Golden Hurricane Reigns 49-19 in Steady Rain

Saturday, November 3

H.A. Chapman Stadium

6:00 PM

Tulsa

2-7 , 1-4

Connecticut

1-8 , 0-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UConn

Tulsa

Photo by: Brett Rojo

Golden Hurricane Reigns 49-19 in Steady Rain

11/3/2018 11:45:00 PM | Football

Box Score

GAME BOOK PDF | POST-GAME NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTO GALLERY | SEASON STATS

TULSA, Okla. –– Seth Boomer threw four touchdowns and the Tulsa run game amassed 470 yards as the Golden Hurricane claimed a 49-19 victory over the UConn Huskies Saturday night in a steady downpour throughout the final three quarters of the game.

Boomer completed 9-of-14 passes for 168 yards and threw TD passes of three, 26, 38 and 18 yards, while Shamari Brooks rushed for 151 yards on 17 carries and Corey Taylor II added 133 yards and one TD on 18 carries. The Hurricane defense forced three turnovers and after giving up 302 first-half yards, held the Huskies to 185 yards in the second half.

The win for Tulsa (2-7, 1-4 AAC) snapped a seven-game losing streak and was the second game that the Hurricane overcame an early deficit for the victory, while UConn fell to 1-8 and 0-5 in the American Athletic Conference.

Tulsa's 638 total yards was the most since gained 667 yards a year ago against Louisiana-Lafayette, while the 470 rushing yards on 57 carries is the most for a Hurricane team since gaining 489 yards on 59 attempts against Tulane in 2008.

Trailing 10-0 at the end of the first quarter, the Hurricane scored on seven straight possessions in the second and third periods to take a 49-13 lead.

"I'm really happy for our football team, more than anything else. They've stayed resilient, they've stayed together and they've continued to keep grinding and working every week," said Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery. "We had some adversity early in this game and to see them continue to grind, fight and make plays and continue to do the things that we keep talking about. I couldn't be more proud of their effort and dedication and the way they go about their job."

The Hurricane opened the second half with a 75-yard, 7-play drive in 3:13 as Boomer threw his third TD pass of the game for 38 yards to Cole Neph. The score gave the Hurricane a 35-13 lead with 11:47 left in the third quarter.

After a Keanu Hill interception, Tulsa added seven more points on an 18-yard Boomer to Justin Hobbs pass at the 8:59 mark to cap a 60-yard, six-play drive. Tulsa's Reed Martin closed out the Hurricane scoring at the 2:15 mark of the third quarter with an 11-yard run on just his second career carry to make the score 49-13.

Tulsa began its stretch of seven straight scoring drives when tallying a score on all four of its second quarter possessions to take a 28-13 lead into intermission. At the break, both teams were over 300 yards of total offense, including 359 for Tulsa and 302 for the Huskies.

Early in the game it appeared that Tulsa had scored, but before crossing the goal line Boomer fumbled out of the end zone for a touchback. The Huskies, after the change of possession, took only one play to go 80 yards, as David Pindell passed to Kyle Buss for a 7-0 lead at the 7:21 mark of the first quarter.

The Huskies added a field goal before the end of the first quarter, a 44-yarder by Michael Tarbutt, to take a 10-0 lead.

Tulsa got on the scoreboard when Boomer threw the final 3 yards of a 75-yard, eight-play drive to Keylon Stokes, making the score 10-7 with 12:11 to play in the second period. UConn responded on its next possession with a 50-yard Tarbutt field goal, making the score 13-7.

The Hurricane took its first lead at 14-13 on a Boomer one-yard run that capped a seven-play, 75-yard drive. When Tulsa took possession again, the Hurricane went 76 yards in four plays as Boomer threw the final 26 yards to Keenen Johnson to take a 21-13 lead with 3:41 to play.

Tulsa extended its lead to 28-13 before going into the locker room at halftime as Taylor ran six yards to cap a 71-yard, seven-play drive that took just 1:04 off the clock.

WHAT WAS NOTEWORTHY:
TOP TEN FRESHMAN … Tulsa announces its Top Ten Freshman, from the previous academic year, on Homecoming … among the freshmen receiving the prestigious top-10 award was red-shirt freshman football player Chris Paul (#71) … Paul, a cyber security major from Houston, Texas and Jersey Village High School, impressed the selection committee with an equal balance between athletics, academics and campus involvement … he has played in all eight games this year and has started five games at right guard, including tonight's game.

TWO OVER 100 … For the second time this season, Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor II, each went over 100 yards rushing … they each surpassed the 100-yard mark in the first half with Brooks reaching 142 and Taylor 112 yards … the duo ended the game with 151 yards for Brooks and 133 yards for Taylor.

THROWING FOR 4 … Red-shirt freshman Seth Boomer threw for a career-best 4 touchdowns covering 85 yards to 4 different receivers … the 4 TD passes is the most for a Tulsa quarterback since Dane Evans threw for 5 touchdowns in the 2016 Miami Beach Bowl against Central Michigan.