Bomar Throws Five TDs in Sam Houston State Road Win
Sam Houston State quarterback Rhett Bomar threw for 323 yards and tied a school record with five touchdowns in a 49-33 victory at Gardner-Webb. In the only other road game in the Southland Conference, No. 15/12 Central Arkansas lost 62-34 at Tulsa, a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision. The league played five road games and was 3-2 to complete a 4-3 week. No. 6/6 McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana and Northwestern State earned the wins while Texas State and Stephen F. Austin, which allowed 30 fourth-quarter points, sustained losses.
Sam Houston State 49, Gardner-Webb 33
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. ? The one question the Sam Houston State Bearkats had going into Saturday night’s game against Gardner-Webb was how they would play against an FCS opponent. After opening the season with games against teams from other divisions, it didn’t take the Kats long to answer the question.
Rhett Bomar passed for 323 yards in the first half and five touchdowns on his way to match a season-high 340 yards in a 49-33 win over the Bulldogs.
“They came out and pressured us early, and that allowed us to move the ball against them,” Bomar said. “We had some openings in the secondary and we were able to take advantage of it.
“I think it was good for us to come out and play like this early, especially playing here on the road,” he said.
On the opening drive of the game, the Kats used just six plays to get to the end zone when Bomar hooked up with Jason Madkins for the first score. Gardner-Webb answered right back also scoring in six plays to tie the game up. But Bomar and James Aston connected on the next two drives for touchdowns.
In all, the Bearkats scored touchdowns on their first five drives of the game. They added one more with 17 seconds left in the half on a pass from Bomar to Madkins. He also completed a touchdown to Justin Wells in the opening 30 minutes of play.
“I have never thrown for five touchdowns in a game, much less in one half,” Bomar said. “That was really something else to go out there and be able to do that.”
The five touchdowns in a game ties the Sam Houston State record for passing touchdowns in a game. It had previously been done by Chris Chaloupka (three times), Josh McCown and Dustin Long (four times).
Bomar added a rushing touchdown to start the second half before coming out of the game.
“That was tough. I really wanted to be able to stay in the game just to get some more playing in,” Bomar said. “I only played half of that first game and then the one against Kansas. So I have really only played a little more than two games.
“With a bye next week and then the conference opener after that, you would ideally like to have a little more playing time going into a big game like that,” he said.
When Bomar left the game in the third quarter, the Kats were leading 49-10.
Aston had a big game for the Kats out of the back field. He finished the night with three total touchdowns and had 46 yards on the ground and 40 more through the air.
Reserve running back Tymagic Robinson did not play in Saturday night’s game. He was suspended for a violation of the athletic department’s discipline policy.
The Bearkats will be off next week and will open Southland Conference play Oct. 11 at Central Arkansas.
No. 6/6 McNeese State 63, Southern Virginia 7
LAKE CHARLES, La. ? McNeese State quarterback Derrick Fourroux set the tone by completing his first nine passes ? two of them for touchdowns ? as No. 6 McNeese State ran off to a 63-7 victory over Southern Virginia here Saturday.
The Cowboys, now 2-1 on the season, were making their first appearance in three weeks, one game having been cancelled by a hurricane and then the Pokes having an open date last week.
Led by Fourroux’s 9-for-9 effort, McNeese had what is thought to be the first time a Cowboy team has gone an entire game without having thrown an incomplete pass. They were 12-of-12 for 196 yards and three touchdowns.
Backup quarterbacks Mark Fontenot and Beau Lasseigne were a combined three for three, Fontenot going two for two and Lasseigne connecting on his only toss for a 28 yard touchdown to John LeDay.
The Cowboys held a 49-0 halftime lead and were up 63-0 at the end of three quarters.
McNeese head coach Matt Viator emptied his bench during the game as most of the front liners played only into the second period.
Fourroux passed for 125 yards and had touchdown tosses of nine yards to Brandon Broussard and 25 yards to Steven Whitehead.
Several Cowboys were seeing their first playing time along with the first time that they either carried the football or caught the football. Josh Wagner ripped his way for over 100 yards in his first game to carry the football. He rushed 19 times and he scored twice, once on a seven yard run and again on a 28 yard run.
Also scoring rushing touchdowns for the Cowboys were Todd Pendland on an 11-yard run, Elrick Jones on a 2-yard run and Drew Johnston on a 2-yard run.
McNeese also got a touchdown on a 50-yard pass interception return by Jamelle Juneau and the Cowboys got eight points on PAT kicks by Blake Bercegeay and one from Matt Polansky who knocked home the final PAT try.
The lone Southern Virginia score, now 1-4, score came with five minutes left in the game on a 17-yard pass from Sam Trulock to Brett Petty.
Offensively, McNeese totaled 472 yards to 96 for Southern Virginia. The Cowboys held the Knights to 45 yards rushing and to 51 passing.
Southeastern Louisiana 38, North Dakota 35
HAMMOND, La. ? North Dakota placekicker Brandon Hellevang’s 49-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left and short as time expired, allowing the Lions to close out its non-conference schedule with a thrilling 38-35 victory over previously unbeaten North Dakota Saturday night at Strawberry Stadium.
Southeastern (3-2) remained unbeaten at home with the win ? its second consecutive last second victory in its newly renovated stadium. UND (4-1) cut into what was as much as 17-point Southeastern lead, but the Lions were able to hold on as Hellevang’s effort fell just off the mark.
Southeastern junior quarterback Brian Babin fell short of his third straight 300-yard game, but led a Lion attack that posted its highest-scoring output of the season. The St. Amant native completed 18-for-28 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns, giving him nine touchdown passes and no interceptions on the season.
Babin connected on scoring throws to freshman Simmie Yarbrough, sophomore wide receiver Andre Cryer and junior running back Jasper Ducksworth. Babin also caught a touchdown on a halfback pass by senior running back Jay Lucas.
Junior defensive back Tommy Connors and sophomore linebacker Ryan Godare had 11 tackles apiece to lead the Southeastern defensive effort. Connors and senior defensive back Trey Douglas had key interceptions for the Lions.
UND quarterback Danny Freund completed 29-of-46 passes for 313 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Brady Trenbeath led the Fighting Sioux with 13 catches for 201 yards and a touchdown. Josh Murray rushed for 77 tough yards on 22 carries with a pair of touchdown runs.
Southeastern led 24-14 at halftime, but North Dakota took the opening drive of the third period six plays for 59 yards with Freund hitting a wide-open Trenbeath for a 23-yard score to cut the Lion lead to three with 12:25 left in the quarter.
On the ending drive however, Babin hit Cryer on a perfectly-placed 37-yard scoring pass to push Southeastern back up by 10 with 10:24 left in the third quarter.
A holding penalty and three incomplete passes pushed North Dakota back to its own 11 and forced a punt. Ducksworth used nifty moves to take a Babin screen pass to the UND 9-yard line on the first play of the drive. On the next play, Ducksworth scampered in for his first touchdown of his Lion career and a 38-21 lead with 8:46 remaining in the third quarter.
The teams traded punts before UND mounted its most impressive drive of the contest. A 43-yard Freund to Trenbeath hookup set up a 3-yard Murray touchdown run and cut the Southeastern lead to 38-27. However, Hellevang missed the point after attempt wide left, leaving Southeastern up by 11 heading into the final period.
North Dakota’s second drive of the fourth quarter covered 60 yards on nine plays and cut the Southeastern lead to five. Freund capped the drive with a 6-yard bullet to Alex Nicholas. Pressure from the Southeastern pass rush forced an errant throw by Freund on the two-point attempt and the Lions led by five with 7:10 to play.
Southeastern managed to move the ball into UND territory and work valuable time off the clock, but the Lions were stopped on fourth down, as Rory Manke and Andrew Miller stopped Lucas short on a screen pass attempt, allowing the Fighting Sioux to take over with 2:47 to play.
Freund moved UND down to the Southeastern 22, but Connors came up with the Lions’ biggest defensive play, pressuring Freund into an intentional grounding penalty and forcing a third-and -25 from the Southeastern 40-yard line. Freund hung up a pass that Douglas intercepted at the 1-yard line with 1:37 remaining.
Southeastern ran a minute off the clock and senior punter Cody Samples took an intentional safety to cut the lead to 38-35 with 34 seconds left.
After the ensuing free kick, Freund scrambled for 18 yards and then hit a 13-yard pass to Ryan Konrath to set up Hellevang’s final attempt.
Both offenses started the game slowly, but Southeastern finally came to life on its second drive of the game, as Babin hit Yarborough three times on the march with the last covering 6 yards and giving Southeastern a 7-0 lead.
The Lions took the lead on the first play of the second quarter. A 44-yard pass from Babin to Chris Wilson set up the score. Lucas took a handoff from Babin, ran to his right and threw across the field for an easy 12-yard score.
North Dakota answered two minutes later, as Murray burst through the middle for a 34-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 14-7. Southeastern came back with an answer of its own, as freshman Brady Miles scored on an 18-yard reverse, with Babin throwing the key block that allowed Miles to put the Lions up 21-7 with 11:19 left in the first half. The score was set up by a 55-yard bomb from Babin to Muhammad.
Southeastern forced UND to go three-and-out on its next possession. The Lions drove 33 yards on nine plays with Jeff Turner pushing the lead to 24-7 with 6:32 remaining in the half. North Dakota would cut into that lead right before half, as Freund found Nicholas with a 11-yard scoring pass.
Southeastern will open Southland Conference play next Saturday, facing Stephen F. Austin at 6 p.m. in Nacogdoches, Texas.
Northwestern State 63, Southeastern Oklahoma 12
NATCHITOCHES, La. ? Senior safety Justin Perry dashed 95 yards with the opening kickoff and his younger brother Kevin scooped up a blocked punt and scampered 17 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter Saturday night as Northwestern State routed Division II Southeastern Oklahoma 63-12 in non-conference college football.
The Demons (3-2) scored the first seven times they touched the ball, also adding a 69-yard interception return by linebacker Isaiah Greenhouse as they led 49-12 at halftime.
The Savage Storm (1-4), whose other three defeats came to nationally-ranked Division II foes, became the 27th consecutive Division II team beaten by the Demons, dating back to 1994.
The final score equaled the second-highest point total for Northwestern in its 31-year Division I history, matching a 63-14 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State in 2004 and trailing only an 87-27 rout of Southeastern Louisiana in 2003, both in Turpin Stadium.
The Demons rushed for 339 yards and totaled 472 while holding the visitors to 221 total yards, 121 on the ground. Northwestern scored on its first four offensive possessions while adding the two special teams scores and the interception return touchdown in its first-half explosion .
"We did what we should have done and got the game under control right out of the gate," said seventh-year head coach Scott Stoker. "We knew we were the better team, and if we played well we should win going away. That happened, but you don't take it for granted. You look at USC at Oregon State, at the Miami Dolphins beating the (New England) Patriots, at Ole Miss beating Florida today, you've got to go out and work and win football games. It's not easy no matter who's across the field.
"Justin's kickoff return was a point of emphasis for us this week. We did a poor job in that phase last week and we worked hard this week on staying on our blocks. We created space and he ripped through it and took it the distance, gave us a great start," said Stoker. "Then we scored off the blocked punt and on the interception return, the score got out of hand really too fast for us. We wanted more work in down-and-distance but weren't going to try to blow out any more lights on the scoreboard."
Northwestern threw only three passes after halftime, with backup quarterback Drew Branch running the team for the final two quarters.
Senior tailback Byron Lawrence ran for 147 yards on 13 carries, including touchdowns of 5 and 19 yards. He climbed into eighth place on the school's career rushing top 10 with 2,467 yards and moved into a tie with future pro stars Joe Delaney and John Stephens with his 11th 100-yard output in his 27-game career, bettered only by all-time rushing leader Tony Taylor (20 in his 3,720 yard output) and Clarence Matthews (12).
Senior kicker Robert Weeks added nine extra points, raising his career scoring total to 178, moving into eighth in school history. He is 29 points shy of the school record of 206 by running back Derrick Johnese from 2002-04, and 22 away from the school record for kickers (199 by Keith Hodnett from 1985-88).
The Perry brothers are believed to be the first siblings to score touchdowns for Northwestern in the same game in the 101-year history of Demon football.
After Perry's game-opening kickoff runback, Northwestern drove 80 yards on 11 plays to make it 14-0. William Griffin plunged in on a 1-yarder with 6:17 to go in the first quarter. It moved to 21-0 when John Hundley threw 8 yards to fellow Louisiana-Lafayette transfer Darius Duffy 2:43 before the end of the quarter.
Kevin Perry scored when senior receiver Adam Varnado blocked a Southeastern Oklahoma punt on the first play of the second quarter, making it 28-0. Greenhouse boosted the spread to 35-0 just over three minutes later when he intercepted a pass in the left flat and raced 69 yards untouched.
The Savage Storm got on the board after a 65-yard kickoff return, with Brandon McCain throwing the first of two touchdowns to Daniel Nichols (5 and 11 yards). Both extra point tries failed for SOSU.
Northwestern used a 51-yard Phil LeBlanc kickoff return to set up its next touchdown, the 5-yard run by Lawrence after a 5-snap, 31-yard drive for a 42-6 lead. The visitors got another long kickoff return, 76 yards by Jerome Hewitt, and notched their second touchdown, but the Demons responded with a nine-play, 75-yard drive for a 4-yard Sterling Endsley touchdown run 2:31 before the half to go up 49-12.
Northwestern opened the second half by scoring to make it 56-12. Lawrence did all the work in two snaps, running 33 yards on the first snap and scoring from 19 yards away on the next one at the 10:49 mark of the third period. Endsley got his second touchdown with 11 minutes remaining on a 7-yard sweep that ended the scoring.
South Dakota State 50, Stephen F. Austin 48
NACOGDOCHES, Texas ? South Dakota State running back Kyle Minett scored on a 2-yard run with one second on the clock to give the No. 20 Jackrabbits a 50-48 come-from-behind victory over Stephen F. Austin on Parents' Weekend Saturday night at Homer Bryce Stadium. The disappointing setback drops SFA to 1-3 (.250) on the season.
"This is a tough one to take," said SFA head coach J.C. Harper. "Our guys fought really hard tonight, we just came up on the short end. You have to take your hat off to South Dakota State. They are a very good football team. We need to take this game and learn from it."
The Lumberjacks appeared to be rolling to their first win over a nationally ranked team since the 2005 season. SFA exploded for 34 points in the first half, and took a commanding 34-6 lead into the locker room. Sophomore quarterback Jeremy Moses was nearly perfect in the opening half completing 24-of-30 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns. The only setback was an interception in the first quarter, which the SFA defense came out and shut down the Jackrabbit offense to get the ball back.
The Lumberjack defense was just as impressive in the opening half forcing two turnovers, and putting SDSU quarterback Ryan Berry on his back almost every time he dropped back to pass. The Lumberjacks were led by junior Tim Knicky who recorded five tackles for losses, and four sacks. Knicky just missed tying a Southland Conference record for sacks in a game by one.
After the Jackrabbits tied the game at three with 7:56 remaining in the first quarter, SFA scored on three of its next four possessions to take a 24-6 lead, and all the momentum into halftime. SFA opened the second half by scoring the first 10 points and appeared to be on its way to its second win of the season, but that's when South Dakota State did the unthinkable.
After an eight-play, 76-yard drive cut the lead to 34-13 midway through the third quarter, the flood gates opened for the Jackrabbits. SDSU took advantage of two interceptions in Lumberjack territory and converted them into touchdowns to tie the game at 34. The Jackrabbits would add another score to take their first lead of the game, 41-34, with 5:24 remaining.
"We're going to love it when Moses throws the ball," said Harper. "And we're going to hate it when he throws an interception, but he is still going to throw it. We will become more consistent."
The Lumberjacks didn't allow the visitors to walk out of Homer Bryce Stadium without a fight. SFA immediately responded by taking the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown to tie the game at 41.
Sophomore Vincent Pervis took the kick at his own 6-yard line and returned it 94 yards for the `Jacks first kick return for a score since the 2000 season.
After a nine-play, 37-yard drive, the Jackrabbits regained the lead with 1:19 left on a Pete Reifenrath 42-yard field goal. But after SDSU kicked the ball out of bounds, SFA got the ball at their own 40-yard line.
Moses calmly took the `Jacks down the field and ended a five-play, 60-yard drive with a 14-yard pass to junior Tyrone Ross to give SFA back the advantage. Ross made a nice one-handed catch in the back of the end zone for the score. After senior Cory Long drilled the extra point to give SFA a four-point lead, 48-44, the Jacks only had to hold on for 41 seconds for the victory. But it was just enough time for Berry, and company to punch it in one last time.
The Jackrabbits got the ball down to the 1-yard line with two seconds remaining. Berry took the snap and rolled to his right, before pitching the ball to Minett who appeared to be stopped shy of the goal line. But Minett was able to stretch the ball across the line as he was hit to give the Jackrabbits the final advantage of the game.
Moses finished the game completing 34-of-51 passes for 370 yards and five touchdowns. Unfortunately he was stung for four interceptions. Moses connected with eight different receivers on the night, including four who caught touchdown passes. Junior Duane Brooks led the way with nine catches for 107 yards, while Ross hauled in six passes for 55 yards and two scores. Seinor Tyrell Williams, and junior Aaron had the other two TD grabs.
Sophomore Jabara Williams finished the night with a career-high 19 tackles, including 2.5 for losses.
Classmate Terrance Nurse added 14 tackles, while sophomore defensive back Chad Haynes recorded 11 stops. Freshman linebacker Derrick Choice also had double-figure tackles ending the night with 10.
The Lumberjacks will look to put the setback behind them as they return to the field Saturday, Oct. 4th, to open league play against Southeastern Louisiana. The game against the Lions is slated to begin at 6 p.m. from Homer Bryce Stadium.
Southern Utah 34, Texas State 20
SAN MARCOS, Texas ? Not being able to keep an offensive rhythm Saturday hurt the Bobcat football team as they fell to visiting Southern Utah, 34-20 in their second home game of the season bringing their overall record to 2-2. Karrington Bush rushed for 100 yards to carry Texas State's offensive game.
Southern Utah got on the board first at the 13:55 mark in the first quarter, as Deck Alexander scored on a eight-yard run to give the Thunderbirds a 7-0 lead to start the game.
Karrington Bush got the Bobcats started with a 25-yard kickoff return to the 29-yard line. The Bobcats captured a first down on their first drive of the game thanks to a 12-yard run by Mishak Rivas.
After falling behind 17-0 defensive back Kenneth Hampton had an interception with 14:43 to go in the second quarter to give the Bobcats the ball at the Southern Utah 30-yard line. The interception led to a 52-yard touchdown run by Bush which put the Bobcats on the board bringing the game to 17-7, with Texas State down by 10. The run was the longest run for a touchdown since Bush himself did it on Nov. 3, 2007 with an 80-yard touchdown.
Steve Pulver made a 51-yard field goal attempt for Southern Utah with 6:22 to go in the half to give the Thunderbirds a 20-7 lead over the Bobcats.
Southern Utah missed a field goal with 42 seconds left in the second quarter. A 47-yard field goal attempt by Andrew Ireland went wide right with 7 seconds left in the half resulting in both teams missing a chance to put more points on the board before the half ended.
The Bobcats entered halftime down by 13, failing to get into the red zone at all during the first half.
The Thunderbirds missed a 45-yard field goal attempt at the 12:28 mark in the third to start the quarter. After a fumble by Cameron Luke, and a recovery by Southern Utah the Thunderbirds were able to score a touchdown on the next play.
Wide receiver Darren Dillard caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Texas State quarterback Clint Toon for the Bobcats second of the night. It was Dillard's first TD of his career. The Bobcats attempt at a two-point conversion was no good as the pass was incomplete. Dillard's touchdown brought the score to 34-13, Thunderbirds. Linebacker Patrick Strodtman intercepted a pass by the Southern Utah offense with 12:34 to go in the fourth. The interception marked Strodtman's first of his Bobcat career.
Luke caught his fifth touchdown pass of the season as he caught a 20-yard pass from Toon to bring the score to 20-34 with 3:39 remaining in the game.
Texas State was 2-2 in the red zone, but only 3-of-15 on third-down conversions.
"A part of our job is to try and get better at what we do," said head coach Brad Wright. "We're not going to quit. We are going to keep coaching hard. We're not down on anyone. The only person I am down on is me. We're going to continue coaching hard and we will be a better football team next week. We're going to get some guys healthy next week I hope."
Toon was 20-for-34 on the day for 172 yards, a touchdown and one interception. Bush tallied 239 all-purpose yards including 100 rushing yards and one touchdown for the game. He tabbed his second 100-yard rushing game of the season and the sixth of his career tonight.
Leading the defense was Strodtman and Courtney Smith. Strodtman had six solo stops and three assisted tackles; including an interception early in the fourth. Smith had five solo tackles and four assisted tackles to back up his Southland Conference defensive player of the week nod for his performance last week.
Southern Utah was led by Alexander who rushed for 114 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback Cody Stone was 16 of 36 in passing with two interceptions on the night. Texas State football returns to the field next Saturday, Oct. 4 at 5 p.m. as they will host Texas Southern at Jim Wacker Field.
Tulsa 62, No. 15/12 Central Arkansas 34
TULSA, Okla. ? For a half Saturday night, Central Arkansas went toe to toe with one of the most prolific offenses in the nation at the Football Bowl Subdivision level, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, and held its own.
The Bears, an undefeated and nationally ranked FCS team playing up a division on the road, trailed only 28-20 at halftime. But the Bears could not keep up in the second half as the bigger and deeper Hurricane pulled away to a 62-34 victory at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
No. 12/15 UCA (4-1) finished with 435 yards of offense, led by a 342-yard passing effort by senior quarterback Nathan Brown. Senior receiver Eric Ware, junior fullback Nick Cowger and sophomore receiver Willie Landers had touchdown receptions, while junior running back Brent Grimes had a 1-yard touchdown run and sophomore kicker Eddie Carmona made a pair of field goals.
“I’m really proud of the way our football team competed,’ said UCA head coach Clint Conque. “We came in here and we weren’t intimidated. We played hard until the end. We never stopped competing, which was important for me to see at the end of the game.
“But with that being said, we are extremely disappointed because we came in here with every intention of winning.’
Brown finished 24 of 33 for 342 yards and three touchdowns, and added a two-point conversion pass on UCA’s last touchdown. The yardage and touchdown passes are the most Tulsa has allowed this season.
The junior from Russellville has now thrown 156 passes this season (179 dating back to last season) without an interception. Brown, the career record holder in nearly every category at UCA, has 8,810 career passing yards and 83 touchdown passes.
“I think Nathan Brown proved tonight that he is one of the very best quarterbacks in college football,’ Conque said.
The first half was all offense as neither team punted or managed to stop the other. The starting quarterbacks, Brown and Tulsa’s David Johnson, combined to complete 26-of-34 passes for 364 yards and five touchdowns. Brown was 17-of-23 for 185 yards and a pair of scores, while Johnson hit on 9-of-11 for 179 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception.
Tulsa opened the game by scoring in just four plays, on a 51-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Brennan Marion. UCA matched that when Brown hit senior Eric Ware with a 16-yard scoring pass in the left side of the end zone and Eddie Carmona tied it at 7-7 with the point after.
Johnson struck again with a 14-yarder to Slick Shelley for a 14-7 lead and UCA had to settle for a 36-yard field goal from sophomore Eddie Carmona in the final minute of the first quarter to stay within 14-10.
Johnson connected with Tarrion Adams from 24 yards in the opening minute of the second quarter, capping a four-play, 80-yard drive, and giving Tulsa a 21-10 advantage. Carmona answered with another Carmona field goal, a 27-yarder with 7:45 left in the half. The Hurricane pushed the lead to 28-13 on a 1-yard run by Courtney Tennial with 4:36 remaining.
UCA took over on its own 26 with 4:36 left. On the fifth play, Brown hit a wide open Marquez Branson down the right side for 35 yards to the Tulsa 16. On third down from the 7, Brown rolled right and hit fullback Nick Cowger for the touchdown, closing the gap to 28-20.
Tulsa had 49 seconds remaining, but UCA junior safety Derrick Boyd intercepted Johnson at the UCA 35 and returned it 20 yards to end the Hurricane’s final threat of the half.
The Hurricane took control quickly in the third quarter as Johnson threw 26 yards to Marion and Jarod Tracy added a 29-yard field goal for a 38-20 lead. UCA got within two scores once more when Brown hit Landers with a short screen pass and the sophomore broke 60 yards for a touchdown, the longest against Tulsa this season. Carmona’s kick missed wide left, leaving the Bears down 38-26.
Tulsa scored twice more to top the 50-point mark for the third consecutive game, the first time to achieve that feat since the 1920 season. Johnson finished with 286 passing yards, his first game with less than 300 yards passing this season. He re-entered the game late in the fourth quarter but threw his second interception. Henry Minor picked off the pass at the UCA 7.
UCA was the first Tulsa opponent this season to score on its first four possessions of the game and the 34 points was the most allowed by the Hurricane this season.
Bye Week: Nicholls State
Next Week
Thursday
Nicholls State at Northern Iowa (ESPNU), 6:30 p.m.
Saturday
McNeese State at South Dakota State , 2 p.m.
Texas Southern at Texas State (SLCTV), 5 p.m.
Southeastern La. at Stephen F. Austin*, 6 p.m.