Tulsa Comeback Falls Short 28-20 Against No. 2 Cincinnati

Saturday, November 6

Cincinnati, Ohio

2:30 pm

Tulsa

3-6 , 2-3

#2-Ranked Cincinnati

9-0 , 5-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Tulsa

Cincinnati

Photo by: David Dermer

Tulsa Comeback Falls Short 28-20 Against No. 2 Cincinnati

11/6/2021 8:22:00 PM | Football

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CINCINNATI, Ohio –– Tulsa's comeback bid ended at the one-yard line as the nation's second-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats held off the Golden Hurricane for a 28-20 victory on Saturday afternoon in front of 37,978 fans at Nippert Stadium.

It was a momentum-filled game as the Bearcats jumped out to the early 14-0 lead. Tulsa dominated the second quarter to make the halftime score 14-12. UC scored on its first two second-half possessions for a 28-12 lead, and the Hurricane came back and had a dominating fourth quarter.

With the win, the No. 2 Bearcats improved to 9-0 and 5-0 in the American Athletic Conference, while the Hurricane fell to 3-6 and 2-3 in league play.

Tulsa out-gained the Bearcats 446 to 390 yards in total offense and held a whopping 34:16 to 23:06 advantage in possession time. The Hurricane run game had its way with the country's No. 9-ranked defense by rushing for its second-highest total of the season with 297 yards.

Shamari Brooks and Anthony Watkins each had 100+ rushing yards as Brooks led the way with 132 yards and Watkins added 105 yards. Davis Brin completed 17-of-26 passes for 149 yards and one TD, while Josh Johnson led Tulsa receivers with 65 yards on seven receptions.

While Tulsa's offense had success on the ground the Hurricane defense held Cincinnati to well below its season rushing average with 116 yards. Tulsa's defense also forced three turnovers, had three TFL and two sacks on the day. TieNeal Martin had his second pickoff of the year, while Justin Wright and Travon Fuller each recovered fumbles.

At the 8:10 mark of the fourth quarter, Tulsa made the score 28-20 on a 21-yard pass from Brin to JuanCarlos Santana and two-point conversion. From there, the Hurricane defense forced a Cincinnati punt and the offense took possession at their own 23-yard line with 5:28 on the clock. Tulsa marched to the UC 6-yard line and a 4th-and-5 pass fell one yard short of the first down.

What looked to be the end for the Hurricane resulted in one more chance. Cincinnati fumbled the snap from their own 2-yard line on the first play with 1:11 to play. Tulsa took over from the UC 3-yard line but on 4^th-and-1 the ball was fumbled into the end zone and recovered by the Bearcats to end the game.

Cincinnati opened the second half with two consecutive touchdowns to pull away for its 28-12 lead with only six minutes elapsed in the third quarter. The first score came at the 13:17 mark on a 12-yard pass and the second came at 9:04 on the clock on a 31-yard touchdown toss after Tulsa failed on a fourth-down play at their own 44-yard line.

Tulsa took the subsequent possession to the Cincinnati 4-yard line on an 11-yard pass, but a fumble on that play gave Cincinnati the ball at their own 22-yard line.

After falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter, Tulsa put together a productive second quarter and cut its deficit going in at halftime to just two points at 14-12.

The Bearcats held Tulsa on the game's first drive and the UC offense had a short field to go 53 yards in seven plays for an early 7-0 lead on a Demond Ridder three-yard TD run. Tulsa again went three-and-out, but Tulsa's Martin intercepted Ridder's first pass to give the Hurricane possession at the UC 32-yard line.

Tulsa couldn't manage to mount any offense and Cincinnati responded going on a 94-yard drive in 13 plays to take a 14-0 lead with 1:21 left in the first quarter.

The Hurricane opened the second quarter by putting together a 48-yad, nine-play drive that saw Zack Long connect on a 35-yard field goal. The Bearcats drove to the Tulsa 18-yad line and that's when the Tulsa defense stepped up with two straight sacks and forcing a Cincinnati field goal that missed wide left.

Brooks 8-yard TD run capped a 75-yard, 12-play drive that saw the Hurricane gain 55 of those yards on the ground. The score cut Tulsa's deficit to five points at 14-9 as the PAT failed.

In the first half, Tulsa gained 149 yards on its final three possessions, all ending in scores for the Hurricane, after just gaining 16 yards on their first three possessions of the game.

Cincinnati ended the first half with 220 total yards to Tulsa's 156 yards, while in the second quarter Tulsa outscored the Bearcats 12-0, out-gained UC by 120-to-55 total yards and had a 2:50 edge in possession time.

Tulsa will be back on the road next Saturday in New Orleans to face the Tulane Green Wave. The game will be aired on ESPNU with a 3 p.m. kickoff time.