Miracle on 11th Street II
10/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
September 22, 1996
Tulsa, Okla. - IT HAS BEEN five years since the "Miracle on 11th Street," Tulsa's historic upset of 15th- ranked Texas A&M.
The sequel arrived Saturday night.
TU beat a ranked team for the first time since, handing 19th- ranked Iowa a 27-20 shocker before 27,788 fans in the home opener at Skelly Stadium.
The Golden Hurricane rediscovered its passing game, came up with two big defensive stands in the shadow of the goal line in the final 7:17 and staged one of the biggest ambushes in school history.
Tulsa entered at 0-2 and had lost six straight games dating to last season. The Golden Hurricane had played ugly in its first two games and fan sentiment was turning sour.
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But Tulsa forced the pendulum to swing in the opposite direction with 17 unanswered points. TU had scored just one touchdown all season, but drove for two TDs in the third quarter to take a 10- point lead.
Iowa got within a touchdown on Zach Bromert's 26-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter.
At that point, the Golden Hurricane ran out of offense, but stiffened on defense.
With 7:17 left, Iowa drove to TU's 10. On fourth and five, safety Terrance Joseph batted down an end zone pass intended for Tim Dwight.
Then, with 3:11 left, the Hawkeyes drove to TU's 9. On fourth and five, linebacker Rich Young broke free and harassed Iowa quarterback Matt Sherman into an incompletion.
TU milked the clock until just 26 seconds remained, then made a final defensive stand. Iowa took over at its 45 following Kirk Myrick's 51-yard punt, but two straight incompletions were followed by a short pass to Richard Carter, who tried to lateral to a teammate as time expired.
It was no fluke. Tulsa outgained Iowa 464 yards to 365 and played flawlessly except for two turnovers -- an interception that set up a Hawkeye field goal and a fumble at Iowa's 23.
TU also outgained Iowa in two previous meetings (1989 and 1993), but came up on the short end of 30-22 and 26-25 defeats. This time, the Golden Hurricane drove inside Iowa's 10 on six occasions and inside the 25 on another.
John Fitzgerald, starting for the first time since he was a true freshman in 1994, completed 22 of 38 passes for 353 yards.
"John's best game is yet to come," said TU coach Dave Rader. "John was good tonight, but he'll be better."
By the first series of the second quarter, Fitzgerald threw for more yards than TU had thrown for in either of its first two games.
"I think that this win will help our guys' confidence level tremendously," said Rader. "I knew we had some great players on this football team. It was just a matter of time before we put everything together and performed up to our capabilities."
Down 17-10 in the second quarter, Tulsa exploded for 17 unanswered points.
A 14-point third quarter put the Golden Hurricane in the driver's seat for good. TU used big plays to uncork drives of 80 and 65 yards.
The 80-yard excursion consisted of just four plays, including a 59-yard pass from Fitzgerald to Damon Savage (with downfield blocking by tight end Tony Fisher). Reggie Williams bulled over from the 8.
On the other third-quarter scoring drive, Tulsa faced third and 22 at the Iowa 47. But Fitzgerald found Caswell just shy of the first-down sticks and Caswell sprinted downfield for a 31-yard gain. Three runs by Williams gave TU a first and goal at the 1 and Solomon White scored on the next play.
After that, it was a matter of the defense bending and not breaking.
"We've just got to lock it down with a fullcourt press," said linebacker Muadianvita Kazadi.
Iowa opened the game with an 80-yard touchdown drive. The Hawkeyes threw -- and completed -- just one pass. Sherman's 45-yard pass to Damon Gibson gave Iowa a first and goal at the 9. Sedrick Shaw ran eight yards for a score on second down.
Tulsa retaliated by scoring on each of its first two possessions.
Fitzgerald hit Mark Lippe and Savage with passes of 21 and 28 yards to spark a 44-yard drive that resulted in James Anderson's 37-yard field goal.
