ESPN’s visit to the University of Tulsa, and the Golden Hurricane fall short on the final play.
Tulsa, Oklahoma — The University of North Texas defeated Tulsa football 45-44 in an overtime classic on Thursday night, in the much-anticipated conference opener that was preceded by ESPN’s airing of their flagship television program, SportsCenter, from the Allen Chapman Student Union.
Excitement ran high on campus this week as Tulsa prepared to host North Texas in its first conference game of the season. Sophomore quarterback Baylor Hayes, a fan favorite who played a key role in the win over OSU, was announced as the starter in the hours leading up to kickoff, marking his return from a two-game absence following a knee injury he sustained playing Sam Houston State. His re-emergence brought optimism that an offense which struggled to get going in Fayetteville could regain its rhythm.
Another prominent pregame storyline was the rebuilding of the North Texas football program under first-year head coach Neal Brown. In 2025, the Mean Green ran the nation’s best offense, statistically, behind star quarterback Drew Mestemaker and running back Caleb Hawkins. They averaged 512 yards and a jaw-dropping 53 points per game en route to a 12-2 record and a conference championship game appearance. After the season, however, head coach Eric Morris took Mestmayer, most of his staff and 20 players with him to Oklahoma State, where they ironically lost to Tulsa. Brown, meanwhile, was tasked with rebuilding a program that would see 37 players and nearly all its offensive production exit via the transfer portal. He brought in veteran quarterback Tayven Jackson, who had made previous stops at Tennessee, Indiana and Central Florida, to anchor his new UNT offense as a proven commodity with starting experience. After a drubbing at the hands of reigning national champion Indiana, the Mean Green rolled to a 44-6 win over Nevada-Las Vegas, a preseason favorite to compete for the group of six playoff bid, and carried a 2-2 record into Tulsa on Thursday.
Adding to the pregame atmosphere was the fact that SportsCenter was making its second trip to TU in two years. The show made a previous stop in Tulsa on Nov. 14, 2024, before another Thursday night game that ultimately led to the firing of then-head coach Kevin Wilson. Anchored by ESPN commentators Matt Barrie and Chase Daniel, the show drew a large crowd: the Sound of the Golden Hurricane, the spirit squad and a host of other students with Tulsa-themed signs lined up behind the set in the hope of appearing on national television. “It’s just really cool to be on ESPN — that’s a very rare thing here — and have a front row seat to all of that,” said senior Trenton Dively, one of Tulsa’s Chaos Student Section leaders. “A lot of fun and a lot of school spirit going on, and it’s a good time, good community building — like I said, it’s cool to be on TV.”
Daniel, a former All-American quarterback at Missouri, 14-year NFL veteran and Super Bowl champion, was excited for the occasion as well. “I think the biggest part for coming to Tulsa — first of all, I’ve never been — is just to see the support out here for SportsCenter on campus, and then to host a nationally televised game tonight,” he said. “Love Tre Lamb, excited to see Baylor Hayes play, so [I’m] looking forward to it.”
Though the game started slowly, with the two teams combining for just 19 yards and three punts, things picked up with a 15 play, 66 yard, seven minute drive that put UNT on the board towards the end of the first quarter. Tulsa answered with a 12 play drive resulting in a Hayes touchdown run, which sent the Chaos Student Section, packed with students undeterred by the prospect of classes the next morning, into a frenzy. Five plays later, junior edge rusher Kyran Duhon swatted the ball from the hands of Jackson, and it was recovered deep in North Texas territory by senior Arias Nash. Hayes and company capitalized on the turnover with Javon Ross, a junior wide receiver, making a ridiculous catch in the corner of the end zone on the very next play to put Tulsa on top 14-3. Momentum continued to build when the Tulsa defense stuffed a fake field goal attempt at their 22-yard line, but that was as far as the pendulum got before swinging the other way in a hurry. After a three-and-out, UNT scored in just over two minutes to cut the lead to four points. Just before halftime, however, Jackson was picked off by Thomas Davis, and Tulsa capitalized again, with Owen Carey knocking in a 45 yard field goal to make it 17-10.
The third quarter was all North Texas. The Mean Green struck with lightning speed to open the second half. A six play, 75 yard TD drive was followed by an 84 yard run by UNT tailback Jahiem White, after which a short TD pass from Jackson to Kyle Koch had UNT in the lead before some fans had even returned to their seats. A stunned crowd watched as, after another three-and-out, Jackson led a three play, 57 yard scoring drive in just over a minute with deadly precision, running an offense that operated with jet tempo for most of the second half. Trailing 31-17 after the blink of an eye, Hayes responded by leading a touchdown drive of his own, capped by a ridiculous juggling catch by Oregon State transfer David Wells Jr. to pull TU back within a score. Several minutes later, with just eight remaining in the game, Hayes finished off a 13 play, 85 yard drive with another TD pass to Wells to tie the game. UNT responded as they had throughout the game: by running a breakneck, no huddle offense which took them down the field in 92 seconds to take the lead yet again on Jackson’s fourth touchdown pass. The Mean Green played better football for much of the game, controlling the tempo and outgaining Tulsa 559 yards to 352 thanks to the two-headed monster of Jackson and White, who ran for a career high 219 yards. The Golden Hurricane, meanwhile, had little success running the ball for the second week in a row, but kept themselves in it by playing a clean game. They made up for an abysmal 3-17 tally on third down by going 5-5 on fourth down, and by capitalizing on nine penalties, three turnovers and the fake field goal attempt by UNT. The last of those turnovers came with just 2:38 remaining. On third and 13, Jackson was intercepted by JD Drew, setting up the offense with a short field. Hayes sent the game to overtime with his second rushing touchdown of the game to tie it at 38-38.
Tulsa opted to begin overtime on defense, and promptly gave up a 22-yard pass which set up Jackson for a short TD run. UNT then kicked the extra point to take a 45-38 lead. Backs against the wall, Hayes and the offense came through one more time, converting a fourth and six on a slant to Wells, before Damari Alston punched it into the end zone. Then came decision time. Tulsa head coach Tre Lamb opted to attempt a two-point conversion instead of kicking, making for a single, all or nothing play from the three yard line. Hayes handed off to Oran Singleton Jr, who was brought down by UNT defensive backs Payton Taylor and Udoka Ezeani, and was initially ruled short of the end zone. A lengthy review left fans waiting with baited breath for the decision, but it did not favor the Golden Hurricane, which ended up just a few inches away from a victory that would have been a defining moment of the Tre Lamb era. A short altercation ensued: several North Texas players ran towards the student section and flung bottles of water and gatorade into the crowd, who retaliated with drinks and popcorn thrown onto the field, but the visiting team was ushered into the tunnel before any major incident could take place.
It was a deflating loss for a Tulsa team. In a game where UNT was a very slight favorite, they looked convincingly better on both sides of the ball, and moved up and down the field at will. The positive takeaway for Tulsa fans, however, is that this team made it clear that the Golden Hurricane will play hard to the very end. “It was a brilliant example of our fighting TU spirit,” said Tulsa Student Government President Bruce Bigler, who attended the game, “and even though it didn’t go our way, I’m proud of our performance and think it bodes well for our future.” The Golden Hurricane are back in action next week, still looking for their first conference win when they travel to Navy on Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff, televised on CBS Sports Network.
