Tulsa
Oklahoma State
Tulsa Falls to Oklahoma State, 59-33
9/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 18, 2011
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TULSA, Okla. - Tulsa totaled 482 yards of total offense, including 349 rushing yards, but the No. 7 Oklahoma State offensive power proved to be too much, as the Golden Hurricane fell in its home opener, 59-33, in front of 24,563 devoted fans in the wee hours of Sunday morning at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
The Golden Hurricane (1-2) finished with 349 yards rushing, led by Trey Watts' 159 yards and Ja'Terian Douglas' 173 yards. Both players' rushing yards were career highs, as they totaled 332 rushing yards between them.
The opening kickoff came at 12:16 a.m. Sunday - three hours and six minutes after the originally scheduled time of 9:10 p.m., courtesy of a three-hour, 13-minute weather delay. The 12:16 a.m. local time kickoff is believed to be the latest in Tulsa and Conference USA history.
The Watts-Douglas ground attack marked the first time two TU running backs rushed for more 100 yards in the same game since Nov. 11, 2006, when Tarrion Adams and Courtney Tennial ran for 116 and 109, respectively, against Rice.
Redshirt freshman Kalen Henderson tossed his first two career touchdowns - hitting Bryan Burnham each time - and eclipsed 100 yards on six completions, after taking over for G.J. Kinne early in the game. Henderson also rushed for 35 yards. Burnham led the TU receiving corps with 68 yards on three catches. Watts compiled 202 all-purpose yards, adding 43 kickoff return yards to hit rushing total.
Four Tulsa defenders tallied double-digit tackles, led by Marco Nelson's 12 takedowns. Curnelius Arnick and Dexter McCoil each had 11 tackles, and Shawn Jackson tallied 10 tackles, including an interception. Tyrunn Walker had three tackles for loss and one sack, totaling seven tackles.
Oklahoma State opened the second half with a pair of touchdown drives, capped by scoring runs of 11 yards by Joseph Randle and six yards by Jeremy Smith to extend their lead to 45-6.
Tulsa made things interesting for the home fans when it responded with a pair of quick strikes in the third quarter. Following an OSU touchdown, Ja'Terian Douglas raced 80 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.
After the missed extra point, Fitzpatrick kicked a high pooch kickoff that was held up in the wind and seemingly blown backwards, and recovered on the ground by Kwame Sexton. TU again struck quickly when Henderson hit Bryan Burnham on the very next play for a 43-yard touchdown pass, making the score, 45-19.
The Cowboys answered with a 60-yard drive to extend its lead to 52-19 when Weeden hit Isaiah Anderson with a 24-yard touchdown pass.
Tulsa capped the third-quarter scoring flurry with a nine-play 80-yard drive punctuated by the second Henderson-to-Burnham connection of the night. The touchdown made the score, 52-26, with 4:07 left in the third quarter.
Oklahoma State broke a lull in the scoring with a four-yard Weeden touchdown pass to Justin Blackmon. The score was 59-26 at that point.
Douglas sped 42 yards through the defense for a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 59-33 with 3:35 remaining. That proved to be all TU would muster in the contest
The game, though late in the night and under the cloudy skies of storm that had barely passed, began on a positive note for the Golden Hurricane.
Shawn Jackson intercepted Weeden on the Cowboys' opening drive. Jackson caught a tipped pass and returned the ball 11 yards to the TU 47 yard line.
Tulsa then drove 45 yards and Kevin Fitzpatrick booted a 36-yard field goal to give the Hurricane a 3-0 lead.
Oklahoma State's Justin Gilbert took the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, putting the Cowboys ahead, 7-3. Following a TU punt, Weeden connected with Hubert Anyiam for a 36-yard touchdown pass, capping a four-play, 46-yard drive to make the score 14-3.
The Cowboys took advantage of a Tulsa fumble in its own territory and scored 10 plays later on a one-yard touchdown run by Joseph Randle to give OSU a 21-3 lead.
Tulsa drove 63 yards in 13 plays to close the gap to 21-6 with a 34-yard Fitzpatrick field goal. Ten of the 13 plays on the drive were rushes, split between Watts and Henderson.
Oklahoma State posted back-to-back scores with a Sharp 35-yard field goal and a Randle one-yard run to extend its lead to 31-6 with 5:26 left in the half.
OSU took a 31-6 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Tulsa travels to Boise, Idaho next week for a showdown against Boise State at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
SCORING SUMMARY Qtr. Time Team Play Score 1 8:07 Tulsa Kevin Fitzpatrick 25 FG 3-0 1 7:52 OSU Justin Gilbert 96 kickoff return (Quinn Sharp kick) 3-7 1 4:57 OSU Brandon Weeden 36 pass to Hubert Anyiam (Sharp kick) 3-14 2 14:22 OSU Joseph Randle 1 run (Sharp kick) 3-21 2 9:37 Tulsa Fitzpatrick 34 FG 6-21 2 7:59 OSU Sharp 35 FG 6-24 2 5:26 OSU Randle 1 run (Sharp kick) 6-31 3 11:57 OSU Randle 11 run (Sharp kick) 6-38 3 9:38 OSU Jeremy Smith 6 run (Sharp kick) 6-45 3 9:27 Tulsa Ja'Terian Douglas (kick no good) 12-45 3 9:19 Tulsa Kalen Henderson 43 pass to Bryan Burnham (Fitzpatrick kick) 19-45 3 7:64 OSU Weeden 24 pass to Isaiah Anderson (Sharp kick) 19-52 3 4:07 Tulsa Henderson 14 pass to Burnham (Fitzpatrick kick) 26-52 4 7:34 OSU Weeden 4 pass to Justin Blackmon (Sharp kick) 26-59 4 3:35 Tulsa Douglas 42 run (Fitzpatrick kick) 33-59
