Tulsa
Southern Miss
Tulsa Surges Past Southern Miss, 20-6
10/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 3, 2006
Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery
Tulsa, Okla. -
Tulsa, Oklahoma -- Paul Smith threw for 201 yards and ran for a touchdown and Courtney Tennial rushed for 120 yards in his first career start as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane opened Conference USA action with a 20-6 victory over Southern Miss on Tuesday night in front of a national television audience on ESPN2 and 20,625 fans at Skelly Stadium.
Tulsa, the defending Conference USA Champions, improved to 4-1 on the year and begins league play 1-0.
Tennial, who transferred from Oklahoma, fumbled in the first quarter to end a Tulsa drive in the red zone, but finished with 21 carries, two more than he had over the first four games combined. Smith finished 16-of-25 without an interception.
USM's Damion Fletcher ran for 95 yards on 18 carries in the first half, but Southern Miss went away from the talented freshman tailback after halftime. Fletcher, whose 122.8-yard rushing average ranked eighth in the nation, ended up with 112 yards on 25 carries, being held to 17 second-half yards.
Tulsa opened the game by scoring on its first possession of the game on a 59-yard run by Cauvey Jackson, capping the four-play, 76-yard drive.
On the next possession, the Hurricane went 37 yards to the Southern Miss 13-yard line when Tulsa suffered its first fumble lost of the season. The Hurricane came into the season ranked first nationally in fewest fumbles lost.
After the fumble, Southern Miss traveled 67 yards in 14 plays as Darren McCaleb kicked a 36-yard field goal to cut Tulsa's lead to 7-3.
Southern Miss reserve quarterback Stephen Reaves came into the lineup and guided the Golden Eagles on a 71-yard drive before halftime, cutting into the Hurricane lead, 7-6, on a 29-yard McCaleb field goal. Reaves completed 5-of-8 passes on the drive for 57 yards.
At intermission, the Hurricane held a slight 213 to 184-yard advantage while gaining 128 yards in the first quarter on just 12 plays for a 10.7 average per attempt. Southern Miss controlled the ball for 17:27 of the first half, compared to Tulsa's 12:33 time of possession.
The two teams battled to a scoreless third quarter, as Tulsa gained 119 yards on 18 plays, while Southern Miss gained just 19 yards on 10 plays. Tulsa held possession of the ball for 10:44 of the third period wearing down the Southern Miss
Tulsa broke its two period scoring drought on the first possession of the fourth quarter, and added another touchdown late in the period, Tulsa's first score came as Smith ran the final seven yards of a 48-yard scoring drive, but the extra point attempt by Jarod Tracy went wide right, giving Tulsa a seven-point lead.
The Hurricane added to the score with a two-yard Tennial touchdown run at the 5:31 mark of the final period. The touchdown capped a five-play, 72-yard drive with the big play coming on an Idris Moss catch that he tipped and caught for a 50-yard gain.
After two Tulsa penalties on the kickoff, USM took possession at the Tulsa 35-yard line, but the Hurricane defense held tough forcing fourth-and-goal from the nine-yard line, thus preserving the victory.
Tulsa finished the game with a 453 to 243-yard edge in total offense, and ended with a 32:31 to 27:29 advantage in possession time.
Scoring Summary 1st Quarter Tulsa (9:17) - Cauvey Jackson 59 run (Tracy kick) 7-02nd Quarter USM (12:10) - Darren McCaleb 36 FG 7-3 USM (1:36) - Darren McCaleb 29 FG 7-6
4th Quarter Tulsa (12:27) - Paul Smith 7 run (Tracy NG) 13-6 Tulsa (5:13) - Courtney Tennial 2-yard run (Tracy kick) 20-6
