Tulsa
Houston
TULSA'S COMEBACK BID FALLS SHORT AT HOUSTON 38-28
11/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 22, 2014
Houston, Texas - Tulsa's come-back bid fell short against the Houston Cougars 38-28 in front of 23,572 fans at TDECU Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It was a game that was moved up from 2:00 p.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Friday due to expected inclement weather conditions in the Houston area.
The Cougars became bowl eligible with the victory, moving to 6-4 on the season and 4-2 in the American Athletic Conference, while the Hurricane dropped to 2-9 and 2-5 in The American.
After trailing 14-7 at halftime, the Hurricane slugged to-to-toe with the Cougars in the second half by scoring 21 points and answering Houston nearly every time. The Cougars took the lead for good with just over three minutes remaining on the clock with an 89-yard, 10-play scoring drive.
Tulsa's offense put up 416 total yards against the American Athletic Conference's second-ranked defense, while the Cougars offense had 473 yards of total offense. Dane Evans completed 28-of-40 passes for 258 yards and two TDs, while Keevan Lucas and Keyarris Garrett combined for 183 yards and one touchdown on 19 receptions. Zack Langer rushed for 124 yards and one TD on 29 carries for the Hurricane.
The Hurricane took the second-half kickoff 75 yards in 15 plays, while taking 8:07 off the clock as Langer capped the scoring drive with a two-yard run, and after the PAT, Tulsa knotted the score at 14. Houston wasted little time in taking back the lead 21-14 on Kenneth Farrow's third TD run of the game, a 45-yarder, that capped an 82-yard, four-play drive at the 5:28 mark.
Tulsa answered 2:52 later as Evans connected with Garrett in the corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown to cap an eight-play, 70-yard drive, and tying the score 21-21 with 2:36 remaining in the third period.
Houston marched 58 yards in just four plays and 1:17 to re-take the lead 28-21 on a Greg Ward 25-yard touchdown toss to Markeith Ambles with 1:19 remaining on the third quarter clock. An interception of an Evans pass on the subsequent Tulsa possession gave the Cougars the ball on a short field at the Tulsa 34-yard. The Hurricane defense, however, stopped Houston from scoring a touchdown and forced a field goal, which was blocked by DeMarco Nelson.
The Tulsa offense took over possession after the block at the Hurricane 23-yard line and marched 79 yards in 10 plays to tie the score at 28-28 with 7:10 left in the game. The score came on Zach Epps' first career touchdown on only his second reception of the season, coming on a one-yard pass from Evans on fourth-and-goal.
The Cougars took the next possession 89 yards in 10 plays, taking 4:04 off the clock for a 35-28 lead at the 3:06 mark. The score came on Farrow's fourth TD run of the game, this time from two yards out.
On the subsequent possession Tulsa was fourth-and-eight on the Hurricane 13-yard line by an Evans pass resulted in an interception by Houston's Adrian McDonald. Tulsa held the Cougars to a 35-yard field goal, before getting another chance with 1:16 left on the clock, and down 10 points. The Hurricane drive stalled at the Houston six-yard line, where Trevon Stewart's interception ended the game.
To start the game, Houston took the opening possession 78 yards in 10 plays for a one-yard Farrow touchdown, scoring on fourth-and-goal, as the hometown Cougars took a 7-0 lead at the 10:30 mark.
The Cougars converted another fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line on its second possession to take a 14-0 lead on a Farrow touchdown run, capping an eight-play, 77-yard drive at the 1:40 mark of the first quarter. UH's drive came after the Hurricane was stopped on fourth-and-one from the Houston 23-yard line.
Dane Evans scored his third rushing touchdown of the season on a three-yard run at the 4:36 mark of the second quarter to make the score 14-7 after the PAT. The two-play, 41-yard drive was set-up by a 21-yard Conner Floyd punt return to the Houston 41-yard line and a 33-yard pass to Keyarris Garrett put the Hurricane on the UH three-yard line.
At halftime, Houston held a 14-7 lead, while gaining 228 to Tulsa's 164 total yards. The Cougars scored on their first two possessions, while totaling 155 yards on 18 plays for an 8.6 average per play. The Tulsa defense buckled down and held Houston to just 73 yards on their next 17 plays for a 4.3 average the remainder of the first half.
The Golden Hurricane closes out the season next Friday, Nov. 28 with a 7:30 p.m. home game against the East Carolina Pirates. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
Tickets for the season finale can be purchased online at www.TulsaHurricane.com or at the Reynolds Center Ticket Office, Mon-Wed., 8:30-5 p.m., and Friday, 1-5 p.m. Pre-sale ticket prices are $15, $30 and $40. Ticket booths at the four corners of the stadium will be open at 6:00 p.m. on game day for ticket sales. Game day ticket prices are $20, $35 and $45.
UH 1 10:30 Kenneth Farrow 1 run (Bullard kick) 0-7 UH 1 1:40 Kenneth Farrow 1 run (Bullard kick) 0-14 Tulsa 2 4:36 Dane Evans 3 run (Salazar kick) 7-14 Tulsa 3 6:53 Zack Langer 2 run (Salazar kick) 14-14 UH 3 5:28 Kenneth Farrow 45 run (Bullard kick) 14-21 Tulsa 3 2:36 Keyarris Garrett 17 pass from Dane Evans (Salazar kick) 21-21 UH 3 1:19 Markeith Ambles 25 pass from Greg Ward (Bullard kick) 21-28 Tulsa 4 7:10 Zach Epps 1 pass from Dane Evans (Salazar kick) 28-28 UH 4 3:06 Kenneth Farrow 2 run (Bullard kick) 28-35 UH 4 1:16 Kyle Bullard 35 FG 28-38
