A near upset of Texas in Austin last Saturday may be proof that Tulsa is greatly improved this season.

It did show that the Golden Hurricane are more exciting.

TU trailed by 21 points at halftime but battled back to come within one score before falling to the Longhorns 21-28 in Austin.

“I think we have big things ahead of us,” said TU coach Philip Montgomery. “I think we showed some things tonight that I know that we can build upon. I think our defense played really well for lots of those stints throughout the ballgame, and I think offensively I liked that we showed a little bit more diversity tonight. We did some different things. Able to hit some deep balls, make some plays in the passing game. I think when we get back to being balanced and being able to push the ball down the field and do like we did in the second half, that’s when we can become a pretty dangerous team.

Luke Skipper threw for 153 yards and a touchdown, while Shamari Brooks finished with 66 yards and a pair of scores for the Golden Hurricane (1-1). Keylon Stokes also accounted for 110 all-purpose yards with 48 yards on three runs and 62 more off three catches.

Turnovers proved costly as Tulsa had gave up two interceptions and missed three field goals. Skipper was intercepted on the first play of the game and Texas scored two plays later.

“I mean, to be real honest about it, the first play to me wasn’t that big of a deal,” Montgomery said. “We had to do it. Luke’s getting out of the pocket right there and he sees it. I thought Luke really saw the field extremely well tonight. Made some really key throws. On that one he was just a little bit short with it. If we hit that, I think it’s a touchdown.

“So, early in the game like that, it’s the first play – the defense, yeah, we put them in a little bit of a bind right there at midfield. But, overall that’s just one play in a number of different plays that could have been made during the day.

“So I thought Luke handled both of those situations extremely well… He had really good answers. We’re seeing the same things, and just trusting it and letting it happen.”

Two TU receivers dropped balls that could have been touchdowns.

“(Skipper) threw a couple balls, I think, in the first half that could have been touchdowns as well,” Montgomery said. ”The difference was in the second half those guys made those plays for him, and that’s what it takes. It’s not all on Luke. We’ve got to all continue to step up.

“I thought we were effective. We weren’t as explosive as I would have liked to have been in the run game, but this is a tough defense to run the football against, especially with what they were doing. We had some opportunities in the passing game that we didn’t hit in the first half that we did in the second half. And guys were stepping up and making some plays.”

Tulsa (1-1) will host Arkansas State (1-1) at H.A. Chapman Stadium at 6 p.m.

Arkansas State was dominated by No. 1 Alabama and lost 57-7 in Tuscaloosa Saturday. ASU opened the season with a 48-21 win at home against Southeast Missouri State.