TU football failed to tame the Southern Methodist Mustangs
Staff Report,
photo: Casey Lowry
Southern Methodist University scored 20 points in the second half to break a 7-7 halftime tie and go on for a 27-13 victory over the University of Tulsa football team on Saturday.
TU dropped to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in league play, while the Mustangs improved to 4-4 and 3-1 in Conference USA action. The Hurricane dropped its third straight game, the most since a three-game losing streak at the start of the 2004 campaign.
There was little offense in the first quarter as both teams combined for 81 yards, 53 yards from SMU and 28 yards from the Hurricane. Each team had a turnover on its first possession, and SMU also turned the ball over on its second possession.
Tulsa ended the scoring drought as Charles Opeseyitan raced 13 yards for a 7-0 Hurricane lead, capping a 76-yard, seven-play drive. The Hurricane used four different quarterbacks for the drive.
SMU tied the score at 7-7 with 4:22 remaining in the second quarter as SMU’s Kyle Padron threw to Cole Beasley, who raced down the SMU sidelines for most of the 49 yards. The drive covered 57 yards in three plays.
Other than Tulsa’s 76-yard scoring drive, the Golden Hurricane gained just 52 more yards in the first half for a 128-yard total, while the Mustangs totaled 168 first-half yards.
Tulsa’s offense amassed 322 yards, while SMU’s totaled 429 yards.
Padron completed 20 of 30 passes for 354 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start. TU’s Jacob Bower threw for 206 yards and one touchdown in the most action of his two-year career for the Golden Hurricane.
TU cut into SMU’s 20-7 lead when Bower led the Hurricane on a six-play, 80-yard scoring drive that saw Bower throw the final 13 yards to tight end Jake Collums.
Kevin Fitzpatrick’s PAT attempt was blocked by SMU’s Margus Hunt, his fourth blocked kick of the season.
The Mustangs scored 10 points in the third quarter for a 17-7 lead. SMU connected on a 35-yard field goal by Matt Syzmanski in the third quarter, giving the Mustangs a 10-point lead.
“It was a very disappointing day for us,” said TU head coach Todd Graham. “SMU did an awesome job today. We didn’t play very well in all three phases. We were dismal on third down and we couldn’t get any rhythm offensively.”
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