Memphis Pulls Away From Golden Hurricane On Halloween

The hometown Memphis Tigers overcame a 14-3 deficit by scoring the next 30 points and went on for a 40-20 victory in front of 26,846 fans at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on Halloween night Friday.

Memphis improved to 5-3 on the year and 3-1 in American Athletic Conference play, while the Hurricane fell to 1-7 overall and 1-3 in league action.

The Hurricane offense was sharp in the first half putting up 215 yards and 14 points, but stalled in the third quarter managing just 64 yards on 20 plays. The Tulsa defense held the Tigers to just 77 third period yards and six points on two field goals.

Tulsa gained 196 second-half yards and finished the game with 411 total yards, while the Tigers put up 178 yards in the final 30 minutes and totaled 426 total yards. Tulsa's Dane Evans completed28-of-54 passes for 349 yards and two TDs, while Keevan Lucas had his fourth straight 100-yard receiving game and fifth one on the year.

Memphis. Brandon Hayes ended the game with 197 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while quarterback Paxton Lynch completed 18-of-31 passes for 183 yards.

After the first five second half possessions, three for Tulsa and two for Memphis, amounted to no scores, Memphis broke the second half scoring drought at the 7:57 mark of the third quarter with a 37-yard field goal by Jake Elliott, giving the Tigers a 23-14 lead. Elliott added his fourth field goal of the night at the 3:59 mark putting the Tigers ahead 26-14 with a 51-yard field goal.

At the 10:06 mark of the fourth period, Memphis' Hayes raced 38 yards for his second touchdown of the night to give Memphis a 33-14 lead.

Tulsa took the subsequent possession 88 yards in 11 plays and four minutes as Dane Evans threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Keyarris Garrett, but the two-point conversion attempt failed, cutting Memphis' lead to 33-20 with six minutes left on the game clock.

When Tulsa did not get the attempted onside kick, Memphis went 47 yards in eight plays as the Tigers' Hayes added his third touchdown on a 14-yard run to put Memphis ahead 40-20 at the 2:50 mark.

Early in the first quarter, a 61-yard Dalton Parks punt put the Tigers at their own six-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Jarvis Cooper fumbled on a running attempt as the ball was picked up by Tulsa's Demarco Nelson and run into the end zone for a six-yard TD and a 7-0 Tulsa lead.

Memphis scored on a 53-yard field goal at the 14:37 mark of the second period to cut the Tulsa lead to 7-3.

The Hurricane took the subsequent possession 75 yards in nine plays as Dane Evans threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Derek Patterson for a 14-3 lead. But, Memphis turned its next three possessions into 17 points.

After Tulsa took its 14-3 lead, the Tigers wasted little time of their own to score on the next possession, going 54 yards in six plays, taking 1:50 off the clock as quarterback Lynch scored on a three-yard run. Tulsa marched to the Memphis 20-yard line, but a field goal attempt by Carl Salazar was blocked. The Tigers then marched 65 yards in seven plays for a 37-yard field goal that brought Tulsa's lead just one point, 14-13, with 1:50 left in the first half.

Tulsa took over possession with 1:50 left on the first-half clock, but Memphis held the Hurricane to a 3-and-out and took over possession at their own 48-yard line with 1:20 left on the clock. The Tigers' Hayes raced 51 yards on a 3rd-and-nine for Memphis' second TD in the last nine minutes, taking a 20-14 lead into halftime.

At the intermission, Memphis held a 284 to 215-yard edge in total offense, as 171 of Memphis' yards came on its final three possessions. The Tigers gained 136 on the ground to Tulsa's 40 yards. The Hurricane had 175 passing yards on 15-of-26, while the Tigers threw for 112 yards.

The Golden Hurricane returns home next Saturday for an 11 am game against the SMU Mustangs at H.A. Chapman Stadium.