Tulsa
UTEP (C-USA)
Tulsa Drops Tight Game against Miners, 41-38
11/6/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 6, 2005
El Paso, Texas - Tulsa and UTEP fought toe-and-toe for the full 60 minutes on Saturday night, but the Miners pulled out a 41-38 victory in front of a crowd of 49,160 fans at Sun Bowl Stadium. UTEP scored the final 10 points in a game that was tied five times.
UTEP takes over first place in Conference USA's West Division with a 5-1 league mark and improved to 7-1 on the season, while Tulsa dropped to 5-4 overall and 4-2 in Conference play
Tulsa's first 10 points in the game came off of two UTEP turnovers.
The Hurricane defense had two takeaways on UTEP's first two possessions with interceptions by Julian McGowan and Brandon Lohr. Tulsa couldn't convert on the first takeaway but took Lohr's interception eight yards in three plays for a 7-0 lead with 10:31 remaining in the first half.
The Miners wasted little time in evening the score 7-7, going 62 yards in four plays. Tulsa took UTEP's third turnover and converted it into a 40-yard Brad DeVault field goal with just over five minutes to play in the first quarter,
Tulsa took a 17-7 lead at the 2:18 mark of the first quarter on a six-yard Uril Parrish run, capping a five-play, 60-yard drive. Tarrion Adams' 39-yard reception was the key play of the drive for the Hurricane.
UTEP scored the first points of the second quarter with a Reagan Schneider 37-yard field, as the Tulsa defense stuffed the Miners at the 15-yard line. Tulsa then took its possession 80 yards in 11 plays to the UTEP one-yard line before fumbling into the end zone and suffering its first turnover of the game.
The Miners tied the score 17-17 on a 64-yard interception return for a touchdown with 4:33 left in the game. The Hurricane answered just before intermission at the 0:09 mark with a 78-yard, 14-play drive, capped by a six-yard Paul Smith pass to Idris Moss to put Tulsa ahead 24-17 at halftime.
At halftime, Tulsa held a 248 to 131-yard advantage in total offense, while also holding a 17:35 to 12:25 edge in possession time. The Hurricane gained 169 yards passing and 79 yards on the ground.
UTEP took its opening second-half possession 76 yards in 12 plays to tie the score at 24-24. The Hurricane responded with a 12-play drive of its own, going 80 yards and culminating in Parrish's second touchdown of the game, this time the TD came on a one-yard plunge.
Miners opened the fourth quarter just like they opened the third period, scoring a touchdown on a five-play, 69-yard drive, as Marcus Thomas had a 21-yard run to cap the drive.
Once again, the Hurricane equaled UTEP's scoring drive with one of its own, as Tulsa marched 69 yards in 12 plays. Brandon Diles scored Tulsa's fourth rushing touchdown of the game with a six-yard run.
UTEP knotted the score at 38-38 with 3:41 left in the game, scoring on an eight-play, 70-yard drive.
