Tulsa Opens Season With 38-27 Win Over UCA

Saturday, September 1

H.A. Chapman Stadium

6:00 PM

Tulsa

1-0

Central Arkansas

0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Central Arkansas

Tulsa

Photo by: Brett Rojo

Tulsa Opens Season With 38-27 Win Over UCA

9/1/2018 11:22:00 PM | Football

Box Score

FINAL GAME BOOK PDF • POST-GAME QUOTES • POST-GAME NOTES • PHOTO GALLERY

TULSA, Okla. –– Two late touchdowns gave Tulsa a 38-27 victory over the UCA Bears, ranked 15^th nationally in the FCS, Saturday night in front of 18,356 fans at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

Trailing 27-24 with 11:08 remaining, the Hurricane went 75 yards in seven plays, taking just 2:57 off the game clock as quarterback Luke Skipper found tight end Cole Neph in the corner of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown. The score gave Tulsa a 31-27 lead at the 8:11 mark, and on the ensuing kickoff John Parker Romo's kick was fumbled by UCA's Cedric Battle and recovered by Bryson Powers at the Hurricane seven-yard line.

Two players later Shamari Brooks scored his second rushing touchdown of the game on a one-yard run to put Tulsa ahead by 11 points, 38-27.

"Every win's a good win. We've got a lot to learn from this game. I was very proud of our guys the way they continue to just keep grinding," said Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery.

For the game, the Hurricane offense totaled 470 yards of offense, while Tulsa's defense held UCA to a seven-year low of 247 yards for a Tulsa opponent. Tulsa's defense also held the Bears to just 82 rushing yards for a 2.6 average per carry.

Brooks and Corey Taylor II each rushed for over 100 yards with 129 yards for Brooks and 110 yards for Taylor. Skipper ended the game with 196 passing yards and two touchdowns, while completing 15-of-24 passes.

Tulsa took the opening kickoff 75 yards in 8 plays as Skipper threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Justin Hobbs in taking just 2:11 off the clock. The UCA Bears scored the next 13 points on two field goals and a one-yard touchdown run to take a 13-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

A one-yard Skipper run capped a 65-yard, 14-play drive to put the Hurricane back ahead 14-13 at the 14:57 mark of the second period.

Tulsa added a Brooks one-yard run with 5:20 remaining in the first half culminating a 57-yard, nine-play drive to give the Hurricane a 21-13 lead.

UCA scored the first points of the second half, as quarterback Breylin Smith ran in from two yards out, cutting the Tulsa lead to one points, 21-20, at the 5:52 mark of the third quarter. On the subsequent kickoff, a fumble gave UCA the ball at the Tulsa 10-yard line. Tulsa's Robert Revels recovered a Bear fumble in the end zone, ending UCA's chance to take the lead.

Tulsa took possession at their own 20-yard and settled for a Nate Walker 40-yard field goal, the first attempt of his career, giving the Hurricane a 24-20 lead with 1:25 left in the third quarter.

A Tulsa fumble resulted in a UCA touchdown, recovered by Justin Morris, in the end zone to give the Bears a 27-24 lead with 11:08 left in the game.

The remaining 11 minutes saw the Hurricane retake the lead for the second time of the game with on Skippers 14-yard toss to Neph and Brook's one-yard run following the fumble recovery.

The win is the ninth come-from-behind win for the Hurricane in the last four seasons, dating back to the season-opening win over FAU in the 2015 campaign.

WHAT WAS NOTEWORTHY:
LIGHTNING STRIKE … After the sound system was checked, the light poles and lights fixtures were all repaired and re-lamped, the video board and scoreboards operating and all the communication lines checked and working by the end of the business day this past Wednesday, lightning struck. Yes, quite literally, a lightning storm hit the Tulsa area late Wednesday night and knocked out multiple fixtures on multiple field light poles, the northwest scoreboard and play clock, and audio connections. Other than some video board camera issues not up to standard at kickoff, all other important facets for tonight's game were operable. KUDOS to the TU facilities staff, TU physical plant staff, and All Media Integration (AMI) professionals, who worked tirelessly dawn to dusk, to restore these elements for game day.

TULSA STRIKES FIRST … Tulsa took its opening drive 75 yards in 8 plays as Luke Skipper threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Justin Hobbs in taking just 2:11 off the clock. It was Skipper's 4^th career TD pass, and Hobbs' 10^th career touchdown reception.

FEWEST IN WHILE … Tulsa's defense held UCA to 247 yards of total offense and 0-of-10 on third downs. The last time a Tulsa opponent had less yards than UCA's 247 was UCF in the 2012 regular season meeting when Tulsa held the Knights to 235 yards.

ANOTHER 100-YARD OPENER … For the second straight year, Corey Taylor II opened the season with a 100-yard rushing game. Taylor had 111 yards on 20 carries last year in the season opener at Oklahoma State, and this year turned in a 110-yard performance on 20 carries vs. UCA.

FIRST TIME KICKER …
Nate Walker saw his first game action in the first contest of his senior season, and the senior was 5-of-5 in PATs and connected on a 40-yard field goal for a total of 8 points.