Game Twelve

#13 #14



Game Notes

--- Coming to the close of another regular season, it was time to honor our seniors once more. Players appearing in front of the home crowd one final time included: QB Brad Stephens, HB Eric Silva, WR Eric Hayden, WR Jason Johnson, WR Kevin Jackson, TE Marcus Mullins, LG Kyle Alford, C Brett Hampton, RT Carl Meeks, LE Jason Williamson, LE Jason Jansen, RE Miguel Ramsey, RE Joel Johnson, DT Shaun Jackson, DT Devon Odom, LOLB Nick Harrison, MLB Anthony Clement, ROLB Graham Minor, CB Jonathan Chambers, CB Allen Moore, CB Caleb Miller, CB Andy Malone, FS Shaun Miller, FS Chad Butler, SS Darnell Turner and SS Courtney Jones for 26 players bringing their Tulsa careers to a close today.

Our opponent, #13 SMU, the only team remaining standing between us and a shot at a Big East title. The Mustangs have been an equally dominant team all season, entering with the #12 offense in the nation, putting up 472 yards/game. Their rush offense, better than our own, ranked #52 at 190.2 yards/game while their pass offense came in at #11 in the nation, airing it out for 281.7 yards/game. Their defense was decent, but not exactly special. Overall, the defense ranked #40 nationally, giving up 372 yards/game. Broken down, they ranked #22 in rushing defense (153.8 yards/game) while entering #65 in pass defense (218.2 yards/game). Either way, after our close game against East Carolina, we couldn’t afford any mistakes today or SMU would certainly be a team to make us pay for them. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 20 yard kickoff return got SMU lined up from their 18 yard line to start the game. Anthony Key to things started with a 5 yard rush, but that would be all the success SMU would see, as a dropped pass by Josh McNeal and a pass from Erik Woods intended for Sean Smith brought the drive to a quick halt. A 7 yard return by Jason Johnson on the 46 yard punt got us on the field at our 38 yard line.

The SMU defense wasn’t messing around on first down, tackling Will Oliver for a one yard gain. Oliver would recover with a 9 yard rush to leave us with third and inches. Oliver would just barely manage to get the first down, officially recorded as a rush for no gain, but getting the ball to the line for a first down at the 48 yard line. Continuing with the ground game, Oliver picked up four yards on first down. Rushing for a four yard gain on second down, the result by Oliver was wasted as a holding penalty on Pat Ross left us instead facing second and 16. Lining up in the shotgun on second down, the pass over the middle intended for Ryan Lewis was off the mark, sailing past behind Lewis’ back to bring up third and very long. Brad Stephens would complete a pass on third down to Joe Vaughn for a 15 yard gain, but a quick tackle by the cornerback brought him down where he caught the ball, leaving us punting on fourth and one. A touchback on the punt got SMU back in action from their 20 yard line.

Key got the drive started with a four yard rush, followed by a four yard completion to Smith, but an incomplete pass on third and two would end SMU’s drive with little success. An 8 yard return by Johnson on the 42 yard punt gave us back the ball at our 37 yard line.

Oliver started the drive with a 6 yard gain, but a second holding penalty, this time on tight end Marcus Mullins, pushed us backwards, facing first and 20. To add insult to injury, a tackle on the play that saw Oliver go airborne, twisting through the air before landing on the ground, left Oliver limping off the field. A medical diagnosis revealed that Oliver had suffered a PCL sprain, leaving him sidelined for two quarters. Taking over in the backfield on first down, Eric Silva could only gain one yard on the carry. The second down pass intended for Lewis was nearly intercepted, leaving third and 19. Trying to hit Johnson deep over the middle, the pass sailed long and incomplete, leaving us punting on fourth and 19. A four yard return on the 47 yard punt gave SMU possession at their 29 yard line.

The Mustangs came out passing on first down, and nearly had a big play, but Key dropped the ball at the last moment. Keeping the ball on the ground on second down, Key was able to rush for an 8 yard gain, before picking up 5 yards on the ground to get a first down at the 41. A first down pass to Alex Noel was completed for a one yard gain, followed by a 5 yard completion to Pat Sims, leaving third and 6. Key would try to get the job done on the ground, but would fail, tackled for a three yard loss to leave the punt team coming out on fourth and 6. A fair catch by Johnson on the 45 yard punt left us starting from our 10 yard line.

Silva took the ball on first down, trying to pick up some yards, but a blitz by the SMU defense left him cornered and tackled for no gain. Lining up under center on second down, Stephens dropped back to pass. That was the end of the good things that happened on this play, as the pocket quickly collapse, leaving Stephens scrambling to his left trying to avoid a sack. He was able to get back to the line of scrimmage, before two defenders closed on him and initiated a tackle, the ball getting knocked loose on the hit. Defensive tackle Tremaine Moss disengaged from his tackle attempt on Stephens and scooped up the fumble, moon walking the 9 yards into the end zone for a touchdown, giving SMU a 7-0 lead with 1:20 left in the first quarter.

A 23 yard kickoff return by Johnson gave us the ball at our 28 yard line, looking to recover from the hole we had dug ourselves. Silva never had a chance at true yardage on the first down carry, tackled at the line of scrimmage and falling forward for a one yard gain to leave second and 9. Dropping back on second down, Stephens was again unable to get a pass off, though thankfully he held onto the ball this time, sacked for a 6 yard loss to leave third and 15. We wouldn’t get another snap off as the first quarter came to an end, SMU leading 7-0.

Opening up the second quarter, Stephens found Carl Barnes out of the tight end position for a 10 yard gain, but it wouldn’t be enough as the defense converged and brought him down, leaving us punting once more on fourth and 5. A four yard return on the 50 yard punt gave SMU the ball at their 21 yard line.

Key started the drive with a one yard rush, but the Mustangs would quickly go backwards thanks to a holding penalty, leaving them with second and 19. A loss of one yard on a scramble by Woods and an incomplete pass intended for Zach Jones would continue the battle of which offense could suck more, SMU punting on fourth and 20. A fair catch by Johnson on the 48 yard punt gave us our best field position yet, starting at the 41 yard line.

Handing the ball off to Silva on first down, he could only gain two yards on the play, leaving us facing second and 8. Coming out on second down with a play action pass called, Stephens was nearly sacked on the play, dumping the ball as he was hit for an incomplete pass intended for the 40 yard line, bringing up third and 8. Trying to hit Lewis over the middle on third down, the pass from Stephens was broken up by the middle linebacker, as we wasted away our great field position and the battle of punters continued. A 10 yard return on the 42 yard punt got SMU lined up at their 24 yard line.

Key got the drive started for SMU with a pair of rushes for 5 and 10 yard gains, picking up a first down at the 39 yard line. That would be as far as SMU would advance, two incomplete passes and a dropped ball by Key ending the drive on fourth and 10. A big 21 yard return by Johnson on the 49 yard punt got us started at our 32 yard line for the next drive.

Silva took the ball on first down, but was quickly brought down for a one yard gain. Stephens would keep the ball himself on second down, sprinting around the right tackle for a gain of four yards, leaving us facing third and 5. A quick pass over the middle to Barnes would go for a gain of 11 yards, giving us only our second first down of the game at our 48 yard line. Giving Silva the ball on first down, he was able to fight his way to a 9 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard rush to get another first down at the SMU 37. Silva was able to spin his way off a tackle at the line of scrimmage, but lost his balance in doing so, falling forward for a 5 yard gain to set up second and 5. Silva would receive the handoff on second down, sprinting through a hole for a 6 yard gain and a first down at the 27. Shaking off one tackle in the backfield, Silva managed to pick up three yards on the first down play, before plowing over one defender and rumbling his way clear down to the 5 yard line for a 19 yard rush, giving us first and goal. Silva took the ball on first down, fighting his way to a four yard gain to the one yard line. Silva appeared to bust into the end zone on second down, but a tackle by the safety rolled him to his right, bringing him down on his side at the goal line, the ball just inches away to leave third and goal. Silva was unable to get the job done on his third try, brought down by the blitzing middle linebacker for a one yard loss to leave fourth and goal at the one yard line. We called timeout with 6 seconds left in the half, lining up for a field goal. The 18 yard kick by Derek Glover was good, cutting SMU’s lead down to 7-3 with three seconds remaining.

A 13 yard return on the kickoff would run out the clock and take us into halftime, SMU leading 7-3.

Opening up the second half, Johnson returned the kickoff 20 yards out to our 22 yard line to start the third quarter. Finally returning to the starting lineup, Oliver came in and picked up 5 yards on his first carry of the drive, followed by a 7 yard rush to get the first down at the 34 yard line. Oliver kept punching away at the defense, finding the tiniest of holes and riding it all the way to a 14 yard rush, moving the chains to the 47 yard line. Keeping the ground assault going, Oliver managed to break free from an ankle tackle and rumble his way to a 10 yard gain, leaving second and inches, upon which our offensive line put the entire defense line on their backs, allowing Oliver to freely bust up the middle for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the SMU 31 yard line. The defense wasn’t about to just roll over and play dead however, as Oliver was held up for a three yard gain, followed by a three yard carry by Silva to leave us with third and four. Stephens tried to needle a pass in to Barnes on third down, but the outside linebacker was able to get a hand on the ball, leaving fourth and four. Glover would line up for the 41 yard field goal, but shanked the kick wide right, giving SMU back the ball at their 24 yard line with 4:46 left in the third quarter.

The Mustangs came out firing on first down as E. Woods rifled a pass toBrandon Woods for an 18 yard pickup and a first down at the 43. A 6 yard rush by E. Woods was followed with another pass to B. Woods for a gain of two, leaving third and two at midfield. E. Woods would convert with a three yard rush to move the chains to our 47 yard line. After a dropped pass on first down by Nick Rawlins, Key rushed for a 7 yard gain, followed by a huge 14 yard carry, giving SMU a first down at our 25 yard line. A 6 yard rush by Rawlins was followed with a 15 yard completion to Noel, and the Mustangs found themselves with first and goal at our three yard line. Key would punch it in on first down for a three yard touchdown, giving SMU a 14-3 lead with 2:30 left in the third quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave us the ball at our 25 yard line, looking to make up the damage. Oliver took the ball on first down, and nearly broke into the open, but a desperation tackle by the safety brought him down for “only” a gain of 14 yards and a first down at the 39. Running play action pass on first down, Stephens was forced to dump the ball off to Silva to avoid a sack, the pass going for a three yard gain. Lining up under center on second down, Stephens dropped back and somehow fired off a pass directly over the head of the outside linebacker and into the hands of Barnes for a 13 yard gain, moving the chains to the SMU 45. Lining up in the shotgun, Stephens threw a deep pass over the middle to Johnson for a 30 yard pickup, the safety tackling him at the ankles to save the touchdown and instead give us a first down at the 15 yard line. Throwing to Lewis on a slant route, he was able to get into an open patch of grass behind the linebackers, hauling in the pass for a 15 yard touchdown, cutting SMU’s lead down to 14-10 with 42 seconds left in the third quarter.

A 14 yard kickoff return got SMU started at their 15 yard line. It was a poor start as Key was brought down for a three yard loss, followed by an incomplete pass to leave the Mustangs with third and 13. Woods would try his best to save the drive with his arm, but his pass to Jones netted only a 7 yard gain, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth and 6. A fair catch by Johnson on the 48 yard punt would give us back the ball at our 32 yard line. The punt would also bring the third quarter to a close, SMU hanging on to a 14-10 lead.

Opening up the fourth quarter at our 32 yard line, Oliver took the handoff on first down, getting a pair of blocks downfield before being tripped up by the safety, spinning his way to the ground for a 19 yard rush and a first down at the SMU 49. A two yard rush by Oliver was followed with a pass to Vaughn for 18 yards, moving the chains to the SMU 29. Oliver took the handoff on first down, but was brought down for no gain on the play. Dropping back on second down, Stephens was able to dump a pass over the outside linebacker to Vaughn for a 22 yard gain, putting us SMU’s doorstep with first and goal from the 7 yard line. Oliver received the handoff on first down, picking up four yards on the play, before getting thrown around like a ragdoll for a two yard loss, giving us third and goal at the 5 yard line. Dropping back from the shotgun, Stephens fired a pass to Silva along the right sideline, but the defense would manage to shove Silva out of bounds for only a three yard gain, leaving fourth and goal at the two. We would settle for the sure points, Glover kicking a 19 yard field goal to further cut SMU’s lead down to 14-13 with 4:48 left in the game.

A 21 yard kickoff return got SMU back on the field at their 23 yard line to try and close things out. An incomplete pass would end up followed by disaster for SMU, Key fumbling the ball during a rush on second down, safety Darnell Turner diving on top of the loose football to recover the fumble for us at the SMU 28 yard line.

Taking over after the fumble recovery, Oliver went right back to work on the ground with a 6 yard rush, followed by a two yard gain to leave third and two. Third time would prove a charm for Oliver as he broke free for a 9 yard rush, giving us a first down at the 11 yard line. Oliver took the handoff on first down, but was stood up for only a two yard gain, leaving second and 8. A dumped pass to Silva to avoid a sack ended up in Silva being tackled for a one yard loss, leaving third and 9 from the 10 yard line, just 1:38 left on the clock. An incomplete pass on third down left the field goal unit coming out to try and win the game on fourth down. Fate would bite us squarely in the ass, Glover kicking the 27 yard field goal and clanking the ball off the left goddamn upright. The failed field goal gave SMU the ball back at their 20 yard line, 1:14 away from victory.

Key took the ball on first down for a two yard gain, our second timeout taken with 1:10 left. Woods followed with a two yard gain of his own, leaving third and 6, our final timeout called with 1:07 left to play. We would catch our biggest break of the game as the third down pass intended for McNeal was batted incomplete, freezing the clock with 1:04 to go. A fair catch by Johnson on the 48 yard punt got us lined up for one last hope at our 27 yard line, 58 seconds remaining.

Firing the ball off on first down, Stephens found Lewis for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 40 yard line. Keeping the attack going, Stephens hit Johnson deep for a 29 yard gain and another first down at the SMU 30 yard line, 45 seconds to go. We would end up going backwards from there, as a pair of 7 yard sacks by the defense left us with third and 24 from the 44 yard line. The third down pass to Harper was initially caught, but broken up as he was speared by the safety, the middle linebacker nearly intercepting the ball as it fell to the ground. It all came down to this one play, fourth and 24, 13 seconds left on the clock. Our fourth down chance would end in failure as the defense sacked Stephens for a third time, this time for an 8 yard loss. While the ball would officially be turned over on downs at our 48 yard line, the clock expired as Stephens was brought down on the play, ending the game and handing SMU a 14-13 victory.

With the depressing loss, we drop to 10-2, 7-1 in Big East action and potentially lose out on spot in the Big East Championship game. With the win, #13 SMU improves to 11-1, 7-1 in Big East play. Up next, the wait to see how far we’ll fall in the polls, to see if we made the Big East CCG, and to see what bowl game we’ll end up dropping to.



Final Score
#13 14, #14 13



Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A decent day for Stephens, going 13-20 for 180 yard and one touchdown. But 5 sacks partially ruined the game for us. Rushing, Oliver, despite missing most of the first half, led the way with 121 yards on 20 carries. Silva ended with 61 yards on 15 rushes. Receiving, Johnson led with 59 yards on two receptions. Lewis has 28 yards and a touchdown on two receptions. In all, only five receivers caught a pass, four ended with double digit yards.

- Tulsa Defense – For the most part dominant. Only bad moment was during SMU's touchdown drive in the third quarter.

- Tulsa Kicking – Absolutely pathetic. His ass would be getting cut next season. Went 2-4 in field goals, making from 18 and 20 yards out, but missing from 41 yards and a potential game-winning kick from 27 yards out that he clanked off the left upright. He did at least managed to go 1-1 in PATs, but I'm still pissed at him.



Scoring Summary

Team 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final Score
7 0 7 0 14
0 3 7 3 13


Time Team Result Play Score
First Quarter
1:20 Touchdown T. Moss, returned fumble 9 yards (S. Sanders kick) 7-0
Second Quarter
0:03 Field Goal D. Glover, 18 yard field goal 7-3
Third Quarter
2:30 Touchdown A. Key, 3 yard run (S. Sanders kick) 14-3
0:42 Touchdown R. Lewis, 15 yard pass from B. Stephens (D. Glover kick) 14-10
Fourth Quarter
4:48 Field Goal D. Glover, 20 yard field goal 14-13




Game Stats

SMU Stat Tulsa
14 Score 13
6 First Downs 17
131 Total Offense 340
18 - 73 - 1 Rushes - Yards - TD 40 - 160 - 0
8 - 20 - 0 Comp - Att - TD 13 - 20 - 1
58 Passing Yards 180
0 Times Sacked 5
3 - 10 (30%) 3rd Down Conversion 3 - 11 (27%)
0 - 0 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 0 - 0 (0%)
0 - 0 (0%) 2-Point Conv 0 - 0 (0%)
3 - 1 - 0 (33%) Red Zone - TD - FG 6 - 1 - 2 (50%)
1 Turnovers 1
1 Fumbles Lost 1
0 Intercepted 0
18 Punt Return Yards 36
68 Kick Return Yards 43
217 Total Yards 419
7 – 47.4 Punts - Average 4 - 46.0
1 - 10 Penalties 2 - 20
12:33 Time of Possession 23:27




Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact Goal Progress Pass Impact
21+ points per game in each season 44
Win 10 games in one season
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
3200+ total offensive yards each season
3400+ total offensive yards each season



Job Security Status

90%