by SHREVEPORT, La. – Trailing by as many as 24 points, Tulsa scored 21 points in the second-half but it wasn’t enough as the Golden Hurricane dropped a 55-52 decision to Virginia Tech in Frank Beamer’s final game as the Hokies head coach. It was an exciting game from start to finish as the two teams combined to score 107 points and gain 1,161 total yards in front of 31,289 fans Saturday at Independence Stadium.
Tech ended the season at 7-6, while Tulsa fell to 6-7 to close out Philip Montgomery‘s first season at the helm of the Hurricane program. Tulsa’s six wins bettered the combined win total of five from the last two years combined.
“I’m extremely proud of our seniors. They set the standard here and built the foundation for whet we’re trying to do here. We hate to send them out that way, but they battled just like we have all year long,” said Montgomery. “We just ran out of time. If we had a few more ticks on the clock maybe it changes a little bit.”
Tulsa amassed 563 yards with 374 coming through the air and 189 yards on the ground, while Tech had 598 total yards, including 344 passing and 254 rushing. Dane Evans (Wichita Tribe) completed 27-of-44 passes and threw three TDs, while Josh Atkinson caught 11 passes for 139 yards and Keyarris Garrett had 137 yards on eight receptions.
D’Angelo Brewer had his third 100-yard rushing game this season with 105 yards on 14 carries, while his touchdown runs covered 48 and 10 yards. Tech’s Michael Brewer connected on 23-of-37 passes for 344 yards and one TD, while Isaiah Ford had 227 yards receiving and one touchdown on 12 catches.
After combining for 76 first-half points, the two teams scored just 13 between them in the third quarter, while Tulsa out-scored the Hokies 15-3 in the final period. Tulsa’s defense which gave up scores on Tech’s first six possessions, held Tech to just 10 second-half points, while intercepting a pass, recovering a fumble and forcing three punts.
The Hurricane had one last crack at grabbing the victory, starting their final drive at the 20-yard line with 2:00 remaining on the game clock. Tulsa reached the 40-line, but on a 4th-and-16 from its own 40-yard line, Virginia Tech’s Dadi Nicholas sacked Evans to end any hope for the Hurricane.
Leading by 14 points at halftime, 45-31, Tech went back up by 21 points after taking the second-half kickoff 81 yards in 15 plays and taking 7:22 off the clock to do it. Trey Edmunds ran in from one-yard out for a 52-31 lead.
On Tech’s next possession, Jeremy Brady intercepted a Brewer pass and took it 43 yards to the Tech nine-yard line. On Tulsa’s first play, Evans took the ball nine yards for the score, cutting the Hokies lead to 15 points, 52-37, as the PAT failed on a botched snap and hold. That’s where the scored remained at the end of the period.
The Hurricane held the Hokies to just three points in the final period, while the Tulsa offense put up 165 yards and 15 points in the final 7:35. Tulsa’s final two scores came n a 21-yard Evans pass to Atkinson, capping a nine-play, 75-yard drive, while Evans threw to Garrett for a two-point conversion.
On Tulsa’s next possession, Evans found Garrett for a 36-yard touchdown in the end zone that capped a 76-yard, seven-play drive and made it a three-point game at 55-52 with 3:47 remaining in the contest.
“We’ve been in games like this all year long and we know how to handle it and respond. Our conditioning was paying off, especially in the latter part of the first half and all of the second half,” said Montgomery. “I thought our defense stepped up late, made a few plays and got a couple turnovers.”
“Down 24 for our guys, we’re not paying that much attention to the scoreboard. “We’re going out there and play the way we play. We’re going to keep pushing the ball and it doesn’t matter what the score is or how much time is left. We’re going to play the same way from start to finish,” Montgomery added. “Our guys have a firm belief in what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. We know that no matter what the score, we can come back.”
An entire game was played in the first quarter as the two teams combined for 45 as Virginia Tech held a 24-21 lead at the end of the first 15 minutes. Tulsa took the opening kickoff and wasted little time in putting up the game’s first points, scoring in the first 0:46 as D’Angelo Brewer broke loose for a 48-yard run to put the Hurricane up 7-0 at the 14:14 mark. Tech wasted little time in responding as Travon McMillian ran 51 yards at the 12:53 mark to even the score.
Tulsa’s Zack Langer‘s 2-yard run 59 seconds later put Tulsa back on top, 14-7, at the 11:54 mark, but it was only 0:12 later when the Hokies knotted the score at 14-14 on a 74-yard pass from Michael Brewer to Isaiah Ford. Tech scored the next 10 points to take a 10-point lead at 24-14 with 5:28 remaining in the first quarter.
The first period fireworks weren’t finished though, as the Hurricane went 75 yards in nine plays to cut the Tech lead to three points, 24-21. Evans threw the final nine yards to Louie for the touchdown.
At the end of the first quarter, Virginia Tech held the three-point lead as the two teams combined for 463 yards, 238 by the Hokies and 225 yards by Tulsa.
The Hokies controlled the second quarter, scoring on drives of 75 and 80 yards and returning a punt 67 yards for 21 consecutive points. Greg Strohman’s punt return put the Hokies ahead 45-21 with 7:11 left on the first-half clock. Redford Jones‘ 29-yard field goal at the 2:26 mark was Tulsa’s first points of the second period.
The Hurricane stopped Tech on the subsequent possession, forcing the first Hokies punt of the game. The Tulsa offense started 64 yards away from the end zone with 1:05 left on the first-half clock, and covered that in six plays, as Brewer scored from 10 yards out for his second touchdown of the game.
At halftime, just seven yards separated the two teams in total offense as Tech had 370, while Tulsa gained 363 total yards.
