Tulsa impresses in shootout loss to Oklahoma

Tulsa was within a touchdown of #16 Oklahoma on the road with four minutes left to go in the third quarter, but the Sooners pulled away late for a 52-38 win. The Golden Hurricane fell to 2-1, while OU remained undefeated at 3-0.

Despite starting the season 2-0, this was probably Tulsa's best performance of the season. Against a defense that ranked in the Top 25 in the country by most metrics, Golden Hurricane QB Dane Evans was marvelous, throwing for 427 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions. His stellar second quarter got Tulsa back into the game-- after falling behind 24-3, Evans responded with a touchdown pass to Josh Atkinson. The Sooners added a touchdown to go up 31-10, but Evans hit star receiver Keevan Lucas for a 28-yard touchdown. The cherry on top was a Hail Mary from Evans to Keyarris Garrett that cut OU's lead to seven entering the half.

The Sooners took advantage of a leaky Golden Hurricane defense to score 14 unanswered points in the third quarter. OU quarterback Baker Mayfield had a tremendous game, completing 32 of 38 passes for 487 yards and four touchdowns, along with 85 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground.

It can't be overstated how big of a performance this was from the Tulsa offense-- particularly against the most talented defense they'll play all season. Garrett and Atkinson both notched over a hundred yards receiving, while Lucas hauled in two touchdowns. Even the Golden Hurricane's up-and-down ground game was clicking, with halfback Zack Langer racking up 161 yards and a touchdown.

After a bye week, the Golden Hurricane will get another opportunity to top their win total from the entirety of last season, as they host a powerful Houston team in their American Athletic Conference opener.