Sports writer Tommy Reid discusses TU’s hard loss on Friday.
On Friday evening, Tulsa played their third home game of the season, and their opponent was the Houston Cougars. While it looked like Houston was off to a very strong start by scoring a touchdown on the opening kickoff, it was ultimately pulled back due to a penalty. Despite an opening drive down the field, the Cougars were only able to make two first downs and then were forced to punt the ball. Tulsa began their opening drive on their own 20-yard line, were unable to convert a single first down and ended up punting the ball back to Houston. The Cougars responded by driving 81 yards down the field and scoring the first points of the game with a one-yard touchdown run. While Tulsa was finally able to achieve a first down on their second possession, that was all they were able to achieve. Houston responded by scoring yet another touchdown bringing their lead to 14-0 over Tulsa. In the middle of Tulsa’s next run, the first quarter ended with the Cougars on top of the Golden Hurricane by fourteen points.
Houston recovered a fumble from Tulsa to begin the second quarter and responded with a 27-yard touchdown run giving them a 21-0 lead. Tulsa was not able to make much advancement on their next drive as Houston intercepted a pass from Davis Brin to regain control of the ball on Tulsa’s 40-yard line. That drive ended with another touchdown for the Cougars giving them a 28-0 lead over Tulsa. Tulsa’s next drive was a repeat of their previous drive as, once again, David Brin’s pass was intercepted, giving Houston the ball. The Golden Hurricane finally began to appear to switch the momentum of the game as Jaise Oliver intercepted a Houston pass in the endzone, giving Tulsa its first interception of the game. While they drove 65 yards down the field, they ended up only being able to convert a field goal bringing the score to 28-3. This is what it would be going into the halftime break.
Coming out of the break, Houston scored yet another touchdown when they intercepted a pass from Davis Brin and ran it back 45 yards to give the Cougars the 35-3 advantage. The remainder of the third quarter was uneventful, as both teams punted on their next drive and Tulsa turned over on downs.
To begin the fourth quarter, Houston scored a touchdown, increasing their lead to 42-3. On Houston’s next possession, they attempted the first field goal of the game, but missed it wide right. Tulsa responded by driving 72 yards down the field and scoring their first touchdown of the game when Brin had a 41 yard completion to Ezra Naylor II bringing the score to 42-10. The next drive, Houston advanced down the field but was held to a 48 yard field goal, giving them a 45-10 lead. Tulsa was forced to punt on their next drive, as was Houston. This brought an end to the game with Houston winning by a score of 45-10.
Tulsa will be back in action next Saturday evening for their homecoming game against the SMU Mustangs. Kickoff is at 8:00 p.m. at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
