Nov. 29, 2008

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Huntington, West Virginia -- Tulsa won the Conference USA West Division Championship with a 38-35 victory over Marshall in front of 21,571 fans at Joan C. Edwards Stadium, but the Hurricane needed help from Rice as the Owls defeated Houston 56-42 to propel Tulsa into the title game for the second straight year and the third time in the last four years.

Tulsa won its 10th game of the season for the seventh time in school history and will take a 10-2 record into next Saturday's Championship Game against the 8-4 East Carolina Pirates. Tulsa will host ECU at 11:00 am on Saturday at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

The game was tied five times, but Jarod Tracy's 22-yard field goal with 3:42 remaining in the game put Tulsa ahead by three points, 38-35, and the Hurricane defense held the Thundering Herd on fourth-and-one from the 49-yard as Mike Bryan and Wilson Garrison led the Tulsa charge.

Tulsa gained 516 yards for the game as David Johnson completed 21-of-33 passes for 313 yards and 2 TDs, and Tarrion Adams had 123 yards and three rushing touchdowns.

Tulsa opened the second half holding the Thundering Herd on its first possession, and taking its subsequent first drive 65 yards in six plays, as Johnson connected on a third-down-and-goal two-yard TD pass to Charles Clay to take a 28-21 lead.

The Herd knotted the score at 28 on its next possession going 79 yards in seven plays, as Anderson threw the final 12 yards to Darius Passmore for the touchdown.

Tulsa scored on its second possession of the second half on a six-yard Adams run, capping a 71-yard, six-play drive at the 5:47 mark of the third period, putting the Hurricane ahead 35-28.

Marshall tied the scored again at 35-35 on a 53-yard run by Terrell Edwards, capping an 83-yard, two-play drive in just 0:40.

After holding the Hurricane on its opening drive of the game, Marshall scored on its first possession to take a 7-0 lead over the Hurricane, going 96 yards in 14 plays as Anderson, filling in for the injured Mark Cann, threw the final 19 yards to Court Henderson for the touchdown.

Tulsa answered in 3:05 as Adams scored from one-yard out, capping a 74-yard, nine-play drive. The rushing touchdown was Tulsa's 33rd of the season, breaking the modern day record of 32 established in 1982.

The Hurricane went ahead 14-7 at the 10:21 mark of the third quarter, as Adams had his second one-yard run of the game for the score. The drive covered 58 yards in 12 plays.

The Thundering Herd wasted little time tying the score at 14-14 with a 69-yard Chubb Small run on the first play from scrimmage. Tulsa answered in 2:54 on a 63-yard, seven-play drive when David Johnson threw 15 yards to Damaris Johnson for the touchdown, putting the Hurricane ahead 21-14.

On fourth down-and-12 from the Tulsa 32-yard line Anderson connected with Passmore for a touchdown to tie the score at 21-21 with just 1:19 left in the first half.

At halftime, Marshall held a 246 to 218-yard advantage over the nation's leading total offensive team.

Scoring Summary