The Tulsa Golden Hurricane must have been thrilled to get back on the football field and actually play a football game on Friday night. It had been three weeks since their previous game, a 34-26 win at UCF. Since then, Tulsa’s had a home game postponed due to a COVID outbreak on their opposing team.

Friday night, Tulsa released all of its pent-up energy on the University of South Florida Bulls in a 42-13 victory. The Hurricane improved to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in the AAC, while the Bulls fell to 1-5 and 0-4 in AAC action.

The Golden Hurricane put together a great offensive performance, gaining 462 total yards, while the TU defense held USF to 305 yards and forced three turnovers.

Tulsa was led by Deneric Prince, who rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, while Corey Taylor II added 67 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Tulsa quarterback Zach Smith was stellar as he completed 16-of-24 passes for 233 yards.

One of the highlights in the game was when Tulsa’s Zaven Collins intercepted a pass and returned the ball 38 yards for a touchdown. It was Collins’ second straight game with an interception and the third of his career. It was Tulsa’s first interception returned for a touchdown since Sept. 16, 2017, when Craig Suits had a 37-yard return against Toledo.

This was the fourth time these two teams have met, and Tulsa’s first win against USF.

The Golden Hurricane are now scheduled to play their first home game of the season Friday night against the East Carolina Pirates. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at H.A. Chapman Stadium, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

WORLD SERIES EXPERIENCE

My longtime friend Wayne McCombs, of Claremore, had the opportunity to attend Games 3 and 4 of the World Series last weekend, at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. He, along with another friend, had a great time watching the Tampa Bay Rays take on the Los Angeles Dodgers.

 “This was my eighth World Series, but it’s always electric, you can feel it, even in the parking lot,” McCombs said. “I was surprised there were so many people with Tampa gear on, but it was probably 70-percent Dodgers fans. I was torn with who to root for, but the decision went to the Dodgers, because there were 14 former Tulsa Drillers on the team, and I’ve had the opportunity to chat with several of them when they were with the Drillers.”

McCombs said is wasn’t quite same as going to a World Series game in a team’s home ballpark.

“It was a little different because there wasn’t one team with 99-percent of the fans, plus because of the pandemic, there was only 11,000 people there and you didn’t have to wait long at the concession stands or to use the facilities,” he said. “The prices weren’t pandemic prices, however, the prices were actually jacked up a bit, such as $18 for a large beer in a World Series commemorative cup, and I didn’t buy it. I did pay $7.50 for a Dr. Pepper float.”

McCombs said there were some health precautions taken to enter the ballpark, and seating was in groups of four, separated by four seats in between each group.

“You had to wear your mask when you entered the ballpark, and then we went through a metal detector and then they took our temperature,” he said. “You could take your mask off when eating. The ushers did warn me to put my mask up a couple times while I was just sitting there during the games. Plus, there weren’t any paper tickets, and me being a memorabilia nut, I don’t have a World Series ticket, so I’ll have to print off the electronic version, but it’s not the same.”

McCombs said it was difficult to get tickets, by you not only had to purchase them in groups of four, but you also had to buy all seven games. That wasn’t something he was going to do on his own, but was able to split them with other people.

“A friend of mine who lives in Dallas bought the tickets, and we sat with a couple of his family members, and split the cost of the tickets,” McCombs said. “We paid $250 for each ticket, for each game, but we were right behind home plate, in the front row of the second level. We had great seats.”

Overall, McCombs said it was a great experience and he was thrilled to be able to attend the World Series so close to home.

“I’m thankful for baseball for allowing fans to attend the World Series,” he said. “All the fans were in a good mood; it was great and we had no problems at all. Ushers were very helpful and very accommodating.”

McCombs is the executive director of the J.M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum in Claremore.