Tulsa Falls to No. 4 Ohio State, 48-3

Saturday, September 10

Columbus, Ohio

2:30 p.m. (CT)

Tulsa

1-1

Ohio State

2-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Tulsa

Ohio State

Photo by: Ricky Bassman

Tulsa Falls to No. 4 Ohio State, 48-3

9/10/2016 7:40:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Don Tomkalski

Final Stats PDF | Final Stats HTML | Postgame Notes

Columbus, Ohio –– The nation's No.4-ranked Ohio State took advantage of four first-half Tulsa turnovers to take a 20-3 halftime lead, and went on for a 48-3 victory in front of 104,410 fans at Ohio State Saturday afternoon. The crowd was the largest to watch a Tulsa football game.

Torrential rain began falling with under a minute to play in the first half, while lightning delayed the start of the second half by 60 minutes.

When the game resumed, Ohio State took the second-half kickoff 72 yards in nine plays as J.T. Barrett ran the final 11 yards for the touchdown, giving the Buckeyes a 27-3 lead. Tulsa could muster little offense in the third quarter, gaining 20 yards on just 12 offensive plays.

The Buckeyes went ahead 34-3 on a Mike Weber one-yard touchdown run with 0:47 remaining in the third period, capping a six-play, 84-yard drive in 3:03. OSU scored at the 11:15 mark of the fourth period to take a 41-3 lead as Barrett ran the final five yards for the score, capping a three-play, 28-yard drive.

Ohio State added a touchdown with 5:58 left in the game on a five-yard Dontre Wilson run that made the score 48-3. The score capped a 46-yard, seven-play drive.

For the second half, Ohio State gained 259 total yards, while Tulsa was held to just 64 yards of offense in the final 30 minutes. A week after Ohio State totaled 776 yards of offense, the Hurricane defense held the Buckeyes to 417 total yards. TU managed just 188 yards on offense, including 127 passing and 61 rushing yards.

Tulsa's only points came on a 37-yard field goal with 3:22 remaining in the first quarter by junior placekicker Redford Jones, tying the score, 3-3. The Hurricane took over on the Ohio State 40 after a punt, and went 20 yards in five plays, leading to the score.

"My hat's off to (Ohio State) Coach (Urban) Meyer and his staff. I thought they played an outstanding game, with a very talented group of players," Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery said. "I thought we really played well defensively, especially early. Offensively, we never really got anything clicking. We got some things going, but just never finished when we got down in the red zone. We made too many crucial mistakes at bad times."

Three of Ohio State's scoring drives starting in Tulsa territory, including the first from the Tulsa 16 that resulted in a field goal and the two fourth quarter TDs, beginning at the Tulsa 28 and 46-yard lines.

Two defensive touchdowns for the Buckeyes in the second quarter extended a 6-3 Ohio State lead with 10 minutes remaining to a 20-3 halftime deficit for the Hurricane. The two teams combined for less than 300 yards in the first 30 minutes as Tulsa gained 124 and Ohio State 158 yards, while Tulsa's four first-half miscues ended in 17 Buckeye points.

On Tulsa's first play from scrimmage, an Evans pass bounced off the hands of Keevan Lucas and ended in the hands of Ohio State's Marshon Lattimore at the Tulsa 16-yard line. However, the Hurricane defense forced the Buckeyes to a 29-yard field goal. Ohio State marched to the five-yard line in the second quarter, and again the Tulsa defense forced OSU into a field goal.

Tulsa's final two possessions of the first half ended in interceptions returned for Ohio State TDs, the first by Malik Hooker covering 26 ands at the 3:02 mark, and the second a 40-yard return by Lattimore with 0:33 left on the first-half clock.

Tulsa returns home next week to host North Carolina A&T in a 1:00 p.m. game from H.A. Chapman Stadium. Tickets are available online at TulsaHurricane.com, by calling 918.631.GoTU (4688) and in person at the Reynolds Center Ticket Office.