Tulsa Topples North Carolina A&T 58-21

Saturday, September 17

H.A. Chapman Stadium

1:00 p.m. (CT)

Tulsa

2-1

North Carolina A&T

2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

North Carolina A&T

Tulsa

Photo by: Brett Rojo

Tulsa Topples North Carolina A&T 58-21

9/17/2016 6:06:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Don Tomkalski

PDF STATS | HTML STATS | POSTGAME NOTES | POSTGAME QUOTES | PHOTO GALLERY

Special teams and defense gave Tulsa early momentum as the Golden Hurricane cruised to a 58-21 victory over FCS' No. 19-ranked North Carolina A&T Aggies Saturday afternoon in front of 16,111 fans at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

Tulsa built a 24-0 first quarter lead and led 48-0 at halftime en route to the victory. Tulsa's punt coverage team blocked two punts that ended in points, and the Hurricane defense had two interceptions in the first half that led to Tulsa taking a 31-0 lead in the first 20 minutes of the game. For the game, Tulsa totaled 28 points off of two takeaways and the two punt blocks.

Tulsa put up 493 yards of total offense, while holding NC A&T to 368 yards, and only 215 yards and a 3.6 average per play through the first three quarters when the game was already out-of-reach with the Hurricane leading 58-7. Dane Evans completed 19-of-29 passes for 282 yards and three TDs on the day, all going to Keevan Lucas, as Lucas had 119 yards on four catches, all coming in the first 30 minutes. Justin Hobbs had seven catches for 114 yards for Tulsa.

"I thought we made plays, obviously, on special teams early in the game, which kind of really kicked the momentum to our side. Defensively we played lights out. I thought especially early in the game," said Tulsa Head Coach Philip Montgomery.

"Offensively, the possessions that we got, I thought we took advantage of those, and executed what we wanted to do offensively. I thought we moved the ball up and down the field at times. You know, there in the latter part of the game, we got some young guys in. It's a good chance for them to get some experience, get some work in live competition," added Montgomery.

Tulsa's 58 points is the most since scoring 66 points against Nicholls State on September 15, 2012, while the 37-point win is also the most since that 2012 game when the margin was 50 points. Tulsa's 48-0 halftime lead was the first shutout in the first half for a Tulsa team since a 17-0 lead over Houston, also in 2012.

On the game's first possession, Tulsa's defense held A&T to one yard on three plays and on Tulsa's first drive took the ball 59 yards in 11 plays, only to settle for a 25-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead at the 9:53 mark of the first quarter.

Tulsa's McKinley Whitfield blocked an A&T punt and Rowdy Simon's recovery gave the offense possession at the one-yard line, where James Flanders made the score 10-0 on the first play.

On NC A&Ts next two possessions, the Hurricane defense intercepted quarterback Oluwagemi Bamiro. Tulsa's Petera Wilson hit Bamiro as he was attempting a pass that Kolton Shindelar picked off and ran 65 yards for a Hurricane touchdown and a 17-0 lead after the PAT. On the next A&T possession, Whitfield intercepted a Bamiro pass and gave the Hurricane offense possession at their own 49-yard line.

After the Tulsa takeaway, Evans connected on the first play to Keevan Lucas for a 51-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline, giving the Hurricane a 24-0 lead with 1:04 remaining in the first quarter.

The Hurricane increased its lead to 31-0 when Evans connected with Lucas again on 3rd-and-7 for a 13-yard touchdown in the end zone at the 11:14 mark of the second period, capping a four-play drive after Tulsa's second blocked punt of the game put the Hurricane at the NC A&T 27-yard line. Whitfield had his second blocked punt of the game, while Matt Hickman recovered the fumble this time.

On Tulsa's next possession, the Hurricane went 57 yards in eight plays as Flanders scored his second touchdown of the game on a 21-yard run to put Tulsa ahead 38-0. Tulsa made it 45-0 on its following possession, as Evans' third touchdown pass to Keevan Lucas covered 52 yards and capped a 72-yard, five-play drive.

Tulsa ended its first-half scoring with a 28-yard Jones field goal, capping a 10-play, 79-yard drive that put Tulsa ahead 48-0 at halftime.

Tulsa gained 343 total yards in the first half, 257 passing and 86 on the ground, while the defense held North Carolina A&T to 123 total yards, including 76 through the air and 47 rushing.

Evans completed 18-of-27 passes for 257 yards, while Lucas caught four of those passes for 119 yards with three touchdowns in the first 30 minutes.

Tulsa added two scores in the second half to take a 58-0 lead. After the first second-half offensive series resulted in a 33-yard Jones field goal, Tulsa's Montgomery rested a number of his offensive starters. Reserved quarterback Ryan Rubley entered the game and threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Rob Riederer, capping a 69-yard, 8-play drive.

The Aggies got on the board with 1:19 left in the third quarter with the first of three touchdowns for NC A&T. The Aggies scored at the 8:22 and 0:22 mark of the fourth quarter to narrow the final margin to 37 points.

The Golden Hurricane travels to Fresno, California, next Saturday to take on the Fresno State Bulldogs at 3:30 p.m. (CT).