass intended for Banks was nearly intercepted by the safety, leaving second down. Forced to dump the ball to avoid a sack, the toss from Stephens to Hayden went for only a two yard completion, leaving our offense looking at third and 8 from the 22. The pass intended for Barnes was long and overshot the target, though there was a case made for a possible pass interference penalty as Barnes was held up by the outside linebacker, but no flag was thrown, bringing out our punt team on fourth down. A fair catch by Z. Williams on the 47 yard punt gave Oklahoma State the ball at their 30 yard line. Lane started the drive with a pair of rushes for two and 7 yards, leaving third and inches at the 40. A third straight rush by Lane would convert the third down with a three yard gain, moving the chains to the 44 yard line. Russ now took over with a three yard carry of his own, before a pass from Gordon intended for Lane fell incomplete, leaving the Cowboys with third and 7. They would manage to convert the third down as Gordon connected with K. Williams for a 13 yard strike, setting up first down at our 41 yard line. The third quarter would come to an end as Gordon threw a deep pass to Cunningham, completed for a 26 yard gain to set up first down at our 16 yard line. That would conclude the third quarter, as Oklahoma State held on to a 42-6 lead and in position to extend it even more.
Opening up the fourth quarter, Oklahoma State brought out their second team offense, as they felt their lead secure enough to pull the starters. Lane took the ball on the ground on first down, but was unable to find an opening, tackled by the defense for a loss of two yards. Throwing his first pass of the game, second-stringer Adam Wade completed a pass to K. Williams for a 13 yard strike, giving the Cowboys first and goal at our 5 yard line. Wade would stay perfect through the air with a 5 yard touchdown pass to David Tate, extending the Oklahoma State lead to 49-6 with 8:26 left in the game.
Jefferson received the following kickoff, returning it 24 yards out to our 27 yard line. The first down pass was more of the same, as the ball intended for Barnes was batted down by the cornerback, leaving second down. Pulling out everything, including the kitchen sink, Stephens threw up a deep bomb to Hayden, who was wide open after beating his man off the line. However, Hayden dropped what would have been either a 50+ yard gain or a 70+ yard touchdown pass, leaving our deflated offense facing third and long. The third down pass intended for Jefferson never had a chance, as Stephens was hit in the back as he went to pass, the ball flying backwards 15 yards, though thankfully ruled incomplete, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 10.
A fair catch by Z. Williams on the 50 yard punt gave Oklahoma State’s offense the ball at their 22 yard line. We caught an instant break, as the Cowboys were flagged for holding, pushing them back to the 12 yard line and left facing first and 20. Z. Williams took the ball on first down, rushing for a 7 yard gain, followed by a 5 yard scramble by Wade to leave third and 8. Wade would remain perfect through the air, connecting with Russ for a 9 yard pass and a first down at the 34 yard line. Wade finally threw his first incomplete pass, as the ball intended for Z. Williams was broken up, leaving second down. It didn’t take Wade long through to get back on the horse, as he found K. Williams for a 12 yard completion on the next play and a first down at the 46. After Wade threw the ball away on first down, Z. Williams took the handoff for a gain of three yards, leaving the Cowboys with third and 7. The third down pass intended for K. Williams was knocked incomplete, and the Oklahoma State punt team came out on fourth down.
No return by Jonathan Chambers on the 37 yard punt got our offense started from our 12 yard line with 6:30 left in the game. With any hope of a comeback long since extinguished, drowned, shot, hanged, drawn and quartered, our second team offense came out on the field to take over for the remainder of the game. Going into the air on first down, it was more of the same, as Erik Wallace’s first pass of the game, intended for Jefferson, was batted incomplete by the cornerback. The second team defense for Oklahoma State was not about to give us a break, as Wallace was sacked for a 12 yard loss on second down, nearly for a safety, leaving us facing third and 22 from inside our one yard line. The quick pass on third down intended for Smith was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving our punt team buried in our end zone. The Oklahoma State punt return team took full advantage of that situation, as they broke through and blocked the punt on the fourth down play, Paul Chapman recovering it in the end zone for the touchdown, increasing the lead to 56-6 with 5:46 to play.
A 16 yard kickoff return by Hayden got our offense started at our 15 yard line, now just trying to end the game as quickly as possible. Oliver took the ball on first down, fighting his way forward for a three yard gain, when we got some help from the defense courtesy of a 15 yard facemask penalty, giving us a first down at the 34 yard line. Oliver kept the ball on first down for a 6 yard gain, followed by a three yard rush by Smith to leave third and one at the 42. Taking the ball on third down, Smith was unable to find anywhere to run, quickly brought down for a two yard loss to leave fourth and three. The 46 yard punt was returned for 5 yards by Z. Williams, leaving Oklahoma State starting at their 18 yard line. The drive last a whole whopping one play, as Z. Williams took the handoff, broke a pair of tackles and broke loose up the sideline, sprinting to the house for the 82 yard touchdown rush and a 63-6 lead with 3:03 left in the game.
No return on the following kickoff left us starting at our 25 yard line. Smith took the first down handoff for a two yard gain, as we tried to chew off as much clock as we could. The Oklahoma State defense sure had no intentions of letting up, as Smith was slapped around by both the middle linebacker and outside linebacker for no gain, leaving third and 8. Smith was finally able to make a positive gain, rushing for 8 yards, but stopped just shy of the first down line, leaving us punting away on fourth and inches. A fair catch by Z. Williams on the 45 yard punt gave Oklahoma State possession at their 20 yard line with 1:11 left on the clock. Z. Williams was tackled for a three yard loss on the first down carry, followed by a 9 yard rush to leave third and four at the 26, just 46 seconds to play. Wade kept the ball himself on third down, scrambling for one yard to leave fourth down and three with 29 seconds left. That would be the final play as the clock ran out without another snap being taken, bring the game to a merciful end, Oklahoma State easily walking out with a 63-6 victory to take home the Golden Poke Bowl trophy.
With the humiliating loss, we drop to 5-1, 2-0 in C-USA action. With the dominating win, #20 Oklahoma State improves to 4-0, 2-0 in Big 12 play. Up next, it's back to the friendly confines of home to take on Florida International, who enter the game 1-4, 1-1 in C-USA action. The Golden Panthers opened up their year rough, losing 31-27 to Northwestern, losing 35-28 at Washington State, losing 45-12 at #12 Iowa and losing 27-21 to UTEP. FIU finally got into the win column with a 38-20 win at North Texas, headed into their trip to Tulsa.
Final Score
#2063,
Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – A horrible day all-around. Stephens ended the game 13-26 for 163 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Oliver was our leading rusher with a whole 28 yards on 17 carries. Banks was the leading receiver in yards with his 55 yard reception, his lone reception of the game. Jefferson led receivers overall with 54 yards on four catches. In all, 8 players caught a ball today, 5 of them ending with double digit yards.
Tulsa Defense – No comment...
Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day by Glover, ending 2-2 in field goals with kicks of 18 and 38 yards.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score 3 3 0 0 6 14 14 14 21 63
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter 7:41 Touchdown Z. Williams, returned punt 85 yards (M. Williams kick) 5:42 Touchdown N. Gordon, 2 yard run (M. Williams kick) 2:13 Field Goal D. Glover, 38 yard field goal Second Quarter 8:58 Touchdown C. Lane, 1 yard run (M. Williams kick) 6:14 Touchdown K. Williams, 18 yard pass from N. Gordon (M. Williams kick) 0:04 Field Goal D. Glover, 18 yard field goal Third Quarter 7:07 Touchdown Z. Williams, 4 yard run (M. Williams kick) 3:11 Touchdown C. Lane, 3 yard run (M. Williams kick) Fourth Quarter 8:26 Touchdown D. Tate, 5 yard pass form A. Wade (M. Williams kick) 5:46 Touchdown P. Chapman, blocked punt, fumble recovered in end zone (M. Williams kick) 3:03 Touchdown Z. Williams, 82 yard run (M. Williams kick)
Game Stats
Tulsa Stat Oklahoma State 6 Score 63 7 First Downs 24 192 Total Offense 596 25 - 29 - 0 Rushes - Yards - TD 38 - 235 - 5 13 - 28 - 0 Comp - Att - TD 24 - 34 - 2 163 Passing Yards 361 1 Times Sacked 0 2 - 15 (13%) 3rd Down Conversion 5 - 11 (45%) 0 - 0 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 1 - 1 (100%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%) 8 - 0 - 2 (25%) Red Zone - TD - FG 8 - 6 - 0 (75%) 2 Turnovers 0 1 Fumbles Lost 0 1 Intercepted 0 9 Punt Return Yards 90 126 Kick Return Yards 20 327 Total Yards 706 10 – 46.0 Punts - Average 3 - 45.7 1 - 15 Penalties 3 - 30 18:49 Time of Possession 17:11
Tulsa Contract Goals Update
Fail Impact Goal Progress Pass Impact 21+ points per game in each season 22 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 11 3200+ total offensive yards each season 1901 3400+ total offensive yards each season 1901
Job Security Status
48%
Last edited by SmoothPancakes; 04-03-2013 at 05:25 PM.
Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame defended their throne with a 59-7 whooping of UCLA. IN the upset of the week, Kansas State (undefeated, but unranked), knocked off #2 Oklahoma 30-24, handing the Sooners their first loss of the year. Florida got back to .500 on the season as they knocked off previously undefeated #3 LSU, 24-17. #4 Nebraska pulled away late for a 33-17 win over Penn State, opening the door for a jump to #2 thanks to Oklahoma and LSU both losing.
#21 Virginia handed out a beatdown on #7 Miami (FL), easily winning 41-17. Arkansas handed #8 Arizona its first loss of the year, as the Razorbacks rolled to a 38-21 win. #9 USC held on for a 42-28 victory over one-win Colorado. #10 Virginia Tech needed a 16 point fourth quarter to pull away from Pittsburgh 37-23. #15 Arkansas State improved to 5-0 with a 49-23 thrashing of winless Memphis. #16 Iowa took home the game of the week as they knocked off #11 Wisconsin 42-35.
#17 Mississippi State escaped Nevada 30-27, kicking the game winning 30 yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to remain perfect for the season. #18 Oregon had some trouble early on, but eventually pulled away from Utah, 41-31. #19 Clemson knocked off #14 Georgia Tech 38-31. #22 Texas rolled to a 63-32 victory over rival Texas Tech. Syracuse got their first win of the year, knocking off #23 NC State 17-10, and Ohio State improved to 5-1 on the year, scoring a 35-26 upset of #25 Maryland.
For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 6-0 (2-0 C-USA) with a 27-7 rout of Rice. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 2-4 (1-2 Pac-12), winning 38-26 over Washington. Mors, West Virginia falls to 3-3 (2-2 Big 12) with a 27-17 loss to Iowa State. Jeff, Ohio State improves to 5-1 (3-0 Big Ten), picking up a 35-26 win over #25 Maryland. Other teams of interest, #15 Arkansas State improves to 5-0 with a 49-23 win over Memphis. On a personal note, Navy sets themselves up for the CIC Trophy this season with a 28-23 win over Air Force.
In C-USA action, Tulsa gets violated by #20 Oklahoma State, 63-6. Marshall whoops Central Florida 44-6. Southern Miss beats Rice 27-7. UTSA beats MTSU 31-21. Florida International gets their first win of the year, beating North Texas 38-20. UAB edges out Florida Atlantic 31-26. And Oregon State holds off UTEP 17-13.
With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, Southern Miss (2-0) sits on top, followed by Marshall (2-1) and Florida International (1-1). Beyond that sit MTSU and UAB (both 1-2) and Florida Atlantic (0-2). In the West Division, it's a tie on top between Tulsa and UTEP (both at 2-0). Just behind us is Rice (1-1), followed by UTSA and North Texas (both at 1-2) and Louisiana Tech (0-1).
Looking at undefeated teams left, #2 Oklahoma, #3 LSU, #8 Arizona, #14 Georgia Tech, Texas State and Tulsa all lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 8. #1 Notre Dame (6-0), #10 Virginia Tech (5-0), #15 Arkansas State (5-0), #17 Mississippi State (6-0), #20 Oklahoma State (4-0), BYU (5-0), Kansas State (4-0) and Southern Miss (6-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.
Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 4 teams still looking for their first win: Memphis (0-6), New Mexico (0-5), Tulane (0-5) and UL Lafayette (0-4).
Teams getting their first win this week were: Ball State (34-31 over 2-3 Kent State), Florida International (38-20 over 1-4 North Texas), Syracuse (17-10 over 3-3 #23 NC State) and UMass (21-19 over 3-2 Western Kentucky).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (50 first place votes) remains #1. Nebraska jumps two to #2, Virginia Tech (11 first place votes) leaps seven to #3, Michigan State climbs one to #4 and Georgia moves up one to #5. USC climbs three to #6, Mississippi State leaps ten spots to #7, Florida State moves up four to #8, Arkansas State jumps six to #9 and Oklahoma falls eight to #10. Alabama jumps two to #11, Iowa moves up four to #12, Oklahoma State climbs seven to #13, Kansas State enters the poll at #14 and Miami falls eight to #15. LSU plummets thirteen spots to #16, Clemson climbs two to #17, Arizona falls ten to #18, Oregon drops one to #19 and Wisconsin drops nine spots to #20. Virginia remains #21, Georgia Tech falls eight spots to #22, Texas drops one to #23, BYU enters the poll at #24 and Michigan falls one to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were NC State (from #23) and Maryland (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Southern Miss (263 votes) is #26, followed by Arkansas (257), Ohio State (167), Pittsburgh (118) and TCU (32) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week include Northwestern (29).
Looking at the new Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (40 first place votes) remains #1. Virginia Tech (24 votes) jumps seven spots to #2, Nebraska moves up one to #3, Michigan State climbs one to #4 and USC jumps one to #5. Georgia climbs one to #6, Virginia jumps six to #7, Arkansas State (1 vote) moves up four to #8, Mississippi State leaps eight to #9 and Oklahoma falls seven to #10. Oklahoma State jumps eight spots to #11, Florida State climbs three to #12, Iowa jumps five to #13, Kansas state enters the poll at #14 and Alabama moves up one to #15. LSU plummets fourteen spots to #16, Miami drops nine spots to #17, Clemson moves up two to #18, Wisconsin drops eight to #19 and Arizona falls ten to #20. Oregon remains at #21, Georgia Tech falls eight to #22, Texas remains #23, BYU enters the poll at #24 and Michigan drops one to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Pittsburgh (from #22) and Maryland (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Southern Miss (284 votes) is #26, followed by Arkansas (263), Pittsburgh (233), Ohio State (163) and Northwestern (155) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week include TCU (107), Maryland (32) and Stanford (29).
Looking at the new Heisman watch, Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke climbs back to #1 (LW: #2), followed by Georgia HB Joel Nolan at #3 (LW: NR), LSU HB Steven McMillan at #3 (LW: #3), Arizona QB E.J. McCoy at #4 (LW: NR) and Virginia Tech HB Jay Smith at #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week were Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell (LW: #1) Michigan State QB Bo Wade (LW: #4) and Miami (FL) QB Jason Day at (LW: #5).
No comment on the Oklahoma State game.
Game Seven
Game Notes
--- Fresh off our humiliating loss to Oklahoma State, it was back into conference action for the remainder of the season, as we tried to regroup after the last game and still try to shake off our offensive slump we’ve been in for two games now. The Golden Panthers of Florida International would be as good an opponent as any to do just that, entering the game with just one win on the season, coming in the previous week with an 18 points victory over North Texas. It would be a tough battle though as FIU entered with the #4 rushing defense in the nation, only giving up 112 yards per game on the ground, meaning our passing game would have to lead the way today if we were going to win. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.
No return on the opening kickoff got the game started for the Golden Panthers at their 25 yard line. Our defense made an immediate statement to start the game, tackling Jeff Robinson for a four yard loss on the first down carry. A pair of incomplete passes, and our defense successfully ended the first FIU drive without giving up a yard. A fair catch by Connor Jefferson on the 47 yard punt left our offense in great field position, starting at our 31 yard line.
Testing the run game on first down, Will Oliver took the handoff up the middle for a 7 yard gain, followed by a two yard rush to leave third and one at the 40 yard line. Taking our chances on the ground, Oliver was able to plow across the line of scrimmage ahead of a diving defender for a 5 yard gain and the first down at our 45 yard line. Staying on the ground on the first down play, Oliver never had a chance as the defense quickly closed off the outside, forcing Oliver back towards the middle, with no holes open and no hope of escape, managing only two yards before being taken down by the ankles. Going through the air on second down, Eric Hayden was just barely able to get his hands on the pass from Brad Stephens before the outside linebacker could, picking up 5 yards on the play to leave third and two. Returning the ball to the hands of Oliver, he wasn’t able to push it over the first down line, only picking up one yard before the defense was able to wrestle him down, leaving us with fourth and one on the FIU 46 yard line. A pooch punt by Carlos Wilcox for 27 yards gave way to a return of only two yards, leaving Florida International beginning their next drive from their 19 yard line.
The first down pass by Kevin Holt, intended for Brian Davidson fell incomplete, getting the Golden Panthers off to a bad start. Robinson took the ball up the middle on second down, but was only able to gain two yards before being overwhelmed by the defense, leaving third and 8. As if things couldn’t get any worse for FIU, a false start penalty pushed the offense back 5 yards, leaving them now facing third and 13. Holt’s third down pass was nowhere near the intended target, and the punt team came out for the second time today. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 42 yard punt improved our field position even more, starting this time from our own 40 yard line.
Shaking off a tackled that would have resulted in a loss of multiple yards, Oliver somehow recovered and was able to pound his way up field on the heels of the left tackle for a gain of 9 yards, getting our drive off to a quick promising start. The FIU defense wasn’t about to make it easy however, as Oliver managed only a single yard on the next play, leaving us faced with third and inches at midfield. It was a close call on the third down play, as Oliver got swung sideways by a diving tackle attempt and would have potentially ended up with no gain, but a secondary tackle made the difference, as it pushed Oliver over the first down line for a two yard gain and moved the chains to the FIU 48 yard line. Going through the air on first down, Stephens was forced to immediately dump the pass off to Oliver to avoid a sack from the overwhelming blitz. Oliver was able to shake off one tackle with a juke, but was hit by a second defender almost instantly afterwards, tackled for no gain to leave second and long. Hayden came through with our first big play of the day, as he cut over the middle and dove for an off-target pass, hauling the ball in for a 14 yard gain to give us a first down at the 33 yard line. Hayden kept it going on first down, cutting out at the last second to leave the cornerback trailing behind, hauling in the pass from Stephens for a 12 yard gain just before running out of bounds, moving the ball down to the 21. Taking a shot at the corner of the end zone, the first down ball intended for Marcus Mullins was batted incomplete by the safety, leaving second down. Hayden kept us going on offense, getting enough separation from the cornerback to grab the pass from Stephens for a 9 yard gain, leaving third and one at the 12 yard line. The Golden Panthers proved more than ready for us on the ground, as Oliver was quickly brought down for a loss of one yard, bringing out the field goal unit, as our offensive woes continued to keep us out of the end zone. The 30 yard field goal by Derek Glover was good, and we took a 3-0 lead with 1:09 left in the first quarter.
A touchback on the kickoff left Florida International starting from their 25 yard line, looking to equalize or take the lead. Robinson did his best to make sure that happened, as a pair of 7 yard rushes gave the Golden Panthers a quick first down at their 39 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Holt was forced to scramble for a three yard gain, leaving the offense with third and 7. An incomplete pass on third down, intended for Joey Ginn, brought the drive screeching to a halt, as we weren’t the only team on this field suffering from a completely inept offense. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 46 yard punt left us buried deep in our territory, starting our next drive from our 11 yard line with two seconds left in the quarter. A one yard rush by Oliver brought the first quarter to an end, our lead holding at 3-0.
Opening up the second quarter, it was back into the air, hoping to find some more success through that method. That success was not meant to be, as the pass deep down the left sideline intended for Hayden was intercepted by cornerback Mark Thomas, giving Florida International the ball at their 44 yard line. After throwing away the ball on first down, Holt was finally able to complete a pass, finding David Lee open over the middle for a 12 yard gain, advancing the chains to our 44 yard line. After a loss of two yard by Robinson and an incomplete pass, it looked like another doomed drive for FIU, until Robinson kept the wheels moving with a 16 yard reception and a first down at our 31 yard line. A quick pass to Cole Phillips for two yards was followed with a 19 yard strike to Jermaine West, giving FIU a first down at our 10 yard line. Robinson took the ball on first down, rushing up the middle for a gain of 9 yards, setting up second down from our one yard line. Robinson would then finish the job, punching it in from one yard out, giving FIU a 7-3 lead with 7:16 left in the second quarter.
Hayden returned the following kickoff 19 yards to set our offense up at our 19 yard line. It was back into the saddle for Stephens, as he connected with Jefferson on a post route for a 17 yard gain and a first down at our 36. Pulling out everything under the sun now to find a spark for our offense, a pass to a wide open Antoine Banks over the middle was unfortunately broken up by the middle linebacker, prematurely ending what would have been a large gain. Rolling with the play action fake, we kept the chains moving as Carl Barnes was able to break loose heading toward the left sideline, jumping up and coming down with the high pass just before his momentum carried him out of bounds for a 20 yard gain and a first down at the FIU 44 yard line. Another pass over the middle to Banks kept up chugging right along for a gain of 21 yards down to the FIU 23 yard line. Unfortunately all that positive momentum came crashing down as Stephens was sacked for a 6 yard loss on the next play, leaving us with second and 16 from the 29 yard line. Proving that all momentum was lost, a perfect pass to a wide open Hayden over the middle was dropped and fell incomplete, leaving third and 16. Trying to get off a pass to Jefferson, Stephens never had a chance as he was hit from behind during the throw, causing the ball to go skipping along the field 10 yards down field. Left facing fourth and 16, the field goal unit came out to try and tack another three points on the board. The 46 yard field goal by Glover was good, cutting FIU’s lead to 7-6 with 5:16 left in the second quarter.
No return on the kickoff left the Golden Panthers starting from their 25 yard line and clinging to a one point lead. Robinson got the drive started with a four yard rush, but that was as far as FIU would make it. Holt was tackled for a one yard loss on the next play, followed by an incomplete pass intended for Ginn, to leave the Golden Panthers punting on fourth and 7. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 49 yard punt gave us possession from our 22 yard line.
Returning to the ground game, we finally found some success rushing the ball, as Oliver took the first down handoff up the middle for a 14 yard gain and a first down at our 36. Keeping it going on the ground, Oliver was able to shake off a tackled attempt by the defensive end, breaking outside the left tackle and racing the outside linebacker for a 10 yard gain to get the first down at the 46. Receiving a pitch to the right, Oliver scampered toward the far sideline, pushed out of bounds by the outside linebacker for a 6 yard gain. Returning the air on second down, the pass intended for Hayden was broken up by the middle linebacker, leaving us facing third and four just inside FIU territory. Third down provided the most heartbreaking play of the game, as Jefferson was able to beat his man down the right sideline, nothing within 10 yards of him and nothing but green grass and the end zone ahead of him. The pass from Stephens appeared on target, but ended up carrying long, landing incomplete in the back of the end zone just out of the reach of Jefferson’s outstretched arms, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth down. The punt sailed 49 yards into the end zone for a touchback, leaving FIU starting from their 20 yard line with 2:45 to go.
The drive started poorly for the Golden Panthers, as Holt was tackled for a loss of one yard, followed by a 5 yard false start penalty to leave FIU facing second and 16. Robinson took the ball on second down, but could only manage two yards, setting up third and 14. The Golden Panthers would do their best, as Holt connected with Davidson for a 12 yard gain, but it wasn’t enough as the punt team came out on fourth and two. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 43 yard punt gave us back the ball at our 29 yard line with two minutes left before half.
The first down pass intended for Hayden was broken up by the middle linebacker, bringing up second down. Roy Smith was able to give us forward progression, hauling in a pass for a gain of 5 yards, leaving third and 5. The third down pass intended for Banks never had a chance, as three defenders broke through the line, hitting Stephens as he went to through, leaving the ball dangerously tossed up in the air, though thankfully no defender could come down with it. A fair catch on the 48 yard punt gave FIU back the ball at their 18 yard line. After an incomplete pass intended for Ginn, Holt was able to find Davidson down the right sideline for a 22 yard gain, moving the chains to the FIU 41 yard line with one minute left. We finally caught our big break, as Ginn hauled in a pass from Holt at our 40 yard line, but was stripped of the ball, the fumble recovered by free safety Clay Weiss, giving us back possession at our 40 yard line with 27 seconds to play.
We caught a big break as Jefferson brought down a pass from Stephens for an 11 yard gain, then received a gift courtesy of a facemask penalty on cornerback John Everett, giving us a first down at the FIU 34 yard line. Going through the air on first down, we took a shot deep at the end zone, but the cornerback was able to make a play, breaking up the pass intended for Hayden. Trying our luck over the middle, the pass intended for Banks overshot the target, sailing incomplete and brought up third and long as the clock stopped at 12 seconds. Just trying to get a first down now, the pass intended for Jefferson never had a chance as it was swatted down at the line of scrimmage, bringing up fourth and long with 5 seconds to go. Glover nailed the 51 yard field goal right down the middle, giving us a 9-7 lead with two seconds left on the clock. No return on the following kickoff brought the second quarter to an end, as we headed into halftime hanging onto a two point lead.
Starting the third quarter, we got a huge boost right off the bat as Jefferson returned the kickoff 32 yards out to our 31 yard line. Again trying our luck on the ground, Oliver was able to escape outside for a 6 yard gain, leaving second and four. There would be no such success on the next play, as Oliver was hit in the backfield for a loss of one yard, bringing up third and 5. Smith kept us breathing as he hauled in a pass along the right hash, picking up a gain of 9 yards and the first down at the 44 yard line. Firing off a pass to avoid a sack, the throw from Stephens intended for Jefferson fell incomplete, bringing up second down. Jefferson was able to haul in the next pass thrown to him, but it only gained 5 yards when all was said and done, leaving us facing third and 5 at our 49 yard line. It was Randy Newman’s turn to play savior, cutting over the middle from the tight end position, diving for the wayward pass and coming down with it for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the FIU 39 yard line. The next play turned out to be the biggest of the game, as Stephens chucked up a prayer toward the end zone, Hayden reaching over the head of the cornerback and grabbing the ball just before he fell down out the back of the end zone for the 39 yard touchdown pass, finally ending our streak of futility after 12 straight quarters without a touchdown, dating back to halftime of the UAB game. The extra point by Glover gave us a 16-7 lead with 5:59 left in the quarter.
No return on the kickoff left FIU starting from their 25 yard line and now staring at a 9 point deficit. Robinson was unable to find anything going on first down, tackled for a loss of one yard, before our defense decided to assist, getting flagged for pass interference to give the Golden Panthers 15 free yards and a first down at their 39 yard line. Our defense was able to recover, tackling Robinson for a loss of three yards before forcing a pair of incomplete passes, bringing out the FIU punt team on fourth and 13. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 44 yard punt left us starting from our 19 yard line.
Turning back to the run game to start our next drive, Oliver was quickly brought down by the defensive end for a one yard loss. Going back into the air on second down, it would only get worse as Stephens was sacked for a four yard loss, leaving us with third and 15. Forced to scramble to avoid the blitz, the third down pass down the left sideline intended for Smith was off target, nearly intercepted by the cornerback but thankfully dropped incomplete, bringing out the punt team. A three yard return on the 44 yard punt gave FIU possession at their 43 yard line. This time the Golden Panthers got immediate momentum, as Robinson rushed for 6 yards on first down, before Holt connected with Davidson for an 11 yard gain and a first down at our 39 yard line. We would get lucky as the momentum would stop there, Robinson getting tackled for a loss of three yards and a pair of incomplete passes leaving their drive stalled out with fourth and 13 from our 43 yard line. The punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback, starting our drive again from the 20.
Coming out in play action, the defense continued to bruise up Stephens, as he was almost instantly sacked for a three yard loss, immediately putting us in a hole. A second down pass to Smith went for no gain, unable to shake off the outside linebacker, leaving us looking at third and 13. The defense continued their domination on third down, as Stephens tried to take off and scramble, only to immediately met by a spying linebacker, sacked for a two yard loss and leaving us punting on fourth and 15. A fair catch on the 46 yard punt left FIU beginning their next drive from their 38 yard line. It was the Robinson show to start the drive, as three straight rushes for gains of 6, three and four yards gave FIU a quick first down at our 49 yard line. Robinson kept the ball moving on first down with a 7 yard rush, followed by an 8 yard pass from Holt to Lee to advance the ball down to our 35 yard line with a new set of downs. After Robinson was tackled for a two yard loss, Holt was able to make up those yards with a four yard scramble to leave third and 8 from the 33, as the third quarter came to a conclusion, our lead holding at 16-7.
Opening up the fourth quarter, it appeared the drive was going to end at our 33 yard line after an incomplete pass on third down, but the Golden Panthers were not going to be denied, as they went for it on fourth down, Holt completing the pass to Ginn for 12 yards and new life at our 21 yard line. Robinson tried to take the ball on the ground, but was met by our defense for a loss of two yards to leave second and 12. Holt would then take over, throwing a pass to the corner of the end zone to Davidson, completed for the 23 yard touchdown to cut our lead to 16-14 with 8:21 to play.
A 19 yard kickoff return by Hayden got us started from our 24 yard line, as we had to find a way to pad our lead. Going on the ground on first down, Oliver was able to break up the middle for a 6 yard gain, followed by an 8 yard gain to get the first down at our 37 yard line. Riding that horse for as long as it would trot, Oliver was able to get 6 yards on the first down carry. The good news would however quickly be killed with bad news, as the training staff had to go out and help Oliver off the field after the play, diagnosed with elbow bursitis, benching him for the remainder of the game. Taking over the rushing duties, Smith took the second down handoff for a 9 yard gain and a first down at the FIU 48 yard line. Keeping the ball pounding on the ground, Smith broke free for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the 38 yard line. Going outside the left tackle, Smith was unable to find an opening, stretched all the way to the sideline and ultimately tackled for no gain. Going back to the air on second down, Stephens was able to find Eric Silva for a 10 yard gain to leave third and one. Putting our first down hopes in the hands of Smith, it was not meant to be as he was quickly met in the backfield and pushed back for a four yard loss, leaving fourth and 5 from the 33 yard line. Attempting a 50 yard field goal, the kick from Glover was pushed to the left by the wind, ending up wide left and no good, giving FIU the ball back at their 33 yard line with 3:56 to play.
Holt started the drive with a three yard rush, followed by a pass to Davidson for 5 yards, leaving FIU with third and two. Jason Jackson was able to pick up the first down with a three yard carry, moving the chains to the 45 yard line. A two yard rush by Holt was undone with a loss of three yards by Robinson, leaving the Golden Panthers staring down the barrel of third and 11. FIU was unable to convert the third down, as Holt’s pass to Robinson went for only a gain of two yards, leaving fourth and 9. The 52 yard punt spelled all sorts of bad news for us, as we were pinned deep at our two yard line, leaving us in horrible position. Trying to find some breathing room, the first down carry by Smith ended up in a loss of one yard, pushing us back to our one yard line. With nowhere to go, we were forced into the air. An instant blitz forced Stephens to run for his life, picking up three yards on the scramble to get us out to the four yard line. What yards we were able to gain were quickly erased, as the both outside linebackers blitzed in around the guards completely untouched before Stephens could even try and make a move with the ball, sacking him one yard in the end zone for the safety, knotting the game up at 16-all with 1:55 left in the game.
A 24 yard return on the safety punt gave FIU the ball back at their 42 yard line with 1:44 left to find the go-ahead score. That go-ahead score would never come. After an incomplete pass on first down, cornerback Chad Wheeler killed Florida International’s drive with an interception, giving us the ball back at the FIU 47 yard line and 1:35 left to work. Hayden was able to haul in the first down pass from Stephens, but was instantly hit by both the cornerback and middle linebacker, knocking the ball loose and incomplete. Throwing up a pass intended for Smith, the ball was nearly intercepted by the cornerback, batted incomplete to bring up third and long. Throwing a quick pass to Mullins to avoid a sack, the completion went for only two yards, leaving us with fourth and 8 from the 45 yard line. The punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback, giving FIU the ball at their 20 yard line.
Taking over from the 20 with 1:12 to play, the first down pass from Holt to Davidson was dropped, getting the FIU drive off to a poor start. After another incomplete pass, this time intended for Lee, our defense helped out a little, getting flagged for a spot of the foul facemask, giving FIU 5 yards and a new set of downs at their 25. After another incomplete pass, Holt found West for an 8 yard gain, leaving third and two from the 32 yard line with 49 seconds remaining. The third down pass from Holt intended for Lee sailed long and incomplete. An 8 yard return by Jefferson on the 49 yard punt gave us the bal back at our 27 yard line with 38 seconds to play.
Throwing deep, the first down pass intended for Hayden was nearly intercepted by the cornerback, bringing up second down. Jefferson got us moving with a 14 yard reception along the left sideline to the 41 yard line, getting out of bounds to stop the clock with 30 seconds to go. Mullins was able to haul in the first down pass from Stephens, but was quickly tackled for a gain of only 7 yards, our first timeout stopping the clock with 26 seconds to go. Jefferson kept us moving again, hauling in an 11 yard pass from Stephens to give us a first down at the 41 yard line, our second timeout stopping play with 22 seconds to go. Left with only one timeout and 22 seconds, we had to take some shots closer to the end zone. The first down pass intended for Banks sailed long and out of bounds, bringing up second down with 18 seconds to go. The defense delivered a deathblow to our hopes, as the outside linebacker blitzed through untouched, sacking Stephens for a 7 yard loss to bring up third and 17 at the 48 yard line. Our third and final timeout stopped the clock with 14 seconds to go. We caught a huge break as Hayden was able to slip past his man down the left sideline, hauling in the deep pass for a 44 yard gain to give us first and goal at the three yard line. Unfortunately it proved to be a double edged sword, as the final 7 seconds ran off the clock before we could get lined up for a field goal, bringing regulation to an end in a 16-16 tie.
Opening up the first overtime, Florida International won the coin toss and elected to go on defense first, putting us immediately to the test. Taking the first down handoff up the middle, Smith was able to pick up 7 yards, leaving second and three at the 18 yard line. Trying to go around the left tackle on second down, Smith never had a chance, met in the backfield for a 5 yard loss to bring up third and 8. Stephens dropped back to pass on third down, the outside linebacker blitzing through untouched, hitting Stephens as he went to pass, knocking the ball loose. defensive end Khalid Mason broke off his blocker and dove for the ball, scooping up the fumble for Florida International and sticking the knife in the wound.
Our defense wasn’t about to just give up however, as they were able to break through and sack Holt for a 7 yard loss on first down, putting the Golden Panthers into a hole of their own. That hole lasted all of one play, as Holt connected with Robinson on second down for 16 yards, leaving third and one at the 16 yard line. Our defense at least refused to back down though, tackling Robinson for no gain to bring up fourth and one. We would catch an even bigger break, as the 33 yard field goal by Jordan Vaughn was no good, sailing wide right, taking us into a second overtime still tied at 16.
Opening up the second overtime, Smith got us started with a 9 yard rush to bring up second and one at the 16. Smith was able to get the first down this time around, rushing up the middle for three yards to get us to the 13 yard line. Staring off the new set of downs, Smith picked up three yards on the ground, followed by a one yard rush to leave third and 6 at the 9 yard line. The third down pass intended for Jefferson in the back of the end zone was batted incomplete, bringing out the field goal unit on fourth down. As if fate herself were twisting the knife in our wound, Glover’s 26 yard field goal attempt bounced off the right upright and fell no good, giving the ball back to FIU with the score still knotted up.
It was another rough start for the Golden Panthers, as Robinson was tackled for a loss of three yards, before Lee was able to pick up four yards on the ground to leave third and 9 at the 24 yard line. Our defense all but pretty much sealed our fate, when they were flagged for pass interference on third down, giving FIU 15 free yards and first and goal at the 9 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Robinson was able to pick up 5 yards up the middle, leaving third and goal at the 6 yard line. Another rush by Robinson on third down went for a gain of four yards, advancing the ball to the two yard for fourth and goal. Vaughn would complete the job this time, kicking the 18 yard field goal through the middle of the uprights, giving Florida International the 19-16 double overtime victory.
With our second straight loss, we drop to 5-2 on the year, 2-1 in C-USA action. With the win, Florida International wins their second game in a row, improving to 2-4 for the season, 2-1 in C-USA play. Up next, it's back onto the road as we make a trip to UTSA, who enter the game 2-4 on the year, 1-3 in C-USA action. The Roadrunners started their year with a 42-10 win at Memphis, before going into a three game slide, losing 38-35 at Louisville, 45-21 to Marshall and 48-14 at Southern Miss. They finally got back in the win column with a 31-21 win over MTSU before losing 42-28 at UTEP coming into our game.
Final Score
Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – Stephens was off and on. Some good passes, other horrible passes. Ended 21-36 for 267 yards, threw for one touchdown (our first since halftime of the UAB game, spanning 12 quarters without one) but also threw one interception and got sacked seven times. Oliver led the way on the ground with 83 yards on 20 attempts. Receiving, we set a new team record with nine different receivers catching at least one pass, Hayden by far was king of the hill with 123 yards and one touchdown on six receptions. Seven receivers caught passes for double digit yards.
- Tulsa Defense – Actually did rather good. For the most part held FIU in check and forced two turnovers. The offense just didn't do enough to take advantage of the defense's performance.
- Tulsa Kicking – Glover had a so-so game. Ended up 3 for 5 in field goals, connecting from 31, 46 and 51 yards out. Also went 1-1 in PATs. But missed on kicks of 26 and 50 yards, the 26 yard kick potentially being enough to force a third overtime.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter 2OT Final Score 0 7 0 9 3 19 3 6 7 0 0 16
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter 1:09 Field Goal D. Glover, 31 yard field goal Second Quarter 7:16 Touchdown J. Robinson, 1 yard run (J. Vaughn kick) 5:19 Field Goal D. Glover, 46 yard field goal 0:02 Field Goal D. Glover, 51 yard field goal Third Quarter 5:59 Touchdown E. Hayden, 39 yard pass from B.Stephens (D. Glover kick) Fourth Quarter 8:21 Touchdown B. Davidson, 22 yard pass from K. Holt (J. Vaughn kick) 1:55 Safety Tulsa Safety TIED 16-16 Overtime --- --- --- --- --- Second Overtime --- Field Goal J. Vaughn, 18 yard field goal
Game Stats
Florida International Stat Tulsa 19 Score 16 12 First Downs 20 244 Total Offense 333 33 - 56 - 1 Rushes - Yards - TD 39 - 66 - 0 15 - 37 - 1 Comp - Att - TD 21 - 36 - 1 188 Passing Yards 267 1 Times Sacked 7 3 - 15 (20%) 3rd Down Conversion 5 - 16 (31%) 1 - 1 (100%) 4th Down Conversion 0 - 0 (0%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%) 7 - 2 - 1 (42%) Red Zone - TD - FG 5 - 0 - 1 (20%) 2 Turnovers 2 1 Fumbles Lost 1 1 Intercepted 1 4 Punt Return Yards 8 24 Kick Return Yards 70 272 Total Yards 411 9 – 46.8 Punts - Average 6 - 41.0 4 - 40 Penalties 5 - 45 16:20 Time of Possession 19:40
Tulsa Contract Goals Update
Fail Impact Goal Progress Pass Impact 21+ points per game in each season 21 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 11 3200+ total offensive yards each season 2234 3400+ total offensive yards each season 2234 Penalty Lost to a lower ranked team
Job Security Status
45%
Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame needed 17 second-half points to pull away from Baylor, 24-10. The game of the week went to #2 Nebraska, who easily beat #4 Michigan State 24-7. Despite trailing at halftime, #5 Georgia came back and held on for a 28-13 win over #11 Alabama. #6 USC had their way with Arizona State, slapping the Sun Devils around 66-21. #7 Mississippi State pulled a win out of their ass courtesy of a touchdown with 50 seconds left to beat Tennessee 27-24. #9 Arkansas State got a lot of luck to keep climbing the rankings with a 28-21 win over Louisiana-Monroe.
#10 Oklahoma won the Red River Shootout in a 41-35 shootout over #23 Texas. #12 Iowa pulled away late to beat Purdue 34-24. West Virginia shocked the nation as they went on the road and handed #14 Kansas State its first loss of the year in dominating fashion, 45-24. #15 Miami (FL) scored a rivalry upset as they knocked off #8 Florida State 37-28. #18 Arizona held on for a 20-17 win over NC State. #19 Oregon escaped Colorado 31-17. Ohio State held on to knock off #20 Wisconsin 19-14. #21 Virginia edged out #22 Georgia Tech 38-35. And #24 BYU needed a late field goal to edge out Troy 17-16 and stay unbeaten.
For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss remains 6-0 (2-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 2-5 (1-3 Pac-12), after getting abused 66-21 by #6 USC. Mors, West Virginia improves to 4-3 (3-2 Big 12) by shocking previously unbeaten #14 Kansas State 45-24. Jeff, Ohio State improves to 6-1 (4-0 Big Ten), picking up a 19-14 win over #20 Wisconsin. Other teams of interest, #9 Arkansas State improves to 6-0 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a 28-21 win over Louisiana-Monroe.
In C-USA action, Florida International beats Tulsa 19-16 in double overtime. UTEP whoops UTSA 42-28. Louisiana Tech beats UAB 45-35. Marshall picks up a win over Florida Atlantic 34-17. Rice edges out North Texas 23-17. And Wake Forest dominates MTSU 59-14.
With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, Southern Miss (2-0) sits on top, followed by Marshall (3-1) and Florida International (2-1). Beyond that sit MTSU (1-2), followed by UAB (1-3) and Florida Atlantic (0-3). In the West Division, UTEP (3-0) takes over the top spot, followed by Tulsa and Rice (both 2-1). Just behind us is Louisiana Tech (1-1), followed by UTSA and North Texas (both at 1-3).
Looking at undefeated teams left, with #14 Kansas State losing this week, that drops our number of undefeated teams to 7. #1 Notre Dame (7-0), #3 Virginia Tech (6-0), #7 Mississippi State (7-0), #9 Arkansas State (6-0), #13 Oklahoma State (5-0), #24 BYU (6-0) and Southern Miss (6-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.
Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 3 teams still looking for their first win: Memphis (0-7), New Mexico (0-5) and Tulane (0-6).
Teams getting their first win this week were: Louisiana-Lafayette (30-14 over 1-5 UMass).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (36 first place votes) remains #1. Virginia Tech (23 votes) moves up one to #2, Nebraska falls one to #3, Mississippi State (1 vote) jumps three to #4 and Georgia remains #5. Arkansas State (1 vote) climbs three to #6, USC falls one to #7, Oklahoma leaps five to #8, Oklahoma moves up one to #9 and Michigan State drops six to #10. Iowa moves up one to #11, Miami climbs three to #12, Florida State falls five to #13, LSU just two to #14 and Alabama drops four to #15. Clemson climbs one to #16, Arizona and Oregon both climb one to #17 and #18, Virginia jumps two to #19 and BYU moves up four to #20. Southern Miss enters the poll at #21, Ohio State enters the poll at #22, Michigan climbs two to #23, Kansas State falls ten to #24 and Georgia Tech drops three to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Wisconsin (from #20) and Texas (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Pittsburgh (129 votes) is #26, followed by Wisconsin (124), Texas (97), TCU (94) and Northwestern (76) to round out the Top 30.
Looking at the new Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (44 first place votes) remains #1. Virginia Tech (21 votes) remains #2, Nebraska remains #3, Mississippi State jumps five spots to #4, and Arkansas State climbs three to #5. USC drops one to #6, Georgia falls one to #7, Oklahoma State jumps three to #8, Oklahoma climbs one to #9 and Virginia drops three to #10. Michigan State falls seven to #11, Iowa climbs one to #12, Miami jumps four to #13, LSU moves up two to #14 and Florida State drops three to #15. Clemson climbs two to #16, Arizona jumps three to #17, Alabama drops three to #18, BYU climbs five to #19 and Oregon moves up one to #20. Southern Miss enters the poll at #21, Michigan climbs three to #22, Ohio State enters the poll at #23, Georgia Tech drops two to #24 and Kansas State tumbles eleven spots to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Wisconsin (from #20) and Texas (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Pittsburgh (247 votes) is #26, followed by Wisconsin (230), Northwestern (201), Texas (188) and TCU (160) to round out the Top 30. Other teams also getting votes this week include Maryland (131), Stanford (107) Auburn (100) and Texas Tech (67).
Looking at the first BCS standings of the year: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 Virginia Tech (0.995), #3 Nebraska (0.989), #4 Mississippi State (0.984), #5 Georgia (0.973), #6 USC (0.970), #7 Arkansas State (0.968), #8 Oklahoma State (0.956), #9 Michigan State (0.947) and #10 Oklahoma (0.946).
Looking at the new Heisman watch, Georgia HB Joel Nolan retakes #1 (LW: #2), followed by Virginia Tech HB Jay Smith at #2 (LW: #5), Notre Dame HB Larue Barnes at #3 (LW: NR), LSU HB Steven McMillan at #4 (LW: #3), and Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell re-entering the list at #5 (LW: NR) to give us an all HB Heisman Watch list. Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week were Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke (LW: #1) and Arizona QB E.J. McCoy (LW: #4).
Wow! I hope you had some Vaseline... that looks like it hurt a lotNo comment on the Oklahoma State game.
There were a couple times I came close to throwing it. I think by halftime, I was sort of desensitized to the abuse I was receiving and just trying to get it over with. The first half I was pissed off at the way the game was going, but second half I was calmer, just trying to end it, which ended up taking even longer.Wow! I hope you had some Vaseline... that looks like it hurt a lot
The FIU game was probably more aggravating because we got down in their territory a bunch of times, but couldn't do a damn thing once we got close. Then to give up the safety right at the end that tied the game up, then to fumble the ball in the first OT and then miss the field goal in the second OT, ugh...
Thankfully UTSA sucks absolute ass so my next game will hopefully end better, but with as badly as the offense has been sucking (12 straight quarters without a touchdown until the third quarter of the FIU game), UTSA might not even be an easy game now.
Tulsa Announces Move to Big East
By Staff Reports on Oct 25, 2017, at 10:42 AM
TULSA – It's official: Tulsa is a member of the Big East Conference. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane will join the current Big East Conference in all sports in 2018, commissioner Michael Aresco announced today.
The announcement came during a press conference Tuesday morning with new Tulsa athletic director Derrick Gragg and Tulsa President Steadman Upham. There has been speculation about the Tulsa-Big East possibility since December.
Tulsa’s Big East affiliation becomes official July 1, 2018 and is for all sports. “That was one of the things that we felt very strongly about,” Upham said. “If we change conferences, we want to do it as a university.”
Beginning with the 2018-19 academic year, the conference will consist of the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Connecticut, East Carolina University, the University of Houston, the University of Memphis, Southern Methodist University, the University of South Florida, Temple University, Tulane University, the University of Tulsa and the U.S. Naval Academy.
Tulsa becomes the seventh member of Conference USA to accept a Big East membership invitation. The others are Memphis, SMU, Houston, Tulane, East Carolina and Central Florida.
The new conference affiliation is the sixth home to University of Tulsa athletic teams. Tulsa’s first league membership came in the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference from 1914-28, the Big Four Conference (1929-32), the Missouri Valley Conference (1935-96, football affiliation ended after 1985 season), the Western Athletic Conference (1996-2004) and Conference USA (2005-present). They won the C-USA Championship in 2005, 2014, 2015 and 2016, and claimed the West Division title 7 times.
Tulsa’s switch to the Big East is expected to result in a substantial revenue spike for the athletic department.
In Conference USA, it is expected that TU’s 2017-18 media-rights payment will amount to about $1.5 million.
In the Big East, which recently concluded negotiations with CBS and ESPN on new television contracts, the annual media-rights revenue should be in the $3.5 million-$4.5 million range annually, a source told the Tulsa World in January.
Tulsa competes in 18 sports. The school fields men’s teams in basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track & field. Women’s teams compete in basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor and outdoor track & field, and volleyball.
Tulsa’s enrollment of 3,160 undergraduate students is the smallest in the FBS Division of the NCAA.
Meanwhile, Conference USA has already replaced Tulsa by luring Western Kentucky from the Sun Belt.
Tulsa Adds Home-and-Home Series with Arizona State, Boise State and Vanderbilt
By Staff Reports on Oct 26, 2017, at 2:25 PM
TULSA — One day after announcing that the future of Tulsa sports would reside in the new Big East at the beginning of the 2018-19 academic year, it was announced that Tulsa had agreed to new home-and-home series on the gridiron with Arizona State, Boise State and Vanderbilt.
With the new additions to the future schedule, Arizona State will visit Tulsa in 2018, with the Golden Hurricane visiting Sun Devil Stadium in 2019. Both Boise State and Vanderbilt will come to Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium in the 2019 season, with Tulsa traveling to Boise and Nashville in 2020.
The addition of Arizona State rounds out the 2018 schedule, with road trips to Texas State and UNLV, to go along with home contests against Arizona State and the Oklahoma Sooners. The Boise State and Vanderbilt additions complete the 2019 schedule along with road contests at Arizona State and Oklahoma, while Tulsa will host Boise State and Vanderbilt.
The new series with Arizona State, Boise State and Vanderbilt extends the list of highly competitive non-conference opponents on the future schedules of the Golden Hurricanes that have seen Tulsa in recent years play the likes of Fresno State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Utah.
With the addition of Arizona State, Boise State and Vanderbilt, the Golden Hurricanes have filled out their 2018 and 2019 non-conference schedules and set the ground work for the 2020 season. Listed below are the upcoming and future non-conference schedules for Tulsa:
2018
Oklahoma
at Texas State
at UNLV
Arizona State
2019
at Oklahoma
at Arizona State
Boise State
Vanderbilt
2020
at Boise State
at Vanderbilt
Nice! Looking forward to the game updates. PS... nice touch with the newspaper-like articles.
Thanks. Yeah, I sort of flirted with newspaper-like articles when mentioning updated schedules in the past, so wanted to keep that flow. And I'm looking forward to those Arizona State games, scheduled at your requests.I made certain to get them schedule during the next two seasons while I'm still at Tulsa. I would like to play Boise State and Vanderbilt more than once, but unless I sign a contract extension with Tulsa and stay around even longer than I've already been there, I'll be moving on at the end of the current contract, starting at my team on NCAA '14 like I did with Tulsa and '13.
And there should hopefully be some new game updates posted sometime late Tuesday or else Wednesday. I've been plowing the hell out of some stuff on my blu-ray player most of the days Sunday and Monday, so never got a chance to get any games in, opting instead to make my future posts regarding schedules and Tulsa's transition to the Big East.
Game Eight
Game Notes
--- Heading onto the road on a painful two game losing streak, we would try to get the monkey off our back, and get our offense back to shape, with a trip to UTSA. The couple games played hell with our stats and rankings, as our offense tumbled clear down into the 100s in all categories this week, ranked #116 for total offense, #102 for rush offense and #106 for pass offense, with our 21.5 points per game good enough for only #106 in the nation. Those rankings resulted in UTSA entering the game with a statistically superior offense and a higher ranking nationally. Our saving grace was that despite the Oklahoma State game, our defense was still highly ranked, giving us an edge over the Roadrunners. Their rush defense was the highest ranked category, coming in 45th in the nation. However, our offense had been inept for multiple games now, we were on a losing streak, and we were entering the Alamo Dome, UTSA’s home stadium. Anything could happen. UTSA won the coin toss and elected to kick.
No return on the opening kickoff got us started at our 25 yard line to begin the game. Will Oliver took the handoff on first down, managing to pick up three yards on the carry. Keeping it on the ground on second down, Oliver was met in the backfield by the middle linebacker, tackled for a loss of one yard to bring up third and 8. Avoiding a sack, Brad Stephens was able to get the ball off to Randy Newman, but Newman was quickly hit and brought down for a gain of only four yards, leaving our punt team coming out on fourth and four. A fair catch on the 43 yard punt gave UTSA the ball at their 25 yard line. Brandon Gilliam got the drive started with a 9 yard rush, followed by a two yard gain for the first down. That would be all the Roadrunners would get however, as cornerback Chad Wheeler intercepted a deep bomb first down pass from Adam Moss, giving us back possession at our 37 yard line.
It was clear our woes were no behind us yet, as Stephens was quickly sacked by the defensive end for an 8 yard loss, bringing up second and 18. Antoine Banks got us finally moving in the right direction, as he was able to get behind the linebackers and haul in a pass for a gain of 24 yards, giving us a first down at the UTSA 46 yard line. The defensive end nearly sacked Stephens for a second time this drive, but Stephens was hit as he was throwing the ball, resulting in an incomplete pass in the dirt a couple yards away. Trying to find Conner Jefferson along the left sideline, the pass from Stephens was broken up by the cornerback, batted into the chest of the safety and nearly intercepted, bringing up third and long. Just getting the ball off before being hit by the defensive end, Stephens was able to complete the pass to Carl Barnes for a 9 yard gain, leaving fourth and one at the 37 yard line. Instead of trying the 54 yard field goal, Coach Ludwig, for whatever reason, called out the punt team, the punt sailing into the end zone for a touchback.
Starting on the 20 yard line, the drive got off to a rough start for UTSA, as Moss was sacked for a three yard loss on first down. Gilliam was able to make up those yards with a three yard rush, before an incomplete pass intended forGuy McCauley brought the drive to an end. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 42 yard punt gave us the ball back at our 37 yard line. Marcus Mullins was able to get his hands on the first down pass from Stephens, but the middle linebacker made a quick hit on Mullins to break the play up and cause the ball to fall incomplete. The defense continued to make Stephens their bitch, the defensive tackle breaking through and sacking him for an 11 yard loss, bringing up third and 21. Stephens was slow to get up after the play, helped off the field by the trainers. He was diagnosed with a concussion, knocking him out for the rest of the game, putting second stringer and sophomore Erik Wallace in the game at QB. Coming out throwing deep in his first snap under center, the deep bomb down the left sideline intended for Eric Hayden was broken up by the cornerback, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth down. A 5 yard return on the 52 yard punt got UTSA started at their 26 yard line for their next drive.
Moss started the drive for the Roadrunners with a four yard rush, before completing a dump pass to Shannon Sullivan for only a two yard gain, bringing up third and four. The third down pass from Moss was off-target and batted incomplete by the safety, leaving the Roadrunners punting the ball right back. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 42 yard boot found us starting from our 25 yard line for our next drive. With the passing game essentially beheaded, encased in concrete, wrapped in chains and thrown into the ocean, it was back to the running game to start this drive. Oliver was able to shake ‘n bake his way to a 6 yard gain, followed by a 7 yard rush to get the first down at the 39 yard line. Another rush by Oliver gained four yards, followed by a 6 yard dash to get another first down on the ground at our 49 yard line. Roy Smith kept the action going on the ground with a 5 yard rush, with Oliver following up with a 7 yard gain to get yet another first down at the UTSA 38. The Roadrunners finally managed to slow down our run game, as Oliver was tackled on the next play by the defensive tackle for a loss of one yard, bringing up second and 11. Coming out in play action, the pass intended for Smith was broken up by the safety, leaving third down and 11 from the 39. It wouldn’t get any better, as the pass intended for Hayden was nearly intercepted by the middle linebacker, who wasn’t able to hang on as he fell backwards to the ground after jumping to grab the ball. The ensuing punt sailed 48 yards and into the end zone for a touchback.
Taking over at the 20 yard line, UTSA got some help from our defense, who was flagged for a 12 yard spot of the foul penalty, giving the Roadrunners a new set of downs at their 32 yard line. The defense at least managed to get some revenge on the next play, sacking Moss for a four yard loss. The defense got an even bigger measure of revenge, sacking Moss again, this time for a loss of 11 yards, leaving UTSA facing third and 25 from their 17 yard line. The third down desperation heave by Moss sailed out of bounds and incomplete, bringing out the punt team. Jefferson called for a fair catch on the 41 yard punt, giving our offense the ball on our 41 yard line with three seconds left on the clock. The UTSA defense got the last laugh of the quarter, tackling Oliver for a loss of one yard, as the first quarter came to an end, still scoreless.
Starting the second quarter, Bobby Smith got us moving as he hauled in a pass from Wallace for an 8 yard gain to leave third and three. Trying our luck on the ground worked out for a change, as Oliver rumbled ahead for 10 yards and the first down at the UTSA 41 yard line. Oliver made the first big play of the day, getting a huge hole to run through, juking away from one tackler, and then breaking out of a second tackle attempt on his way to a 31 yard rush, finally brought down from behind at the UTSA 11 yard line. Smith finally got us on the board, driving straight up the middle for the 11 yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 7:48 left in the second quarter.
A 19 yard kickoff return got the Roadrunners started at their 21 yard line for their next drive, looking for an answer. They wouldn’t find that answer as three straight incomplete passes, two intended for Steve Bright and one intended for Sullivan brought the drive to a quick conclusion. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 44 yard punt got us the ball back at our 35 yard line and looking to add to the score. Oliver initially had a hole to run through, but was slow getting there, instead brought down by the middle linebacker for a gain of only three yards. Going into the air on second down, Wallace was able to connect with Hayden for a 12 yard gain, giving us a first down at midfield to keep the drive moving. Taking our chances through the air again, Jefferson was able to pull in the pass from Wallace just before the cornerback could make a move on the ball, good for a gain of 15 yards and another first down at the UTSA 35 yard line. Finally finding success through the air, Wallace just beat the pass rush and got a pass off to Banks for a 28 yard gain, setting up first and goal from the 7 yard line. Oliver took the ball on first down, carrying it for 6 yards down to the one yard line. We unfortunately took another hit, as Oliver didn’t get right up after the play, After being helped to the sidelines, it was determined he was suffering from back spasms, leaving him sidelined for a little while. With Oliver injured on the bench, Smith would be required to finish off the job again. He would do exactly that, punching it in for the one yard touchdown rush, giving us a 14-0 lead with 5:24 to play before halftime.
No return on the following kickoff left the Roadrunners starting again at their 25 yard line. Two incomplete passes, both intended for Gilliam got this drive off to an equally unproductive start, followed by a pass complete to Bright for only a two yard gain, leaving UTSA once again punting the ball away. A 5 yard return by Jefferson on the 46 yard punt advanced the ball to our 31 yard line for our next offensive drive. Keeping the pistons driving on the ground game, Smith took the first down handoff up the middle for an 11 yard gain, getting our drive off to an immediate success. Going around the left tackle on the next play, Smith was able to pick up four yards, followed by a 6 yard rush around the right tackle by Oliver, stretched all the way to the far sideline as Oliver fought for every yard he could down to the UTSA 47 yard line. Keeping the ball on first down, Wallace was unable to gain any yards, leaving second and long. We nearly had a first down on the next play, as Hayden cut across the field and was able to break wide open, but the pass from Wallace hit Hayden directly in the hands and bounced out, falling to the ground incomplete. Smith was able to keep us moving, coming out of the backfield and hauling in a pass from Wallace for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the UTSA 36. Going back to the ground game, Oliver was able to pick up one yard on the play, but a flag came out on the play, seemingly for a facemask penalty. We instead got a punch to the gut as the flag was for holding, leaving us with first and 20 from the 46 yard line. Forced into the air, Wallace was able to thread the needle between the middle and outside linebackers, completing an 11 yard pass to Jefferson to leave second and 9. The second down pass intended for Jefferson was nearly completed, but got broken up by the cornerback at the last moment to leave third and 9. Hayden came through for us on the third down play, beating the safety the linebacker to the ball for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 20 yard line. Trying to keep the defense honest, it was back to the ground game on first down, as Oliver took it straight up the middle for a 14 yard gain. It wasn’t meant to be however as a flag came out, hit with a second holding penalty this drive, leaving us with first and 20 from the 30 yard line and only 1:32 left on the clock. Forced to dig ourselves out of another hole, we again had to abandon the run game. Jefferson gave us a huge play, sacrificing his body to make the catch for a 15 yard gain, getting laid out by the safety immediately after. The play left us with only second and 5 at the 15 yard line, able to get back to business with the clock continuing to tick. The second down pass to Newman was completed for a gain of 9 yards, setting up first and goal at the 7 yard line with 1:02 left before halftime. Oliver took the ball up the middle on first down, picking up three yards to the four yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 49 seconds. Oliver would need only one more play, fighting his way up the middle before being tackled forward by the linebacker, their momentum carrying Oliver into the end zone for the four yard touchdown rush. The extra point by Derek Glover was no good, blocked by the defense, leaving our lead 20-0 with 47 seconds left before halftime.
A 21 yard kickoff return set UTSA up at their 26 yard line, but it cost them some major time, as only 36 seconds remained after the play. Moss attempted to throw deep to Bright, but the pass was broken up by our safeties, resulting in nothing but wasted time on the play. Our defense did lend a hand, flagged for a 5 yard facemask penalty, giving the Roadrunners a first down at their 31 yard line. UTSA started to now find some success, as Moss connected on a pass to Brock Bennett for 12 yards and a first down at the 43. The first timeout by the Roadrunners stopped the clock with 21 seconds left. After an incomplete pass on first down, our defense struck a deathblow, sacking Moss for an 8 yard loss, leaving UTSA facing third and 18 from their 35 yard line, their second timeout stopping the clock with just 12 seconds to go. Another incomplete pass, intended again for Bennett, brought their drive to an end, as they punted away on fourth and 18 with only 9 seconds to go. An 8 yard return by Jefferson on the 47 yard punt gave us the ball at our 26 yard line, just two ticks left on the clock. Oliver took the handoff on the final play of the half, tackled for no gain by both the outside and middle linebackers, taking us into halftime with a 20-0 lead.
Opening up the third quarter, the kickoff sailed long and into the end zone for a touchback, starting UTSA at their 25 yard line to begin the second half. It was a very poor start for the Roadrunners, as a holding penalty left them facing first and 20 from their 15 yard line. An incomplete pass and a ball dropped by a Gilliam left the Roadrunners facing third and 20. They made a great attempt to keep the drive alive, as Moss was able to finally connect with Bennett on third down, but the pass went for a gain of only 18 yards, ultimately bringing out the punt team on fourth and two. A fair catch by Jefferson gave us the ball at our 25 yard line for our first drive of the second half.
Oliver continued to add to his rushing total, as he took the first down handoff between the left tackle and guard for a 9 yard gain. Oliver gained the first down on the next play, spinning off of a tackle attempt and fighting ahead for a 6 yard rush to the 41 yard line. Fighting his way through a pile of bodies, Smith was able to find his way to the 47 yard line for a 6 yard gain. Despite being hit by the defensive tackle and middle linebacker in the backfield on the next play, Oliver’s momentum carried the pile forward for a three yard gain to leave us with third and one. The defense was ready however on third down, stopping Oliver just short of the first down line, bringing up fourth and inches at midfield. Added punishment to the wound, Oliver again failed to get up after the play, suffering from a strained bicep that would again keep him sidelined for a while. The punt on fourth down landed at the 5 yard line and bounced into the end zone for a touchback.
Taking over at the 20 yard line, UTSA continued to have little luck in the starts of their drives, as the first down pass from Moss was batted down at the line of scrimmage. Two more incomplete passes and it was another wasted drive for the Roadrunners. A 10 yard return by Jefferson on the 48 yard punt got our next drive underway at our 41 yard line. Smith was able to shake off a defender on his way to a 6 yard rush, followed by a short battle for a 7 yard gain to get the first down at the UTSA 46 yard line. A first down pitch to the left to Smith resulted in only a two yard gain, leaving second and 8. Keeping the ball himself on second down, Wallace was able to get a couple of key blocks and turn up the field outside the right tackle for a 7 yard rush that caught the defense by surprise. Oliver was finally cleared to return to action, coming in to convert on third and one. The conversion wouldn’t happen though, as the defense broke through to tackle Oliver in the backfield for a one yard loss, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth and two. The punt bounced down at the one yard line and rolled over into the end zone, starting UTSA from their 20 yard line.
It was another rough start for the Roadrunners, as Moss had his pass on first down deflected, before Gilliam dropped the ball on the next play to bring up third and long. They finally got something going their way on third down, as Jake Williams hauled in a pass from Moss for a 22 yard gain and a first down at the 42 yard line. Gilliam tried to take the ball up the gut on first down, but was caught with his pants down in the backfield, tackled for a two yard loss, before managing to recover those lost yards on the next play with a 6 yard rush, bringing up third and 7. Gilliam tried to be the hero of the hour, but failed, tackled for a gain of only four yards, leaving the Roadrunners facing fourth and two at midfield. After being the goat on the previous play, Gilliam succeeded in filling the hero role this play, taking the fourth down handoff up the middle for a 5 yard gain, giving UTSA new life at our 45 yard line. The Roadrunners then struck a blow to our defense, as McCauley came down with a pass from Moss down the right sideline for a 24 yard gain and a first down at our 21 yard line. After two incomplete passes, both intended for Sullivan, he somewhat redeemed himself, catching a third down pass from Moss for a 7 yard gain, though not enough as UTSA was left with fourth and three at our 14 yard line. The Roadrunners would ultimately settle for a 31 yard field goal by Richard Young, cutting our lead to 20-3 with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.
A 17 yard kickoff return by Jefferson got us started in our worst field position of the game, beginning at our 15 yard line. Oliver took the first down handoff up the middle for a four yard gain, before fighting off a pair of tackles around the right tackle to get 6 yards and the first down at our 25 yard line, bringing the third quarter to an end, our lead 20-3.
Opening up the fourth quarter, we went into the air on first down, Hayden making a huge play, cutting across the middle of the field, beating the cornerback and safety to the ball and then cutting up field at an angle to escape the other cornerback following Jefferson across. Jefferson picked off the second safety, allowing Hayden to break free angling toward the sideline, racing both cornerbacks and a safety down the field, making it all the way down to the UTSA 32 yard line before getting tripped up from behind by the safety, a 43 yard gain in all and putting us in great position to expand on our lead. Oliver tried to take the ball up between the right guard and tackle, but could only manage two yards before being swarmed by defenders. Heading out around the left tackle, the middle linebacker made a great move to cut over and stand Oliver up just across the line for only another two yard gain, leaving third and 6. Wallace nearly completed a pass to Newman, who would have been able to get inside the 20 yard line, but the middle linebacker made another great play, swatting the ball incomplete to bring up fourth down. Glover came out and coolly connected on the 45 yard field goal to extend our lead to 23-3 with 7:16 left in the game.
A touchback on the kickoff left UTSA starting again from their 25 yard line, hoping to add on to what they accomplished the previous drive. It wasn’t meant to be however. Bright dropped the first down pass from Moss, before managing to hold onto the ball on second down for a 7 yard gain. After another incomplete pass intended for Bright on third down, the Roadrunners, puzzlingly went for it on fourth down from their own 32 yard line, the pass intended for Sullivan falling incomplete, turning it over on downs to start our next drive at UTSA’s 32. With the Roadrunners all but defeated and demoralized, we brought out the run game to start the drive, looking to chew up some of the remaining six and a half minutes left in the game. Despite being able to shake off the tackle of a blitzing outside linebacker, the middle linebacker was also able to blitz through, finishing off the job and tackling Oliver for a two yard loss to leave third and 9. Jefferson hauled in the third down pass from Wallace for a four yard gain, leaving us with fourth and 5. Glover came back out and drilled the 44 yard field goal attempt through the uprights, expanding our lead to 26-3 with 4:43 left to play.
A touchback on the kickoff got UTSA starting once again at their 25 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Gilliam took the ball up the middle, managing to fight his way ahead for a three yard gain. This time the Roadrunners were able to move the ball, as Bright actually held on to the third down pass from Moss for an 11 yard pickup and a first down at the 39. That was the only success they would find though, as a dropped pass by McCauley and two more incomplete passes left the drive stopped on fourth and 10. The Roadrunners would once again attempt to go for it, and would once again fail, the fourth down pass falling to the ground incomplete in the secondary, our offense taking over at the UTSA 39 yard line after the turnover on downs, 3:41 remaining on the clock.
Oliver continued to have some trouble gaining yards, only able to pick up two yards on the first down carry. Oliver tried to get up the middle on second down, but was stopped for no gain, leaving third and 8. Trying to rush it up the middle again, Oliver was only able to get one yard, leaving fourth and 7. The fourth down punt sailed out of the back of the end zone, giving UTSA possession at their 20 yard line with 1:57 remaining.
It was another failed drive for the Roadrunners, as two incomplete passes and a dropped ball by Gilliam brought about yet another fourth and long. This time UTSA elected to punt instead of convert the fourth down, Jefferson returning the 46 yard punt 7 yards to our 40 yard line, with 1:32 left to go. Oliver took the first down handoff up the middle for a 6 yard gain, followed by another pickup of 6 yards to get the first down at the UTSA 48 yard line with just 50 seconds remaining. Wallace would take a single knee to run out the clock and clinch our 26-3 victory over the Roadrunners, breaking our two game losing streak.
With the win, we improve to 6-2, 3-1 in C-USA action and become bowl eligible. With the loss, UTSA falls to 2-5, 1-4 in C-USA play. Up next, it's back home for the start of our final two home games of the year, hosting Rice. The Owls enter the game 5-3, 3-1 in C-USA action. Rice started their year with a 20-17 upset of Duke, before losing 41-34 to Minnesota and 30-7 to Toledo. The Owls then picked up a pair of wins, 35-17 at Tulane and 35-14 at MTSU, before losing 27-7 to Southern Miss. Shaking off the loss, Rice has since gotten a 23-17 win at North Texas and a 34-24 win at Florida Atlantic heading into their trip to Tulsa. With both of us 3-1 in the conference and a half-game behind UTEP, next week's game will essentially decide the front-runner to challenge UTEP for first place in the division.
Final Score
3
Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – Stephens, in his very limited action before being injured, went 3-6 for 37 yards and two sacks. Wallace had his best passing day of his career, going 11-17 for 167 yards. Rushing, Oliver was finally a beast, rushing for 141 yards and one touchdown on 33 carries. Smith had a decent day, with 52 yards and two scores on 9 carries. Receiving, Hayden led the way with 70 yards on three receptions, thanks in part to his 43 yard catch. Jefferson had the most catches, hauling in four passes for 41 yards receiving. Banks also had a great day, with 52 yards on two catches. In all, seven receivers caught a ball, five of them for double digit yards.
Tulsa Defense – An absolutely dominating day, holding UTSA to three points and 139 yards of offense. Sacked Moss four times and got one interception. The defense continues to be the clear star of the show, although the offense is finally showing signs of life and may give the defense a run for their money in future contests.
Tulsa Kicking – A nearly perfect day for Glover. Went 2 for 2 in field goals, connecting from 44 and 45 yards out. But went 2 for 3 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score 0 20 0 6 26 0 0 3 0 3
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter --- --- --- --- --- Second Quarter 7:48 Touchdown R. Smith, 11 yard run (D. Glover kick) 5:24 Touchdown R. Smith, 1 yard run (D. Glover kick) 0:47 Touchdown W. Oliver, 4 yard run (missed kick) Third Quarter 0:34 Field Goal R. Young, 31 yard field goal Fourth Quarter 7:20 Field Goal D. Glover, 45 yard field goal 4:47 Field Goal D. Glover, 44 yard field goal
Game Stats
Tulsa Stat UTSA 26 Score 6 19 First Downs 6 383 Total Offense 139 47 - 179 - 3 Rushes - Yards - TD 9 - 34 - 0 14 - 23 - 0 Comp - Att - TD 9 - 41 - 0 204 Passing Yards 105 2 Times Sacked 4 3 - 12 (25%) 3rd Down Conversion 2 - 15 (13%) 0 - 0 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 1 - 3 (33%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%) 3 - 3 - 0 (100%) Red Zone - TD - FG 2 - 0 - 1 (50%) 0 Turnovers 1 0 Fumbles Lost 0 0 Intercepted 1 30 Punt Return Yards 5 17 Kick Return Yards 40 430 Total Yards 184 7 – 42.4 Punts - Average 9 - 44.8 4 - 37 Penalties 1 - 10 22:52 Time of Possession 13:08
Tulsa Contract Goals Update
Fail Impact Goal Progress Pass Impact 21+ points per game in each season 22 Win 10 games in one season 6 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 14 3200+ total offensive yards each season 2617 3400+ total offensive yards each season 2617
Job Security Status
45%
Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, in the upset of the week, #2 Virginia Tech becomes the latest team to fall from perfection, as North Carolina deep fries the Hokies, 45-21. #4 Mississippi State stayed perfect with a 31-6 win over #14 LSU. #5 Georgia scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to pull away from Missouri late, 42-28. #6 Arkansas State kept their incredible year rolling, escaping with a 31-24 win over one-win UMass. #7 USC used a 2:1 second half scoring advantage to down #18 Oregon 56-42. #8 Oklahoma State suffered their first loss in dominating fashion, as Baylor improved to 2-4 with a 45-17 thrashing of the Cowpokes.
#9 Oklahoma scores a late fourth quarter touchdown to escape one-win Kansas 24-17. #10 Michigan State came out on top in their battle with #23 Michigan, winning 35-16. #15 Alabama manages to hold on for a 30-20 win over Tennessee. NC State scored a 24-16 rivalry upset of #16 Clemson. #17 Arizona needed a late miracle to comeback and beat Oregon State 28-24. #20 BYU kept their perfect record alive, beating Louisiana-Monroe 38-14. #21 Southern Miss barely kept their spotless record intact, needing an overtime field goal to escape Louisiana Tech, 41-38. #22 Ohio State pulled away late to beat Penn State 23-10. #24 Kansas State will be making a quick exit from the polls, losing their second straight game, 49-21 to TCU.
For our readers, souljahbill, #21 Southern Miss improves to 7-0 (3-0 C-USA) with a 41-38 overtime win over Louisiana Tech. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 2-6 (1-4 Pac-12) after a 28-23 loss to Utah. Mors, West Virginia remains 4-3 (3-2 Big 12), on a bye week this week. Jeff, #22 Ohio State improves to 7-1 (5-0 Big Ten), picking up a 23-10 win over Penn State. Other teams of interest, #6 Arkansas State improves to 7-0 (2-0 Sun Belt) with a 31-24 win over UMass.
In C-USA action, Tulsa steamrolls UTSA 26-3, #21 Southern Miss hangs on to beat Louisiana Tech 41-38 in OT, Marshall whoops UAB 35-16, Florida International whoops MTSU 41-17, Rice downs Florida Atlantic 34-24 and North Texas wins a non-conference battle over Louisiana-Lafayette 38-23.
With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, #21 Southern Miss (3-0) sits on top, followed by Marshall (4-1) and Florida International (3-1). Still technically in it, but essentially eliminated are MTSU (1-3), UAB (1-4) and Florida Atlantic (0-4). Over in the West Division, UTEP (3-0) continues to lead the division, with Tulsa and Rice (both 3-1) sitting right on UTEP's heels. Behind that is Louisiana Tech (1-2), North Texas (1-3) and UTSA (1-4). The October 31st game between Rice and Tulsa will essentially line up the marbles for the winner to make a challenge at UTEP for the division lead, as Tulsa plays UTEP on one week later on November 7th, and Rice plays UTEP two weeks later on November 14th.
Looking at undefeated teams left, with #2 Virginia Tech and #8 Oklahoma State losing this week, that drops our number of undefeated teams to 5. #1 Notre Dame (7-0), #4 Mississippi State (8-0), #6 Arkansas State (7-0), #20 BYU (7-0) and #21 Southern Miss (7-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.
Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 2 teams still looking for their first win: New Mexico (0-6) and Tulane (0-7).
Teams getting their first win this week were: Memphis (14-7 over 2-6 Army).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (32 first place votes) remains #1. Mississippi State (25 votes) jumps two to #2. Arkansas State (4 votes) climbs three to #3. Nebraska falls one to #4 and Georgia remains stuck at #5. USC climbs one to #6, Oklahoma jumps two to #7, Michigan State moves up two to #8, Iowa jumps two to #9 and Miami climbs two to #10. Florida State jumps two to #11, Virgniia Tech drops ten to #12, Alabama jumps two to #13, BYU leaps six to #14 and Arizona climbs two to #15. Virginia jumps three to #16, LSU falls three to #17, Southern Miss jumps three to #18, Ohio State climbs three to #19 and Oklahoma State tumbles twelve spots to #20. Oregon falls three spots to #21, Georgia Tech climbs three places to #22, TCU enters the poll this week at #23, Wisconsin enters the poll at #24 and Clemson drops nine spots to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Michigan (from #23) and Kansas State (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Michigan (234 votes) is #26, followed by Texas (226), North Carolina (212), Kansas State (104) and Texas Tech (73) to round out the Top 30. Other teams also getting votes this week include Auburn (53), South Carolina (5) and Stanford (1).
Looking at the new Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (37 first place votes) remains #1. Mississippi State (27 votes) jumps two to #2. Arkansas State (1) climbs two to #3. Nebraska falls one spot to #4 and USC climbs one to #5. Georgia moves up one to #6, Oklahoma jumps two to #7, Michigan State climbs three to #8, Virginia moves up one to #9 and Iowa climbs two to #10. Miami jumps two to #11, Virginia Tech drops ten to #12, Florida State climbs two to #13, BYU leaps five to #14 and Arizona jumps two to #15. Alabama moves up two to #16, Southern Miss climbs four to #17, LSU drops four to #18, Oklahoma State plummets eleven to #19 and Ohio State jumps three to #20. Georgia Tech moves up three to #21, Oregon drops two to #22, Wisconsin enters the poll this week at #23, TCU enters the poll at #24 and Michigan falls three to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Clemson (from #16) and Kansas State (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Clemson (264 votes) is #26, followed by North Carolina (238), Texas (208), Kansas State (72) and Auburn (70) to round out the Top 30. Other teams also getting votes this week include Stanford (56), Houston (27), Texas Tech (23) and South Carolina (20).
Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 Mississippi (0.995), #3 Arkansas State (0.988), #4 Nebraska (0.984), #5 Georgia (0.976), #6 USC (0.976), #7 Michigan State (0.962), #8 Oklahoma (0.958), #9 Miami (0.949) and #10 Florida State (0.940).
Looking at the new Heisman watch, Georgia HB Joel Nolan remains #1 (LW: #1), followed by TCU QB Robert Henderson at #2 (LW: NR), Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell at #3 (LW: #5), Virginia Tech HB Jay Smith at #4 (LW: #2) and Ohio State QB Ryan Fraser at #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week were Notre Dame HB Larue Barnes (LW: #3) and LSU HB Steven McMillan (LW: #4)
Game Nine
Game Notes
--- With the losing streak finally over, and our offense rediscovered against UTSA, it was back to Tulsa for the first of our last two home games this season. Two home games that would potentially decide who would win the West Division as ourselves, Rice and UTEP all play each other over a three week period. With UTEP leading the way in the division, and ourselves and Rice just a half game behind, the winner between ourselves and Rice would set the stage for a showdown with UTEP for the division lead.
It wasn’t going to be easy to get there, as Rice entered as a very much improved team over their 1-11 record last season. Besides entering the game with a 5-3 record, Rice comes into the contest with a highly rated pass offense and defense. The Owls rank #38 in the nation in pass offense, putting up 246.6 yards a game through the air. On defense, Rice has the #32 defense in the country, giving up 346.6 yards a contest, the #46 rush defense in the nation, giving up 161.7 yards a game and the #26 pass offense, giving up 184.8 yards a game. With our offense still lacking, despite the numbers put up against UTSA, leaving us ranked #111 for total offense (327.1 yards/game), #96 for rush offense (142.5 yards/game) and #103 for pass offense (184.6 yards/game), it looked to be shaping up to be one hell of a Battle for the Williams Trophy. Rice won the coin toss and elected to receive.
A 16 yard kickoff return by Mark White got the Owls started off at their 16 yard line to open the game. It was a rough start for Rice, as D'Juan Gray was tackled for a two yard loss on the first play, leaving the Owls facing second and 12. Gray took the ball a second time, picking up three yards on the ground to leave third and 9. The next play proved that our defense would be challenged today, as Gray dropped back to pass on third down, connecting with Jon Mitchell for a 26 yard gain over the middle to get the first down at the 43 yard line. Finding a rhythm now, Braylon Elliott took the first down handoff for a 6 yard gain, before hauling in a pass from Gray for a pickup of 12 yards and another set of downs at our 39 yard line. Gray kept the ball on first down, rushing for three yards, followed by a 7 yard rush by Tim Schneider, leaving third and one from the 30. The Owls would see their momentum come to an end, as Gray was tackled for a loss of two yards, bringing up fourth and three from the 32 yard line. The Owls opted to go for it on fourth down instead of kicking the field goal, looking to strike an early blow, but our defense proved the victor, tackling Schneider for a three yard loss, forcing the turnover on downs and giving us the ball at our 35 yard line.
Oliver got our drive off to a great start, finding a huge hole up the middle and nearly breaking loose, ending up tackled for a 9 yard gain to bring up second and one. The next play, Oliver was able to break loose through the hole and get into the secondary, brought down by the safety for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the Rice 44 yard line, their rushing defense not quite up to snuff. Hitting another hole and getting into the secondary, Oliver had a chance to take it to the house, plowing over top of the safety, but was tripped up as the safety held onto his ankles for dear life, bringing Oliver down for only a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 32 yard line. Oliver continued his punishment of the apparently overrated and over-ranked Rice rushing defense, picking up 9 yards around the right tackle on first down. The Owls were unable to stop Oliver on second down, the outside linebacker unable to hold on to his tackle attempt in the backfield, allowing Oliver to get across the line of scrimmage for a three yard gain and the first down at the Rice 20 yard line. It started to look like 6 straight rushes would be enough for the Rice defense to stiffen up, as Roy Smith was brought down for only a one yard gain on the first down carry. Throwing some play action at the defense, the pass from Brad Stephens intended for Connor Jefferson was off-target, thrown into the back of the cornerback to bring up third and 9. Stephens threw up a pass to a wide open Jefferson on third down, but the safety was able to drop down in time and make a play on the ball, dropping it incomplete to bring up fourth down. Despite the great drive, we would fail to put up any points as the 36 yard field goal attempt by Derek Glover was no good, just missing wide right of the uprights.
Taking over at their 20 yard line, Rice looked to improve upon their previous drive. It was going to be tough after the start to this drive, as Schneider was tackled for a two yard loss on first down. Gray was able to make up those lost yards, rushing for a gain of two to leave third and 10. The drive would fail to match the success of the previous drive, as Gray’s pass intended for Elliott fell incomplete, bringing out the punt team on fourth down. A four yard return by Jefferson on the 45 yard punt got our offense set up at our 39 yard line.
Coming out rushing the ball, the defense nearly trapped Oliver in the backfield, but a missed tackle by the middle linebacker allowed Oliver to escape up the middle, once again nearly breaking loose, eventually getting tripped up by the safety, the last defender between Oliver at the end zone, for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the Rice 49 yard line. The defense was starting to key on the run game again, as Oliver could only manage three yards on the first down carry. They weren’t keying enough however, as an off-tackle play by Oliver picked up 9 yards to get us yet another first down at the Rice 37. Changing it up on first down, Stephens completed a pass to Eric Hayden for a 16 yard gain, getting us back down to the Rice 20 yard line with a new set of downs. Running an option around the right side, Stephens kept the ball and was able to pick up 6 yards to set up second and four. Taking the handoff around the left tackle, a diving tackle by the middle linebacker limited Oliver to only a one yard gain, leaving third and three from the 13. Going straight up the middle on third down, Oliver got some huge help from the defense, a tackle by the defensive end carried both players forward across the line of scrimmage, officially a four yard rush by Oliver, giving us first and goal at the 9 yard line. Oliver never had a chance on first down, as multiple defenders broke through on a blitz, tackling Oliver for a loss of one yard to push us back to the 10 yard line. Going with a stretch play to the left on second down, Oliver could only pick up one yard before being brought down at the 9 yard line, bringing up third and goal. Hayden would complete the drive for us on the third down play, running along the back edge of the end zone, hauling in the 9 yard touchdown pass from Stephens with no time remaining on the clock. The extra point by Glover gave us a 7-0 lead as the first quarter came to an end.
Opening up the second quarter, a 20 yard kickoff return gave Rice the ball at their 31 yard line to start their next drive. Gray kept the ball on first down for a two yard gain, before a dropped pass by Schneider left the Owls facing third and 8. It would be another failed drive, as Elliott dropped the third down pass from Gray, bringing the punt team back out. The drive ended in disaster for the Owls, as our defense blocked the punt, middle linebacker Danny Ray recovering the fumble clear back at the Rice 8 yard line to set up an immediate first and goal for our offense. Hayden doubled our score, hauling in his second touchdown reception of the day on the 8 yard pass, giving us a 14-0 lead with 8:19 left in the second quarter.
A 20 yard kickoff return got the Owls started at their 21 yard line for their next drive, looking for any success this time around. They got exactly that as a pass interference penalty on our defense gave Rice 15 free yards and a first down at the 36 yard line. It was backwards from there however, as Schneider was tackled twice for a four yard loss, leaving Rice facing third and 18. The third down pass from Gray intended for Elliott was batted incomplete, bringing yet another drive to an early conclusion. The Owls were able to get the punt off this time, Jefferson returning the 48 yard punt 5 yards to our 29 yard line.
Oliver took the ball on first down, able to avoid the blitzing middle linebacker and pick up an 8 yard gain, followed by a four yard rush to get the first down at the 41 yard line. Going into the air on first down, the pass intended for Hayden was nearly intercepted first by the middle linebacker and then by the safety, diving for the deflected pass. The second down play nearly ended in a ridiculous catch Antoine Banks, the outside linebacker getting hand up and one the ball, deflecting it up and into the hands of Banks, who was unable to hold onto it. As the ball fell towards the ground, with Banks’ momentum carrying him away from the ball, he spun around and tried to grab the ball just before it hit the ground, the ball bouncing off his finger tips and falling incomplete. Throwing it up on third down, we came up just short of the first down, as Marcus Mullins hauled in the pass from Stephens, but was tackled for only an 8 yard gain, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth and two. In an unusual play call for Coach Ludwig, we came out and run a fake punt, the pass from Carlos Wilcox intended for outside linebacker Graham Minor falling incomplete, turning the ball over on downs at our 49 yard line.
The Owls were ready to take advantage of the incredible field position this time around. After a short hiccup in the form of a three yard loss by Gray on first down, he turned around and fired off a pass to Elliott for a 26 yard gain and a first down at our 26 yard line. Keeping the ball on the ground on first down, Gray rushed for two yards, followed by a 6 yard gain by Schneider to set up third and two. The Owls would see yet another close drive stall, as Elliott dropped the third down pass from Gray to bring up fourth and two from the 18 yard line. The Owls would also walk away with no points, as the 35 yard field goal by Lawrence Ferguson was no good, giving us the ball back at our 20 yard line.
The Rice defense was more than ready for our ground game this time around, tackling Oliver for a one yard gain. Going into the air, the second down pass from Stephens to Smith was batted out of bounds incomplete, bringing up third and 9. Dropping back on third down, Stephens was able to shake off a sack attempt, but was forced to roll out to the right and scramble as the pocket imploded. Trying to make a dash toward the right sideline, the outside linebacker moved up and met Stephens well behind the line of scrimmage, knocking the ball loose during the tackle. We got very lucky as left tackle Marlon Smith dove for the loose ball, managing to beat the defensive tackle to it to recover the ball. Officially it went down as a sack on Stephens for an 8 yard loss, with the fumble adding an additional four yards to the deficit, but the result was essentially the same. A large loss and the punt team coming out on fourth and 21 from our 9 yard line. A fair catch by Rice on the 48 yard punt set the Owls up from their 43 yard line.
This time the Owls would fail to take advantage of the good field position, as Gray was tackled on consecutive plays for losses of three and two yards, before throwing an incomplete pass on third down, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 15 from their 38 yard line. A 7 yard return by Jefferson on the 43 yard punt got us underway from our 26 yard line for our next drive with 3:22 left on the clock. The defense never gave Stephens a chance on first down, as our passing attempt ended in failure by way of a sack for a loss of two yards. The defense continued to attempt to make Stephens a human pińata, nearly sacking him a second time, forcing Stephens to take off scrambling, picking up two yards before being gang tackled at the 26 yard line to bring up third and long. Lining up on third down, Rice used their first timeout of the half before we could snap the ball, stopping the clock with two minutes remaining before halftime. The defense, with a new found ferocity, were able to get a second sack on Stephens, the outside linebacker blitzing through an open gap and flattening Stephens before he was able to even complete his drop back, sacking him for a 9 yard loss to bring up fourth and 19, Rice’s second timeout stopping the clock with 1:58 to go. A fair catch on a poor 36 yard punt, gave Rice the ball at their 47 yard line with 1:52 to play.
This time around the Owls were able to get the ball moving quickly, as Gray connected with Elliott for a 12 yard gain, followed by a 12 yard pass to White for another first down at our 29 yard line, the clock down to 1:37. Gray found White again, this time for a 7 yard pickup, before an incomplete pass brought up third and three with 1:14 left to play. The Owls were able to successfully convert third time this time around, Elliott hauling in the pass from Gray for an 11 yard gain to get to our 11 yard line, 1:07 remaining on the clock. After a two yard rush by Gray, he threw a pass over the middle to Schneider for an 8 yard gain, leaving third and one at our one yard line, 50 seconds to go before halftime. Our defense refused to go down without a fight, sacking Gray for a one yard loss, leaving the Owls facing a tough decision, left with fourth and two from our two yard line and 38 seconds on the clock. Rice would opt to kick the field goal, Ferguson again botching any chance for Rice to put points on the board, his 20 yard field goal going wide left and no good.
With the missed field goal, we took over on offense from our 20 yard line with 21 seconds left on the clock. Planning to handoff to Oliver and run out the clock, he finally managed to break the defense’s back, getting into the secondary and cutting loose, racing down the field for a 35 yard gain before being tripped up from behind, giving us a first down at the Rice 45 yard line with 14 seconds to go. Deciding to try and build on that great run, it was into the air on first down, Hayden hauling in a pass from Stephens for a 10 yard gain, giving us a first down at the 35 yard line, our second timeout stopping the clock with 10 seconds to go. Trying to take a shot at the end zone, Stephens was just barely able to get rid of the ball to avoid a sack from the blitzing linebacker, leaving second down with 7 seconds remaining. Taking another shot at the end zone, the pass intended for Hayden was just off the mark, Hayden unable to come down with it, bringing up third down from the 35 yard line and three seconds to go. Glover came through for us right at the end, curving a 52 yard field goal attempt through the wind and right down the middle of the uprights to extend our lead to 17-0 as we headed into halftime.
Opening up the second half, a touchback on the kickoff got our offense started at our 25 yard line, looking to add to our lead. Oliver took the handoff up the middle getting about 6 yards on the run before being flattened on his back by the safety. Keeping it going on the ground, Oliver tried to sneak through a hole outside the right guard, but got quickly wrapped up by multiple defenders for no gain to leave third and four. Going to the air, Stephens threw up a pass over the middle on third down, intended for Hayden, but both Jefferson and Hayden got driven into each other by their defenders, leaving defensive end Gary Stewart free to jump up and intercept the pass, returning it 5 yards to set up Rice at our 34 yard line.
Going to the air to start the drive, Gray connected with White for a 7 yard gain, followed with a 5 yard pass to Elliott to give the Owls a first down at the 22. Another drive would seemingly stall for Rice, as three straight incomplete passes brought up fourth and long. With two missed field goals already, the Owls opted to go for it on fourth down, our defense failing to defend as Gray connected with Elliott on a 21 yard pass down the right sideline, setting up first and goal from our one yard line. Gray would do the honors on the next play, rushing it in from one yard out to cut our lead to 17-7 with 6:31 remaining in the third quarter.
A touchback once again got us started at our 25 yard line, hoping for better results this time around. Oliver was able to spin off an initial tackle attempt, before dragging two defenders forward with him for a 5 yard gain on first down. Trying to go around the right tackle on second down, Oliver was quickly brought down for a one yard loss, leaving third and 6. Dropping back to pass, Stephens never had a chance, as the left defensive end broke off his block at the same time the outside linebacker came blitzing in through a hole, both combining to sack Stephens for an 8 yard loss to leave us punting on fourth and 14. A fair catch called on the 48 yard punt got Rice underway from their 31 yard line.
It looked to be a short drive, as Gray’s pass on first down was broken up, followed by a rush from Schneider for a loss of three yards to bring up third and 13. But Gray was able to connect with White and convert the third down on a 24 yard pass, moving the chains to our 48 yard line. After a dropped pass by James Harmon, Schneider picked up two yards on the ground to leave third and 8. This time the Owls would fall short, Gray’s pass to Elliott complete for only a 5 yard gain, leaving fourth and three at the 41 yard line. The Owls attempted to go for it on fourth down, but cornerback Jonathan Chambers ended the drive with an interception, giving us the ball at our 35 yard line.
Taking the handoff on first down, Oliver was able to somehow spin off of a tackle attempt and pick up three yards. Looking to avoid the blitz, Stephens threw away the ball on second down, but ended up getting flagged for intentional grounding, double screwing us with the 10 yard penalty and a loss of down leaving us facing third and 17. Throwing up a deep bomb to Hayden, the Rice defense returned the favor, cornerback Mike Washington intercepting the pass from Stephens and returning it 24 yards to give the Owls the ball at their 43 yard line. It was an uneventful start to the drive as Schneider was tackled for a three yard loss, before catching a pass from Gray for a mere two yard gain to leave third and 11. The Owls were able to get the first down as Elliott hauled in a pass from Gray for a 15 yard gain, moving the ball to our 43 yard line. After a dropped ball by White and an incomplete pass, Elliott was again able to haul in a pass from Gray, but only for a 5 yard gain this time around, leaving the Owls facing fourth and 5 from our 38 yard line. Rice attempted to go for it, but the ball was dropped by a wide open Derek Carter, turning the ball over on downs at our 38 yard line with 1:49 left in the third quarter.
Going to the air on first down, the pass intended for Hayden was nearly intercepted, bringing up second and long. Trying to hit Jefferson down the right sideline, the pass from Stephens was off-target, sailing out of bounds incomplete, leaving third down, as our offensive woes returned with a vengeance. The third down pass over the middle was broken up by the middle linebacker, bringing out the punt team on fourth down. A 6 yard return on the 50 yard punt gave Rice the ball at their 17 yard line.
Gray started the drive with a four yard rush, that was then partially erased with a rush by Schneider for a loss of two yards. Going through the air on third and 8, the pass from Gray was swatted down at the line of scrimmage, bringing another drive to a young end. A 7 yard return by Jefferson on the 42 yard punt gave us the ball at our 41 yard line, 42 seconds left in the third quarter.
Proving that our offensive woes were back and worse than ever, Oliver took the handoff on first down, rushing around the right tackle, only to get the crap smacked out of him by the outside linebacker, fumbling the ball in the process. Despite two of our players diving for the ball, cornerback Bobby Christian came sprinting in and scooped up the fumble and was off to the races before anyone to make a tackle attempt, returning the fumble 40 yards for a touchdown, cutting our lead to 17-14 with 34 seconds to go in the third quarter.
A 16 yard kickoff return by Jefferson set our offense up at our 22 yard line, looking for any sign of life after the last three drives. Taking another chance on Oliver, he took the first down handoff, but could only manage a single yard, leaving second and 8 as the final seconds ticked off the clock, bringing the third quarter to an end with our lead now down to three points, 17-14.
Opening up the fourth quarter, an incomplete pass intended for Hayden got us off to a sour start, leaving third and 9 at the 23. The defense rose up to the occasion on third down, the outside linebacker swinging around the right tackle and coming in to sack Stephens for a 7 yard loss, ending our drive with little success as the punt team came out on fourth and 16. A fair catch on the 43 yard punt set up Rice up in good position, starting their next drive at their 41 yard line. The Owls likewise ended up with an unsuccessful drive, as two incomplete passes and a sack for a four yard loss brought out the Rice punt team on fourth and 14. A 10 yard return by Jefferson on the 50 yard punt saved us from poor field position, getting us started at our 22 yard line.
It was another drive of offensive failure, as two incomplete passes, both intended for Hayden, left third down. Stephens dropped back to pass on the third down play, but a late blitz by the middle linebacker flushed him out of the pocket, forcing Stephens to scramble towards the right sideline, managing to get four yards before being driven out of bounds by 5 different defenders. That left fourth and 6 on the scoreboard and another appearance by the punt team as our offense continued to face-plant in the second half. A 7 yard return on the 45 yard punt got the Rice offense started at their 36 yard line for the next drive. The Owls looked to take advantage of our offensive woes, as Gray connected with White on first down for a 20 yard gain to move the chains to our 44 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Gray was forced to scramble for a two yard gain, leaving the Owls with third and 8. Schneider would come through to keep the drive moving, hauling in a pass from Gray for a 12 yard gain and a first down at our 30 yard line. Schneider rushed the ball on first down, picking up four yards, but had that success partially erased on the next play, tackled for a two yard loss to leave third and 8 once again. It would be White saving the drive this time, pulling down a deep pass from Gray for 27 yards to set up first and goal at our two yard line. The Owls this time went through the air for the score, as Gray connected with Bryan Foster for the two yard touchdown pass, giving Rice a 21-17 lead with 5:53 left in the game.
A 23 yard kickoff return by Hayden got our offense set up at our 25 yard line, looking for anything now. The first down pass over the middle intended for Hayden was batted down incomplete, nearly intercepted by both the outside linebacker and the safety in the process. Finally managing to get some positive yards, Oliver hauled in a pass from Stephens for a 7 yard gain, leaving third and three. The defense continued to make Stephens a plaything, sacking him for a 6 yard loss, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth and 9. A four yard return on the 43 yard punt got Rice started at their 35 yard line with 4:41 left in the game.
Rice was clearly ready to run out the clock, as Schneider took the ball on the ground three straight plays, picking up gains of 5 and three yards, before converting third and two with a 5 yard rush to get to the 48 yard line. Having established the run, Rice went back into the air, as Gray connected with Elliott for a 19 yard gain and a first down at our 33 yard line. After a dropped pass by Ricky Parker, Schneider tried to take the ball up the middle, but was stood up for no gain, leaving the Owls with third and long. It was clear our defense had been broken, as Gray completed the third down pass to an open White for a pickup of 24 yards to set up first and goal at our 8 yard line. A three yard rush by Schneider was followed with a four yard rush by Gray to leave third and goal from our one yard line. Fullback Ed Williams did the honors this time around, rushing in the one yard touchdown, extending Rice’s lead to 28-17 with 2:26 left in the game.
A 16 yard kickoff return by Hayden left our offense starting at our 16 yard line, only 2:16 left on the clock and trying to find a way to make up 11 points. Not only was our defense broken, but so was our offense, as multiple defenders blitzed through on first down, sacking Stephens for a 7 yard loss and putting us in an immediate hole. Throwing up a bomb on second down, the pass intended for Hayden was broken up by the cornerback, leaving third and 17 from our 9 yard line. We finally found some success, as Stephens completed the third down pass to Banks for 17 yards, leaving fourth and one at the 25. With no choice but to go for it, Stephens finally was able to hook up with Hayden, who was nearly able to break loose and take it to the house, but a diving tackle by the safety ended the play for a gain of only 17 yards, giving us a first down at our 42 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 1:21 left to play. Heaving a pass deep down the right sideline, Jefferson made the biggest play of the day, hauling in the pass for a 46 yard gain to give us a first down at the Rice 11 yard line. A pass to Banks on first down went for a 10 yard gain, setting up first and goal at the one. Oliver would finish off the job on the next play, rushing it in for the one yard touchdown. Going for the two point conversion, the pass to Oliver was completed, cutting the score to 28-25 with 1:02 left on the clock.
We attempted the onside kick, but Rice was able to recover it, taking over at midfield with 59 seconds on the clock and our defense with only two timeouts to use. Schneider took the ball up the middle on first down for a 7 yard gain, our second timeout stopping the clock with 52 seconds. Gray kept the ball on second down, our defense making a stand and holding him to only two yards, leaving third and one at our 41 yard line, our last timeout stopping the clock with 46 seconds. Our defense then made its biggest play of the game, tackling Schneider for a two yard loss, leaving fourth and three at our 43 yard line, 41 seconds left on the clock. The Owls brought the punt team out, the ball sailing into the end zone for a touchback with 22 seconds left to play.
Starting from our 20 yard line and only 22 seconds to go, it was all deep bombs from here on out. Launching up a rocket on first down, Hayden was somehow able to come down with the pass over the top of the cornerback’s head, complete for a 41 yard gain. A quick spike by Stephens stopped the clock with 15 seconds to go, leaving second and 10 from the Rice 39 yard line. Throwing the ball toward the right sideline, the pass was completed to Jefferson, but he was unable to turn up field or get out of bounds, instead tackled inbound for a two yard gain. Trying to rush to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball, we were able to get lined up but couldn’t get the snap off in time as the final second ticked off the clock, sealing the 28-25 win for Rice.
With the loss, we drop to 6-3 on the year, 3-2 in C-USA action. With the win, Rice improves to 6-3 for the season, 4-1 in C-USA play and takes over the driver’s seat to challenge UTEP for the division lead. Up next, it's our last home game of the year, as the UTEP Miners come to town, entering with a 5-3 record on the year, 3-1 in C-USA action. UTEP got their season started with a 37-19 win over Youngstown State, before losing 48-14 to Wake Forest. They shook off the loss with a 35-7 win at New Mexico State, a 27-21 win at Florida International and a 42-24 win at UAB. Their three game win streak came to an end with a 17-13 loss at Oregon State, before rebounding with a 42-28 win over UTSA. They then fell flat on their faces, losing 31-23 to 2-7 Florida Atlantic.
Final Score
Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A horrible day for Stephens. At one point he was 5-20 for a whopping 55 yards. He at least semi-redeemed himself, ending the day 12-29 for 192 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions and was sacked seven times. He keeps chucking up interceptions or has another piss-poor day passing like that, and he may just end up getting benched and hand the reigns over to backup Erik Wallace. Rushing was the bright spot of the day, as Oliver ended with 137 yards rushing and one touchdown on 24 carries, to go along with seven yards receiving on one reception. Receiving, only five players caught a pass today, Hayden leading the way with 101 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions. Only three players had double digit receiving yards.
- Tulsa Defense – A tale of two halves. Fantastic in the first half, utterly atrocious in the second half. They can bend and either give very little or give nothing at all. But when they break, they BREAK and the floodgate open (See: Oklahoma State, Rice). They did manage to recover a fumble and intercept a pass, but it didn't help too much in the end.
- Tulsa Kicking – Glover potentially cost us the game. He went 1-2 in field goal, connecting from 52 yards out, but missing from 36 yards. That 36 yard field goal very well may have meant our two-point conversion would have been for the tie rather than to get within three. The one area he was perfect was PATs, ending 2-2.
Scoring Summary
Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score 0 0 14 14 28 7 10 0 8 25
Time Team Result Play Score First Quarter 0:00 Touchdown E. Hayden, 9 yard pass from B. Stephens (D. Glover kick) Second Quarter 8:19 Touchdown E. Hayden, 8 yard pass from B. Stephens (D. Glover kick) 0:00 Field Goal D. Glover, 52 yard field goal Third Quarter 6:31 Touchdown D. Gray, 1 yard run (L. Ferguson kick) 0:34 Touchdown B. Christian, returned fumble 40 yards (L. Ferguson kick) Fourth Quarter 5:53 Touchdown B. Foster, 1 yard pass from D. Gray (L. Ferguson kick) 2:26 Touchdown E. Williams, 1 yard run (L. Ferguson kick) 1:02 Touchdown W. Oliver, 1 yard run (Two-point conversion good)
Game Stats
Rice Stat Tulsa 28 Score 25 17 First Downs 14 353 Total Offense 295 37 - 40 - 2 Rushes - Yards - TD 35 - 103 - 1 23 - 44 - 1 Comp - Att - TD 12 - 30 - 2 313 Passing Yards 192 2 Times Sacked 7 9 - 22 (40%) 3rd Down Conversion 2 - 14 (14%) 1 - 4 (25%) 4th Down Conversion 1 - 2 (50%) 0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 1 - 1 (100%) 6 - 2 - 0 (33%) Red Zone - TD - FG 5 - 3 - 0 (60%) 2 Turnovers 3 1 Fumbles Lost 1 1 Intercepted 2 17 Punt Return Yards 33 54 Kick Return Yards 55 424 Total Yards 383 6 – 46.2 Punts - Average 7 - 46.9 1 - 10 Penalties 5 - 45 16:30 Time of Possession 19:30
Tulsa Contract Goals Update
Fail Impact Goal Progress Pass Impact 21+ points per game in each season 22 Win 10 games in one season 6 3300+ passing yards each season 65% pass completions over the entire contract 59% Win 6 games in one season 15+ rushing TD in each season 2/4 Completed 3200+ total offensive yards each season 2912 3400+ total offensive yards each season 2912 Penalty Lost to a lower ranked team
Job Security Status
42%
Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame continues to defend their #1 ranking, beating Stanford 34-13. In candidate for upset of the week, Kentucky improves to 6-3 on the year with a 51-28 thrashing of #2 Mississippi State. In the game of the week, #3 Arkansas State keeps their BCS hopes alive, handing #14 BYU their first loss of the season, 38-31. Another candidate for upset of the week goes to 6-2 Michigan, who knocked off #4 Nebraska 31-24 in overtime. #7 Oklahoma had a bunch of trouble, needing 21 points in the fourth quarter to beat Iowa State 45-35. Northwestern knocks off #9 Iowa in overtime, 38-31.
#10 Miami fights off Pittsburgh 28-21. #11 Florida State edges out Wake Forest 28-21. #12 Virginia Tech scores a late touchdown to escape Boston College 34-27. #15 Arizona State had trouble in the first half, but pulled away for a 55-24 thumping of Washington State. #17 LSU holds on against Auburn 24-17. The winner of the upset of the week goes to 3-6 MTSU, who knocks off #18 Southern Miss 17-12, ruining the perfect season for the Golden Eagles. #19 Ohio State gets the job done against Indiana, 24-10. #20 Oklahoma State gets a 41-21 win over one-win Kansas. Arizona State wallops #21 Oregon 45-28. #22 Georgia Tech holds off Duke 20-13.
For our readers, souljahbill, #18 Southern Miss sees their perfect season implode, dropping to 7-1 (3-1 C-USA) with a 17-12 loss to 3-6 MTSU, the Golden Eagles only able to manage four field goals. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 3-6 (2-4 Pac-12) with a big 45-28 upset of #21 Oregon. Mors, West Virginia drops to 4-4 (3-2 Big 12), with a 31-30 loss to SMU, the Mustangs scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter, including the game winner with 52 seconds left in the game. Jeff, #19 Ohio State improves to 8-1 (6-0 Big Ten), picking up a 24-10 win over Indiana. Other teams of interest, #3 Arkansas State improves to 8-0 (3-0 Sun Belt) with a 38-31 win over previously unbeaten #14 BYU.
In C-USA action, Rice edges out Tulsa 28-25, Florida Atlantic improves to 2-7 with a shocking 31-23 upset of UTEP. Florida International wins a 49-42 shootout over UAB. UTSA gets a 38-21 win over Louisiana Tech, and MTSU pulls off one of the biggest upset of the week, stunning #18 Southern Miss 17-12.
With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, Marshall and Florida International (both 4-1) claim the top spot in the division, followed by #18 Southern Miss (3-1) and MTSU (2-3). Eliminate from contention are Florida Atlantic (1-4) and UAB (1-5). Over in the West Division, with FAU's uspet, Rice (4-1) is the new division leader, followed by UTEP (3-1) and Tulsa (3-2). Eliminated from contention are UTSA (2-4) and North Texas and Louisiana Tech (both 1-3).
Looking at undefeated teams left, with #2 Mississippi State, #14 BYU and #18 Southern Miss losing this week, that drops our number of undefeated teams to 2. #1 Notre Dame (8-0) and #3 Arkansas State (8-0) are the only teams remaining with an unblemished record this season.
Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. No more teams are searching for that first win, everyone will end the year with at least one victory.
Teams getting their first win this week were: New Mexico (38-14 over Western Carolina) and Tulane (42-28 over 1-8 Memphis).
Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (33 first place votes) remains #1. Arkansas State (28 votes) climbs one to #2. Georgia jumps two to #3, USC climbs two to #4 and Oklahoma moves up two to #5. Michigan State jumps two to #6, Miami climbs three to #7, Florida State moves up three to #8, Virginia Tech jumps three to #9 and Mississippi State falls eight to #10. Nebraska drops seven to #11, Alabama moves up one to #12, Arizona jumps two to #13, Virginia climbs two to #14 and LSU moves up two to #15. Despite losing, BYU only drops two to #16, Iowa falls eight to #17, Ohio State jumps one to #18, Oklahoma State moves up one to #19 and Kentucky enters the poll this week at #20. Georgia Tech climbs one to #21, Michigan re-enters the poll at #22, TCU remains #23, Northwestern enters the poll at #24 and Wisconsin drops one to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Southern Miss (from #18), Oregon (from #21) and Clemson (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Clemson (339 votes) is #26, followed by Texas (284), North Carolina (249), Texas Tech (197) and South Carolina (133) to round out the Top 30. Other teams also getting votes this week include Southern Miss (97), Houston (88), NC State (83) and Kansas State (2).
Looking at the new Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (42 first place votes) remains #1. Arkansas State (23 votes) climbs one to #2, USC jumps two to #3, Georgia moves up two to #4 and Oklahoma climbs two to #5. Michigan State moves up two to #6, Virginia jumps two to #7, Miami climbs three to #8, Virginia Tech jumps three to #9 and Mississippi State falls eight to #10. Nebraska drops seven to #11, Florida State moves up one to #12, Arizona jumps two to #13, Alabama climbs two to #14 and Michigan leaps ten to #15. BYU drops two to #16, LSU moves up one to #17, Oklahoma State jumps one to #18, Iowa falls nine to #19 and Ohio State remains stuck at #20. Georgia Tech remains #21, Kentucky enters the poll this week at #22, Wisconsin remains #23, TCU remains #24 and Northwestern enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Southern Miss (from #18) and Oregon (from #21). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Clemson (324 votes) is #26, followed by North Carolina (292), Texas (256), Texas Tech (142) and Southern Miss (116) to round out the Top 30. Other teams also getting votes this week include Houston (112), South Carolina (74) and NC State (25).
Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 Arkansas State (0.995), #3 Georgia (0.986), #4 USC (0.986), #5 Michigan State (0.973), #6 Oklahoma State (0.973), #7 Miami (0.965), #8 Mississippi State (0.951), #9 Florida State (0.951) and #10 Virginia (0.949).
Looking at the new Heisman watch, Georgia HB Joel Nolan remains #1 (LW: #1), followed by Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell at #2 (LW: #3), Virginia Tech HB Jay Smith at #3 (LW: #4), Arizona QB E.J. McCoy at #4 (LW: NR) and Michigan State QB Bo Wade at #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week were TCU QB Robert Henderson (LW: #2), and Ohio State QB Ryan Fraser (LW: #5).
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