Tulsa falters down the stretch in 24-17 loss to Tulane

As has been the case most of the season, it was a game of missed opportunities and mistakes that in the end resulted in yet another close loss.

Tulsa got out to leads of 10-0 in the first half and 17-7 in the third quarter, but failed to hold on in a 24-17 loss to Tulane on Saturday night in front of an announced crowd of 16,133 at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

A 39-yard touchdown run by Tulane quarterback Justin McMillan, who went in untouched, broke a 17-17 tie with 3:46 left and was the game-winner for Tulane.

McMillan, a graduate transfer from LSU, was starting his first game since high school. He replaced injured Jonathan Banks, but Tulane coach Willie Fritz said McMillan would have started anyway for a struggling Tulane (3-5, 2-2 AAC).

Sophomore wide receiver Keylon Stokes, one of the few bright spots for TU with both of Tulsa’s touchdowns, the first two of his career, was down but not defeated after the game.

“We need to go out there and dominate,” said Stokes. “Everyone has to have the same mindset of beating this team and protecting our home field. It’s about defeating everyone who gets in front of us.”

Tulsa (1-7, 0-4) could have dominated Tulane if it had taken advantage of early opportunities for the Golden Hurricane to blow away the Green Wave. TU's 10-0 first half lead could have easily been 24-0.

Jarion Anderson returned a punt 55 yards to the Tulane 20-yard-line in the first quarter, but Tulsa could only come away with a 35-yard field goal by Nate Walker. It was especially deflating to not get a touchdown out of the punt return considering that return amounted for more punt return yards than Tulsa had accumulated previously during the last two seasons combined.

A recovered fumble by Cooper Edmiston on a fumbled handoff on the next series gave Tulsa the ball on the Tulane 32-yard-line, but TU couldn’t take advantage and was stopped on downs.

Then Tulsa couldn’t take advantage of 39-yard pass from Seth Boomer to Keenen Johnson down to Tulane's 26-yard-line. The drive ended in a 37-yard field goal miss to the right by Walker, who missed twice in the first half at Arkansas last week and missed three kicks at Texas earlier in the season. It was Walker’s last kick of the night, as he was replaced by John Parker Romo.

Finally, Tulsa scored again on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Seth Boomer to Stokes that put Tulsa up 10-0 with 9:58 to go in the second quarter. Romo, who already handles kickoffs, kicked the extra point. Romo had barely missed his only field goal attempt of the season at Texas when he replaced Walker in that game.

Tulane came back with a long drive but was stopped and held to a field goal with 47 seconds left in the first half. But Tulsa roughed the kicker on a tipped field goal by Merek Glover, and Tulane pulled the points off the board to take the penalty and easily scored a touchdown to make it 10-7 at halftime.

The Green Wave offense was being stifled all half by Tulsa until a third-and-13 conversion from the Tulsa 45-yard-line. The freaky play came when linebacker Zaven Collins not only dropped what looked like a sure interception, but tipped it to Tulane receiver Terren Encalade for the first down.

Those two plays symbolize Tulsa’s season.

“Had opportunities throughout the game,” said Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery. “I thought we had a couple in the first half, obviously, that you have to take advantage of.”

But still, Tulsa came out in the third quarter and went up 17-7 on a 14-yard touchdown run to the left by Stokes on a jet sweep.

Even though Tulsa had the momentum, TU’s offense went into its usual late game doldrums, and Tulane’s running game finally took over. The Green Wave, thanks to a 51-yard run to the Tulsa 1-yard line by Corey Dauphine (18 carries for 107 yards), narrowed the lead to 17-14 on the next series. Tulane finished the game with 312 yards on 55 carries, including a whopping 221 yards on 27 carries in the second half.

Tulsa stopped Tulane from a third-and goal at the Tulsa 3-yard-line early in the fourth quarter, with Tulane settling for a 20-yard field goal, and the game was tied at 17-17 with 12:06 remaining.

What turned out to be the key play of the game happened later in the quarter when Tulsa faced a fourth-and-one at the Tulane 42. Boomer went under center for the only time of the game, and fumbled the snap. Tulane recovered with 6:15 remaining, setting up the game-winning drive by the Green Wave.

After Tulane’s go-ahead touchdown, Tulsa still had a chance to tie the game, but could only advance to the Tulane 43-yard line before backtracking and stalling out due to a false start penalty and a sack.

Boomer showed improvement over his previous two starts, completing 12 of 26 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. He had 33 yards rushing on 10 attempts.

His counterpart, McMillan, rushed eight times for 75 yards and two touchdowns, while completing 10 of 19 passes for 92 yards.

Tulsa’s running game was mostly held in check, with Shamari Brooks leading the way with only 57 yards on 18 carries.

“Finishing is really the key,” said Stokes, who leads Tulsa in receiving yards this season, having caught 24 passes for 334 yards. “We always start strong, but we just need to finish strong. Coming into the fourth quarter, we just need to know that the goal is to put this team out and put our feet on their necks in order to finish them. That is what I feel we need to get way better at.”

Tulsa will have a golden opportunity for its first major college win of the season next Saturday when it hosts UConn (1-7, 0-4).

“Losing sucks, but we still have something to fight for and that’s to finish the season with a better record,” Stokes said.