TU Football Falls At Temple

Tulsa's comeback bid fell short as the Temple Owls re-took the lead in the fourth quarter and held on for a 35-24 victory in front of 25,340 fans Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field.

It was Tulsa's first loss in American Athletic Conference action, falling to 1-1 in league play and 1-5 overall, while the Owls improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play.

Tulsa grabbed its first lead of the game at 24-21 on the first play of the fourth quarter, but the Owls added 14 points in the final 11 minutes of the contest to take the victory.

For the game, Tulane held a 497 to 438-yard advantage in total offense, as the Hurricane gained 178 rushing yards and 260 yards through the air. Dane Evans completed 21-of-36 passes for 260 yards and two TDs, while Zack Langer had his first career 100-yard rushing game with 113 yards and Keevan Lucas had his third 100-yard receiving game this season with 109 yards on nine receptions.

Temple's P.J. Walker threw for 294 yards and two TDs, while Jahad Thomas rushed for 152 yards.

Tulsa opened the second half with a nine-play, 77-yard drive taking 4:44 off the clock as Evans connected in the corner of the end zone with Keevan Lucas on a 29-yard touchdown pass, knotting the score at 21-21 with the PAT. The Hurricane scored the only points of the third quarter on that drive, as the Tulsa defense held the Owls to just 35 third-quarter yards on nine plays. The Tulsa offense gained 115 yards on 21 plays in the third quarter.

Tulsa opened the fourth quarter with Carl Salazar's career-long 44-yard field goal, capping a

10-play, 42-yard drive which took 4:51 off the game clock. The three-pointer gave Tulsa its first lead of the ball game, 24-21, and its first lead in 24 quarters of regulation play this season.

The Owls took the subsequent kickoff 51 yards in seven plays to the Tulsa 19-yard line, but a 37-yard field goal missed wide right, preserving Tulsa's 24-21 lead.

On a Temple possession later, the Owls went back in the lead on a 30-yard TD pass from P.J. Walker to Jalen Fitzpatrick, capping a three-play, 64-yard drive, giving the Owls a 28-24 lead with 10:38 remaining in the game. Temple added a 20-yard touchdown for a 35-24 lead at the 3:25 mark of the fourth quarter. The score came on Walker's second TD pass, this time to Thomas.

It took Temple just 54 seconds for its first score of the game as Kenneth Harper ran in from eight yards out, capping a three-play 79-yard drive on the Owl's first possession. Thomas' 68-yard run set-up the Temple score as he ran to the Tulsa 11-yard line on the first play from scrimmage.

After a blocked punt, Tulsa evened the score at 7-7 with a Zack Langer 19-yard touchdown run and PAT at the 3:17 mark of the first quarter, marking Tulsa's first touchdown in the first quarter this season.

On the subsequent kick-off, Tulsa got the ball again on a fumbled kick, but failed to convert on a fourth-and-eight situation from the Owls' 30-yard line to get the first down.

The Owls took over possession and marched the ball down the field 63 yards for a score, as Temple faked a field goal and went three-yards for a score on a Connor Reilly run, capping a seven-play, 67-yard drive at the 14:19 mark of the second quarter.

Tulsa responded with a nine-play, 62-yard drive as Evans through the final nine yards in the end zone to Mandel Dixon Jr.

A takeaway on an interception by Tulsa's Craig Suits at the Temple 40-yard line resulted in zero points for the Hurricane as a 41-yard field goal hit the right upright.

After Tulsa forced a Temple punt, Tulsa marched 79 yards in 11 plays to the Temple one-yard line, but was held on fourth-and-one with just over two minutes remaining in the first half. On the subsequent possession, the Owls took the ball 99 yards in two minutes to take a 21-14 lead, as P.J. Walker ran the final five yards for the touchdown.

In the second quarter, Tulane out-scored Tulsa 14-7, but the Hurricane had a whopping 11:03 to 3:57 edge in possession time.

At intermission, the Hurricane held a slight 271 to 261-yard edge in total yardage, but trailed by seven points. Tulsa had just over an eight-minute advantage in possession time, 19:32 to 10:28.

Tulsa returns home next Saturday for Homecoming against first-time American Athletic Conference opponent South Florida. Game time is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at H.A. Chapman Stadium.