Tulsa Holds Off Houston, 28-25

Quarterback G.J. Kinne puts up career numbers rushing to boost Golden Hurricane.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:02 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Nov 13, 2010 8:41 PM CDT

Grant Belcher
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

HOUSTON – No Tulsa-Houston matchup is complete without a little bit of drama.

After the Golden Hurricane jumped out to an early lead, Houston decided to come back and make it interesting but fell to Tulsa, 28-25.

Down three midway through the fourth, Houston threatened with a potential game-winning drive, but a common theme reared its head for the TU defense.

Defensive back Marco Nelson picked off Houston quarterback David Piland to give Tulsa possession back. The Golden Hurricane then engineered a lengthy drive to drain the remainder of the clock and pull out a tight victory.

The interception was the fifth of the night for the Tulsa defense.

In a game that many expected to be an offensive shootout, the Tulsa defense stole the show early, holding the nation’s 10th-ranked offense to a single touchdown in the first half. The Golden Hurricane also picked off four passes in the half to help its offense to an early lead.

After a short rushing touchdown from Alex Singleton to give Tulsa a 7-0 lead, Houston came back to start the second quarter with a scoring strike from David Piland to Justin Johnson to tie the game.

But the Tulsa offense was quietly productive in the second quarter, putting up scores on four and five-yard passes from G.J. Kinne to Jameel Owens and Clay Sears to go up by two scores.

The Golden Hurricane had good field position to work with thanks to the interceptions, only having to drive 45 yards and 10 yards for their second-quarter scoring drives.

Houston controlled the ball for most of the second half, registering a field goal, a long touchdown drive and another 66-yard touchdown reception.

But Tulsa’s only touchdown of the second half – an otherwise uneventful Kinne touchdown run – proved to be the game winner for the Golden Hurricane.

Kinne certainly found himself in an unusual situation on the evening, as he facilitated the game with his rushing more than his passing.

He was solid through the air, picking up 154 yards and two scores.

But when the Tulsa coaching staff found something that worked, they stuck with it.

Kinne carried the ball an unheard of 31 times for 190 yards and a touchdown to go with his 31 pass attempts.

Damaris Johnson led the TU receiving corps with 54 yards and also had 61 yards in kick returns, placing him just three yards from the NCAA’s all-time return yardage record.

With the win, the Golden Hurricane is now in the driver’s seat to win the West Division and head to the Conference USA Championship Game.

Tulsa (7-3, 4-2) will host UTEP on Saturday at 1 p.m.