Tulsa Scores Last Minute Win over ECU 34-30

Friday, October 30

Chapman Stadium

8:00 PM (CT)

Tulsa

3-1 , 3-0

East Carolina

1-4 , 1-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

ECU

Tulsa

Photo by: BRETT ROJO/For the University of

Tulsa Scores Last Minute Win over ECU 34-30

10/31/2020 2:13:00 AM | Football

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TULSA, Okla. –– TK Wilkerson scored his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard run to give Tulsa a 34-30 lead and the eventual victory over the East Caroline Pirates Friday night at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

Tulsa moved to 3-1 on the season and 3-0 in American Athletic Conference play, while ECU fell to 1-4 and 1-3 in the league. It's the first 3-game winning streak for the Hurricane since the 2016 season and continues to be Tulsa's best start in its seven years as an AAC member.

Tulsa's first game at home in 341 days was a nail-biter as the Hurricane trailed by 14 points at halftime and scored 31 points in the final 30 minutes to pull out the victory and even the series with the Pirates at eight wins apiece.

The Hurricane scored on 5 of its 6 second-half possessions, including 4 touchdowns that each capped drives of over 70 yards.

After ECU took a 3-point lead 30-27, Tulsa took possession at their own 25-yard line with 4:24 left on the clock. A 4^th down pass from the Tulsa 43-yard line resulted in an interference call, and a second 4^th-and-5 saw Josh Johnson come up with a sliding catch. On the next play, Wilkerson rumbled 18 yards to the ECU 1-yard line and scored on the next play to put the Hurricane ahead 34-30 after the PAT.

The Pirates returned the kick to the Tulsa 44-yard line and got down to the 29 when a 'Hail Mary' pass into the end zone was touched by an ECU receiver but fell incomplete.

For Tulsa, Zach Smith completed 12-of-21 passes for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns in the second half, after only completing 7 passes for 59 yards in the first half. He finished the game 19-of-37 for 253 yards and 2 TDs.

Wilkerson tallied 89 yards on 18 carries with touchdown runs of 13 and one yard. Keylon Stokes led the receiving corps with 6 catches for 90 yards and a 25-yard touchdown, while Juan Carlos Santana had Tulsa's other touchdown reception covering 39 yards and finished with 4 receptions for 88 yards.

Holton Ahlers completed 38-of-50 passes for 330 yards and 3 TDs for the Pirates, while Tyler Snead caught 16 of those passes for 108 yards and one score. Rahjai Harris led the ground attack with 118 yards and a 5.6 average per carry.

The Hurricane defense had two interceptions, one fumble recovery, 5 TFLs and 5 pass breakups and was the 27^th time in the last 28 games that a Tulsa opponent didn't gain more than 500 total yards. The 3 takeaways resulted in only 6 points on two field goals for the Hurricane.

After a lackluster first half for the offense, Tulsa took the second-half kickoff 78 yards in five plays, taking only 1:33 off the clock. The Hurricane scored on a Smith 25-yard pass to Stokes, cutting the deficit to 7 points at 17-10.

The Pirates responded on its first second-half possession going 68 yards in 11 plays, but had to settle for a 22-yard field goal, as the Hurricane defense

Tulsa marched 74 yards in 12 plays on the subsequent possession as Wilkerson burst up the middle for the final 13 yards and a touchdown, cutting the ECU lead to 3 points at the 20-17.

Justin Wright intercepted an ECU pass on 3^rd-and-2 deep in Pirate's territory giving the Hurricane the ball at the ECU 4-yard line. The Hurricane could manage only 3 points on a 21-yard Long field goal. The 3-pointer tied the score at 20 with 4:15 remaining in the 3^rd quarter.

Jaxon Player blocked an ECU field goal on the Pirates' next possession to keep the score at 20-20. After starting its drive at their own 18-yard line, Tulsa gave the ball back to the Pirates on a fumble after a 12-yard gain by Santana. The Pirates went back on top 23-20 with 12:34 remaining in the contest when Verity connected on his second field goal, as the Hurricane defense held the Pirates to just 14 yards in 7 plays.

Tulsa took its first lead of the game at 27-23 when Smith hit Santana down the sideline for a 39-yard touchdown, capping an 8-play, 75-yard drive.

The Pirates wasted little time in marching down the field to retake the lead 30-27 on a Ahlers to Rahjai Harris 4-yard pass with just 4:24 left in the contest, capping an 11-play, 85-yard drive, and that's when Tulsa's last minute heroics took over.

At the game's onset, East Carolina took advantage of an interception on Tulsa's first play of its first possession and went 42 yards in 4 plays as Ahlers connected with Tyler Snead for a 16-yard touchdown.

After not mustering much of an offense on its first 3 possessions, Tulsa was able to turn a fumble recovery into 3 points on a 35-yard Zack Long field goal at the 3:35 mark of the first period.

The Pirates went 90 yards in 10 plays to take a 14-3 lead at the 10:42 mark of the second quarter when Ahlers connected for his second TD pass of the game, this time going 25 yards to CJ Johnson.

ECU added to its lead on a 36-yard Jake Verity field goal with 1:58 remaining in the first half to take a 17-3 lead over the Hurricane. The drive went 60 yards in 11 plays and took 6:31 off the clock.

At halftime, the Pirates showed their first-half dominance by gaining 228 to Tulsa's 109 total yards. Tulsa's defense spent most of the first half with star linebacker Zaven Collins, out with an injury. For the half, ECU held onto the ball for 17:54 to 12:06 for the Hurricane.

Collins would return in the second half and finished the game with 6 tackles and one fumble recovery.

ECU's Ahlers completed 18-of-20 first half passes for 149 yards and had touchdown throws of 16 and 25 yards.

Tulsa will be back on the road for the fourth time this season as the Hurricane travels to Annapolis to take on the Navy Midshipmen next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 11:00 a.m. (CT) / 12:00 p.m. (ET) on CBSSN.