As Tulsa's season continues to slip away, it was painful for TU fans to see just how much better No. 19 Tulane is than Tulsa.
Tulane's 27-13 victory Saturday afternoon in front of 15,122 fans at H.A. Chapman Stadium was like another slap in the face to the Golden Hurricane.
Tulsa (3-6, 1-4 AAC) was in the game at halftime, but when Tulsa failed to score on its first series of the second half, and Tulane scored in its first series, the Green Wave led 24-10.
After that, it was just Tulane continuing to dominate, not allowing anything on defense and running the ball down Tulsa's throat.
Quite simply, Tulsa had no answer for Tulane (8-1, 5-0) on either side of the ball. It is shocking to see how much Tulane (2-10 in 2021) has improved in a year.
The Golden Hurricane didn't have Davis Brin at quarterback. That was especially disappointing against Tulane since he was 2-0 against the Green Wave, including the Hail Mary to JuanCarlos Santana at the end of regulation to force overtime in 2020.
Braylon Braxton replaced Brin and did some good things, but was sacked 4 times and just couldn't get anything going. He had 32 yards rushing and completed 13 of 25 passes for 146 yards and a TD.
Braxton was harassed so much when passing the ball that he never had a chance.
On defense, Tulsa has done a good job in defending the pass this year, but has been horrible on run defense for much of the season.
Tulane's running game dominated from the start, opening up gaping holes for talented running backs Tyjae Spears and Shaadie Clayton-Johnson, who each rushed 14 times for 157 and 106 yards, respectively.
The Green Wave's 357 yards on 53 carries was downright demoralizing for the Golden Hurricane.
Michael Pratt – whose image of Justin Wright mauling him on Zaven Collins' walk off 96-yard interception return in 2020 has been viewed on YouTube countless times – was decent.
Pratt really didn't have to do a lot, but completed 2 TD passes, finishing with 11 of 19 completions for 125 yards and an interception.
Tulsa safety Kendarin Ray picked up his first career interception, and set up a late second quarter 28-yard TD pass from Braxton to Santana that narrowed the Tulane halftime lead to 17-10.
With Tulsa getting the ball to start the second half, TU had the momentum, and a TD would have tied the score. But Tulsa elected to punt on 4th-and-3 at the Tulane 48-yard-line.
An 87-yard, grind it up drive by Tulane ensued, and a 24-10 lead would be too much to overcome. With Tulane controlling the lines of scrimmage, a comeback wasn't going to happen.
As for Tulsa's two overtime wins the last two years over Tulane, Green Wave coach Willie Fritz didn't worry about it.
Basically, now is now for Fritz.
"Each year is different,” Fritz said. "This is the 2022 Tulane Green Wave, and this is the 2022 Tulsa Golden Hurricane. We have to do a good job of flushing those down the toilet and playing and not worrying about the past successes or failures."
For Tulsa, it would be good to get Brin back for the last three games. It will be tough, playing at Memphis Thursday night, and then getting USF at home before finishing at Houston.
Brin, who injured his left shoulder against SMU last week, just couldn't go this week, missing his first game in two years.
"Well, again, earlier in the week just watching his progress, didn't really feel like he was going to be healthy enough to play," Montgomery said of Brin. "Thought he did a nice job on the sideline trying to help Braylon, staying locked in.
"We've got to just continue to see what Davis' progress is, and we will keep building from there."
Montgomery had some nice things to say about how Braxton played.
"I thought Braylon played well,” Montgomery said. "I mean, he made some big runs, made some really nice throws. He did what we needed him to do as he came in against a tough defense."
Just like last year, Tulsa needs to win out in its last three games to finish 6-6 and be bowl eligible. But unlike last year, this year's schedule to finish the season is considerably tougher.
We will see if TU can turn things around.
