After mounting a 17-7 lead in the third quarter, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane gave up 17 straight points, as the Tulane Green Wave went on to win 24-17, at H.A. Chapman Stadium Saturday night, before a crowd of 16,133.
It was the third time in the last four games that Tulsa held the lead going into the fourth quarter and lost.
Another tough loss,” said Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery. “Had opportunities throughout the game. I thought we had a couple in the first half, obviously, that you have to take advantage of. Had a couple penalties there that really helped them and we just got to finish right there. We get a couple scores in there, defense is playing pretty well, gave up a couple of explosive plays today that we haven’t been giving up, but our guys are battling, they’re fighting and just got to get over the hump.”
Once again, penalties were a factor in the game. The Golden Hurricane (1-7, 0-4 AAC) was flagged eight times for 57 yards, while Tulane (3-5, 2-2 AAC) had eight penalties for 70 yards. However, it was Tulsa’s penalties that Montgomery said came at bad times and really hurt his team.
“Some of those things you’ve just got to be more disciplined on,” Montgomery said. “If you’re jumping offsides, we’re a third and short and all of a sudden it puts us at a third and long. We’ve just got to be disciplined right there.”
This was Tulane’s first win in seven meetings in Tulsa, and only the fourth time the Green Wave has beat Tulsa. The series stands at 11-4-0 in favor of TU.
Tulane gained 404 yards of total offense, while Tulsa gained 315. Keylon Stokes scored both Golden Hurricane touchdowns; one on a 28-yard pass from Seth Boomer and another on a 14-yard run. They were the first touchdowns of Stokes’ career.
The loss knocks Tulsa out of any chance to become bowl eligible this season. With only four games left, Tulsa won’t be able to win the six games required to be selected for a bowl game. The Golden Hurricane will host UConn this Saturday at 6 p.m. at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
BIG “O” NUMBER RETIRED
At halftime of the Tulsa game, 1991 All-American Jerry Ostroski was honored in a special presentation, joining eight other Golden Hurricane football student-athletes to have their numbers retired. Ostroski wore No. 55 as an offensive lineman for the Golden Hurricane (1988-91).
As a senior at TU, Ostoski was named to the AP first-team, and was also named an All-America selection by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), The Sporting News (TSN), United Press International (UPI), College and Pro Football Weekly and the Poor Man’s Guide to the NFL Draft.
Following his career at Tulsa, Ostroski played 106 games over eight seasons in the NFL (1994-2001), all with the Buffalo Bills. After returning from a broken leg in the 2001 preseason, he injured a knee late in the season in a game against the Atlanta Falcons. Ostroski won the Ed Block Courage Award in 2001, but never fully recovered from the knee injury, and retired in August 2002. Ostroski is now an assistant football coach at Holland Hall, and a radio sports talk show host.
Other players to have their numbers retired include; No.14 Billy Guy Anderson (QB), No.17 Jerry Rhome (QB), No.31 Ellis Jones (L), No.36 Felto Prewitt (L), No.45 Glenn Dobbs (QB), No.64 Marvin Matuszak (OL), No.81 Howard Twilley (WR) and No.83 Steve Largent (WR).