With a new coaching staff, a new era kicked off at the University of Tulsa, kicked off on Saturday as the Golden Hurricane defeated Abilene Christian, 35-7, securing a win in Tre Lamb’s first game as head coach. A crowd of 17,337 were on hand to witness the victory at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
“It feels great to get my first win here and our first win as a staff and as a team, and I feel we have great days ahead,” Lamb said after the game. “We’ve got to build off this. We can’t get too high, can’t get too low. Critics and outside noise are not going to depict how we play in this program, and we established that identity in the offseason.”
The Golden Hurricane opened the scoring late in the first quarter, as quarterback Kirk Francis connected with Zion Booker on a 12-yard touchdown pass and with Seth Morgan’s extra point Tulsa led 7–0.
Tulsa’s defense made big plays throughout the game including a red zone stop in the first quarter as the TU defense stopped the Wildcats on fourth-and-goal on the three-yard line. Then ACU’s opening drive, in the second quarter, ended in a turnover on downs at the Tulsa one-yard line after three straight rushing attempts by the Wildcats.
“I’m most proud of our defense, for sure, with those two goal-line stands,” said Lamb. “If they (ACU) score on those to fourth-and-one’s it’s a completely different ball game. It is. It is a tight, nailbiter to the end. It really is, and I told them that in the locker room.”
Tulsa’s only score in the second quarter was a 28-yard field goal by Morgan at 8:47 remaining before halftime. Tulsa led 10-0 at the end of the first half.
Three minutes into in the third quarter, the Golden Hurricane extended its lead with a 40-yard field goal by Morgan, putting Tulsa ahead 13–0.
With 3:55 left in the third quarter, Tulsa’s Dominic Richardson broke a couple tackles and carried the ball 57 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion pass was good, and TU led 21-0.
Tulsa continued its dominance in the fourth quarter, as Francis found an open Brody Foley with a 22-yard touchdown pass, that extended the TU lead to 28-0.
The Golden Hurricane defense came up big again as Elijah Green intercepted a pass at the ACU 49-yard line. He returned it four yards to the 45. A few plays later, Ajay Allen carried the ball 40 yards into the end zone, putting Tulsa ahead 35–0.
Abilene Christian scored their only touchdown of the game on the next drive, highlighted by quarterback Stone Earle’s 11-yard keeper into the end zone with 6:42 remaining in the game.
Francis completed 20-of-31 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Richardson was Tulsa’s leading rusher with 20 carries for 142 yards and one touchdown, setting a career-high in rushing yards, and added six receiving yards on one catch. Booker finished with six receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Byron Turner Jr. made an impact with three sacks among his four tackles, while Ray Coney led the team with 14 tackles.
The Golden Hurricane heads to Las Cruces, N.M., to face New Mexico State at Aggie Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. CDT.
INJURY UPDATE
Redshirt Senior running back Sevion Morrison tore his Achilles tendon and is out for the year.
“It was a non-contact injury,” Lamb said. “He will get a medical redshirt and play for us next year.”