Too much of a relentless pass rush, and too little mobility for a gutty but hobbled Davis Brin, proved to be too much for Tulsa to overcome against a top program like Cincinnati.
Brin passed for 237 yards, completing 18 of 36, but was a sitting duck without being able to move around in the pocket, getting sacked 9 times.
And Cincy came up with just enough big plays to doom Tulsa, defeating the Golden Hurricane 31-21 Saturday night in front of a crowd of 21,111 at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
The Bearcats showed why they are one of the best teams in the nation, as evidenced by last season's national playoff semifinals appearance. They just find a way to win.
Tulsa (2-3, 0-1 AAC) was still in the game, down 31-21, until it got stopped on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard-line with 2:27 remaining. A TD there, and TU being down only 3 makes it really interesting.
The play typified the game. Close, but no cigar.
A perfectly thrown laser pass by Braylon Braxton, in as the goal-line quarterback, was dropped in the back of the end zone by tight end Ethan Hall after a jarring hit. It looked like Hall had held on originally, so much so that TU set off fireworks after what it thought was a score. But it clearly was no catch.
"We didn't make the most of all the opportunities that we had," said Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery.
An amazing interception by safety Jaise Oliver along the sideline where he outfought Cincy star receiver Tyler Scott for the ball with 6:48 remaining gave Tulsa the ball at the Cincy 21-yard-line with a chance to cut the lead to 3.
"That pick right there late by Jaise was an unbelievable play," Montgomery said. "The defense gave us an opportunity to get the ball back with really good field position. You've got to capitalize."
Cincinnati (4-1, 1-0) ended up sacking TU quarterbacks a whopping 11 times - a stat that clearly was the difference in the game.
The Golden Hurricane did just enough to stay in the game, but never could get the big play to get back over the top.
After injuring his ankle at Ole Miss last week, Brin was listed as day-to-day. But he figured to play, and he was courageous. It was clear that he couldn't move much. Added to that was Tulsa's young offensive line was being shuffled due to left tackle Dillon Wade being injured and going in and out of the game.
The return of Deneric Prince was a boost to Tulsa's running game, and he made some nice plays, rushing for 71 yards and 2 TD's on 17 carries to lead the Golden Hurricane.
"We found out early in the week that we would have the opportunity to have him (Prince) back," said Montgomery. "I thought he did some nice things. Obviously, an older guy, an experienced guy. Very talented. I think he will just get better and better."
The mystery of why Prince was unavailable for the first four games is still there, but TU is glad to have him back. He will help the rest of the season.
Tulsa's team stats of 36 yards on 45 carries was heavily skewed by the 11 sacks. The sack-adjusted rushing yards for Tulsa was 113 yards on 34 carries.
Tulsa got in the hole early when an uncharacteristic horrible pass by Brin, who was trying to evade the rush, was intercepted and returned 18 yards for a TD to give Cincy the early 7-0 lead.
But Brin and company came back and tied the score at 7-7 on a 2-yard TD run by Braxton at the 4:55 mark of the first quarter.
Tulsa got down 21-7 midway through the second quarter, but a 8-yard TD run by Prince with 1:20 left in the first half narrowed the margin to 21-14. But a 39-yard field goal on the last play of the half made the score 24-14 at halftime.
A 2-yard TD run by Prince with 11:09 left in the third quarter cut the margin to 24-21, but the Bearcats came right back, aided by 60-yard run by Charles McClelland, and Ben Bryant's 2-yard TD pass on 4th-and-goal to tight end Josh Whyle got the lead back to 10 at 31-21 with 8:37 left in the third quarter.
Amazingly, neither team scored again.
Tulsa did a good job of holding Bryant to just 166 yards passing, completing 15 of 27. But a 52-yard run by Corey Kiner, who finished with 106 yards on 12 carries, and McClelland's 87 yards on 13 carries, hurt.
Keylon Stokes led Tulsa with 106 yards on 6 catches.
Stokes felt the trash talking that led to brief scuffles between the two teams didn't help Tulsa's cause, costing Tulsa penalties and focus it couldn't afford to lose.
"I thought we were really focused on our main goal, but I feel like our focus was kind of lost. Our team was worried about other things out there. The rivalry between us has been going on for a minute," Stokes said. "So yeah, there's going to be a lot of animosity out there, a lot of bumping and all that, but we've just got to stay focused. Like I said, focus on the main goal and go win."
Even with a hobbled Brin, it was good for TU to have the player back who led the nation after three weeks in passing yards per game (402) before he dinged his ankle last week.
"I thought Davis played well. We've got to do a little bit better job of giving him more time," Montgomery said. "Obviously hampered a little bit by not being able to escape as much."
Tulsa's next game is Saturday at Navy (1-3, 1-1)
