Tulsa’s attempt at an upset of the second-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats fell one yard shy of reality, as the Bearcats beat the Golden Hurricane, 28-20, Saturday, in front of 37,978 fans at Nippert Stadium.

Cincinnati jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, before Tulsa dominated the second quarter.

The Golden Hurricane opened the second quarter by putting together a 48-yard, nine-play drive that ended with Zack Long kicking a 35-yard field goal. The Bearcats drove to the Tulsa 18-yard line and Tulsa’s defense stepped up with two straight sacks and forced a Cincinnati field goal that missed wide left.

Shamari Brooks scored on an eight-yard touchdown run that cut Tulsa’s deficit to five points at 14-9 as Long missed the extra point kick. With 10-seconds left on the clock in the first half, Long redeemed himself with a field goal from 50 yards out.

Cincinnati opened the second half with two consecutive touchdowns to pull away, 28-12.

With 8:10 remaining in the fourth quarter, Tulsa made the score 28-20 on a 21-yard pass from Davis Brin to JuanCarlos Santana and a two-point conversion. From there, the Hurricane defense forced a Cincinnati punt and the offense took possession at their own 23-yard line with 5:28 on the clock. Tulsa marched to the Bearcats six-yard line and a 4th-and-5 pass fell one yard short of the first down

It looked like the Golden Hurricane were finished, however, Cincinnati lost the fumble of a snap from their own two-yard line on the first play with 1:11 to play. Tulsa took over from the Bearcats’ three-yard line, but on fourth-and-one the ball was fumbled into the end zone and recovered by the Bearcats to end the game.

The Bearcats improved to 9-0 and 5-0 in the American Athletic Conference, while the Tulsa fell to 3-6 and 2-3 in league play. Tulsa out-gained Cincinnati 446 to 390 yards in total offense and held a whopping 34:16 to 23:06 advantage in possession time.

Brooks and Anthony Watkins each had 100-plus rushing yards as Brooks led the way with 132 yards and Watkins added 105 yards. Brin completed 17-of-26 passes for 149 yards and one touchdown.

Tulsa is on the road again Saturday in New Orleans to face the Tulane Green Wave. The game will be aired on ESPNU with a 3 p.m. kickoff time.