Sports writer Joe McCurdy covers Tulsa’s homecoming matchup against SMU
It was homecoming week for Tulsa athletics, with the main event being the matchup between Tulsa and the SMU Mustangs. This was set to be the 29th meeting between the two schools, with Tulsa winning the previous two meetings against the Mustangs but SMU winning the all-time matchup 16 to 13. The last time these two teams played was in 2021 and Tulsa was one win away from clinching a bowl game and SMU was the team that gave it to them, so this has been a long-awaited rematch. Historically, this rivalry matchup has been one for the ages, with five of the last six games being won by a one-possession score or less.
Tulsa was coming off a big win over Temple after a bye week and SMU had just lost an extremely close game to the Cincinnati Bearcats. Tulsa was looking to build on its momentum from the Temple win and SMU was looking to bounce back after their loss to Cincinnati.
SMU wasted no time in getting the offense started, scoring a 75-yard receiving touchdown on the first play of the game and scoring once again in their second possession, getting to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Slow starts have plagued Tulsa’s season and that didn’t change at all in this game, with Tulsa punting three times in the first quarter and only scoring a single touchdown in the first half. SMU didn’t have that problem, however, putting up 24 points in the first half with a second-string quarterback under center.
It was looking dire for Tulsa as historically, the team that came out fast in the first half would inevitably win. Tulsa tried their best to forge a comeback in the second half, scoring on their first two possessions, but the Tulsa defense could not put together a stop, allowing SMU to once again score twice to start the second half. When a team finds themselves down late in a must-win game, the ball starts getting forced to try and make big plays, and that’s when mistakes are made. Tulsa turned the ball over twice in the second half, which led to seven SMU points. To make matters worse, Tulsa’s starting QB Davis Brin was out the entire fourth quarter after getting hit hard during a rushing touchdown which led to red-shirt freshman Braylon Braxton to once again fill in for an injured Brin.
Finding themselves down 27-45 at the start of the fourth quarter, big plays had to be made in order to mount some sort of comeback. Tulsa went directly to their star playmaker Keylon Stokes, scoring a 50-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the 4th quarter. Tulsa’s defense proceeded to step up forcing a fumble that led to yet another Tulsa touchdown. It started to look like there was hope in Chapman Stadium as another three-and-out from SMU meant that Tulsa had the chance to cut the lead to one possession and possibly tie the game. But it was too little too late as Zach Long proceeded to miss a 44-yard field goal that would’ve put Tulsa within eight and on the following possession, Tulsa turned it over on downs, ending any sort of comeback hopes for the Golden Hurricane, losing 45-34.
Tulsa falls to 3-5 on the year and 1-3 in conference play with only four games left in the season. Tulsa will need to win three out of four of their final games if they wish to become bowl eligible for the third year in a row. The road to those six wins is far from easy, as Tulsa faces #19 Tulane on Saturday before going on the road against Memphis.
