Breaking Down Tulsa's Win Over Notre Dame

Originally Published: Oct 31, 2010 10:3 PM CDT

Bobby Lewis
Oklahoma Sports Reporter

TULSA, Oklahoma – In the end, the prestige of the golden helmets and historic venue weren’t enough. Not even Touchdown Jesus could save the Fighting Irish from falling to the Golden Hurricane in South Bend. A day before Halloween, Tulsa tricked Notre Dame into thinking they could roll over the tiniest team in Division-I, and the Irish treated their guests to the greatest win in their program’s history.

OFFENSE: C
Against the Irish defense, Tulsa only managed a season-low, 10 points. The unit scored more against the OSU Cowboys in a lopsided blowout than it did against Notre Dame. But, G.J. Kinne and company still moved the ball when they needed to.

Tulsa was impressive out of the gate, scoring a touchdown on its first drive for the fifth straight game. The Golden Hurricane got a touchdown pass from Kinne to Damaris Johnson to cap a 9-play, 67 yard drive.

Tulsa’s offense was shut out from that point on until its final drive. Needing a field goal to take the lead, Kinne led the team down the field to set up the game-winning kick. On the final drive, Kinne picked up 71 yards on 4-for-7 passing. He also led the team with 78 yards rushing in the game.

Johnson passed LaDainian Tomlinson (Texas Christian) for 20th all-time in NCAA all-purpose yardage in the game. The TU junior now has 6,126 yards to his name.

DEFENSE: B-
They didn’t have to deal with the starting quarterback for long. Linebacker Tanner Antle ended Dayne Crist’s season with a hard hit in the first quarter. When backup quarterback Tommy Rees came in the game, Tulsa didn’t change its approach. They hassled the new arm in the Irish backfield, and didn’t get discouraged after giving up scores.

The Golden Hurricane came up with three big interceptions. They scored on the first one. Curnelius Arnick swatted a pass out of the air and freshman linebacker Shawn Jackson plucked it, tucked it, and ran 66-yards for a touchdown. The play pulled the Golden Hurricane to within 20-18 at a crucial juncture in the second quarter.

On Rees’ very next pass, the first play of the Irish’s next drive, Dexter McCoil dove for a pass and was able to get his arms under the ball and cradle it for the interception. It snuffed out any chance that Notre Dame would have before the half to score any more points.

The final pick was one Tulsa fans will write poems about. John Flanders, after getting burned just four plays prior, leaped to make a game-preserving interception in his own endzone. He robbed Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd of his third touchdown catch of the day, bragging rights and a giant comeback. He also etched his name in Golden Hurricane history with the grab.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A-
Corey Dorris and Curnelius Arnick combined to make the play of the year for Tulsa. In the first quarter, after Notre Dame’s first score, Dorris busted through the offensive line to get his hands up in the path of the extra point attempt. It ricocheted right into Arnick’s hands and the sophomore sprinted the length of the field for two points. The play gave Tulsa the edge on the scoreboard at the end of the game.

Damaris Johnson is now just 25 yards shy of becoming Conference USA's all-time leader in kickoff return yards after returning a third quarter punt for a touchdown. His 59-yard score pulled Tulsa to within two points and started to turn the momentum in the road team’s favor.

Don’t forget about Kevin Fitzpatrick. He did miss one kick, but made the most clutch kick of his career to give Tulsa the greatest win in school history.

OVERALL: B+
The win would have meant more if Notre Dame was still the top-10 program that it was in its heyday. The Irish were 4-3 coming into the game, didn’t have their starting quarterback and still had their chances to win.

Nevertheless, you can’t overlook Tulsa’s ability to close out a team on the road with so much history, prestige and prominence in its corner. On Halloween weekend, Tulsa trumped the legendary ghosts of Notre Dame past, Touchdown Jesus and even Rudy.

The Golden Hurricane beat the 'Golden Domers'. It doesn’t get much sweeter than that.