Tulsa
Oklahoma
Tulsa Drops to 2-1 With Loss to #4 Oklahoma
9/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 22, 2007
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Tulsa, Okla. - Tulsa opened with the game's first score, but couldn't keep up with the high-powered Oklahoma Sooners on Friday night at H.A. Chapman, dropping a 62-21 loss in front a soldout crowd of 35,542 fans and a national ESPN2 television audience.
Oklahoma improved to 4-0 on the season, while Tulsa fell to 2-1.
Oklahoma scored on nine of their 13 series in the game and compiled 553 yards, while the Hurricane scored seven points in each of the first three quarters and amassed 398 total yards.
Tulsa's Paul Smith completed 22-of-32 passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns, while Oklahoma's Sam Bradford threw for 244 yards on 16-of-22 passes. Tulsa sophomore receiver Jesse Meyer caught a career-high 114 yards on seven receptions. OU's Patrick Allen rushed for a game-high 145 yards and two touchdowns.
"Naturally, you have to give Oklahoma a lot of credit. They are a great football team and they were the better team tonight," said Tulsa Head Coach Todd Graham. "Offensively, we started of where we wanted to start off, but we made too many mistakes. We probably played our poorest game thus far, but when you play someone that has the athleticism and speed that they do, you have to give them a lot of credit. They are definitely one of the top teams in the country."
Tulsa put the first points on the board early in the contest.
After a Roy Roberts interception, Tulsa took its first possession 63 yards in seven plays as Paul Smith threw the final 15 yards to Jesse Meyer for his first career touchdown reception. It would prove to be the only lead the Hurricane would have in the game.
Oklahoma knotted the score on their third possession as Allen Patrick capped a 72-yard, eight-play drive with a 29-yard run.
After forcing a three-and-out for the Hurricane, Oklahoma scored took at 14-7 lead in just three plays as Sam Bradford threw 46 yards to Juaquin Iglesias, capping a 50-yard drive.
With 14:05 left in the first quarter, a Tulsa turnover gave the Sooners the ball at the Hurricane 36-yard line and five plays later scored on a DeMarco Murray four-yard run.
Tulsa responded 1:06 later as Smith threw 48 yards hitting Brennan Marion at the goal line for seven points to cut the Sooner lead to seven points, 21-14.
The Sooners responded on their next possession going 52 yards in seven plays to take a 28-14 leads, as Bradford hit Jermaine Gresham for the final 21 yards. Oklahoma took a 35-14 lead at the 4:07 mark on their next possession as Patrick ran one-yard for the TD, capping a six-play, 74-yard drive while taking 3:14 off the clock.
In the first half, Oklahoma scored on five of their eight possessions to take a 35-14 lead into intermission as the two teams combined for 602 yards. The Sooners held a 187 to 15-yard edge in rushing, while Tulsa had the advantage in the passing game, 264 to 162 yards.
Tulsa took the second half kickoff 81 yards in 11 plays as Paul Smith completed the drive with a four-yard run, taking 5:22 off the clock, cutting the Sooners' lead to 14 points. However, the Sooners' DeMarco Murray took the subsequent kick-off 81 yards, making it 42-21.
The Sooners added three scores in the fourth quarter to take a 41-point victory.
Tulsa will play its third straight home game next week as the Golden Hurricane opens Conference USA play against UAB at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday night.
