Tulsa finishes off season with 37-30 win at Houston
HOUSTON (AP) — Braylon Braxton passed for 316 yards and three touchdowns — including two long ones to JuanCarlos Santana — and also ran for a score to help Tulsa upset Houston 37-30 on Saturday night.
“First of all, it felt good to finally beat Houston," said Tulsa cornerback Tyon Davis. "I haven’t beaten them since I’ve been here so that felt great. In that second half we went in there and made some adjustments. We knew how to stop them and a certain way to stop them. I credit all that to the coaches honestly.”
It was all Houston early, as the Cougars used a 68-yard punt return score by Nathaniel Dell and Clayton Tune’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Golden to lead 14-3 after one quarter.
Tulsa’s Zack Long and Houston’s Kyle Ramsey traded field goals before Braxton hit Keylon Stokes for a 1-yard score to get Tulsa (5-7, 3-5 American Athletic Conference) within 17-13 with 3:58 left before halftime.
From there, Tune connected with Dell for a 13-yard touchdown, but Braxton answered with a 37-yard touchdown run and the Golden Hurricane trailed 24-20 at intermission.
Braxton and Santana teamed up for a 52-yard touchdown just two minutes into the third quarter to give Tulsa a 27-24 lead. Ramsey’s second field goal tied the game at 27 after three quarters.
Braxton gave Tulsa the lead for good when he hooked up with Santana for a 25-yard score midway through the fourth quarter.
Braxton completed 25 of 43 passes and carried 11 times for a team-high 51 yards. Santana had six receptions for a career-high 169 yards.
"Winning that last game almost makes you forget about all the bad things that happened throughout this year, it felt good finishing it a positive note," said Braxton. "Of course, we still have to build on the things that happened this year. Finishing that game with a win kind of cleared everything from this season. We’re just going to build on what we did today for the next season.”
Tune completed 26 of 47 passes for 386 yards with one interception for Houston (7-5, 5-3). Dell finished with nine catches for 161 yards.
Tulsa ended with a victory for the fifth straight season.
“I couldn’t be more proud and thankful for this team and how they stick together, resilient, battle, and found a way to come out on top tonight," said Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery. "We dropped down early. We fought our way back and found a way to win there late. These seniors have meant a lot to our program. They’ve done some good things and really set a platform for what we really can continue to build upon and very thankful for their sacrifice for what they’ve done for our program and for me personally.
"I thought some guys had some really outstanding plays tonight and really played exceptionally, but it took everybody in all three phases.’’