Shane Saves the Day as OSU Beats Tulsa 16-7
OSU starts the season 1-0 after a scare from Tulsa.
It was a week late, but football officially kicked off in Stillwater with the Cowboys hosting Tulsa. OSU was able to force TU to punt on their first drive after six plays.
Then the OSU offense hit the field. Midway through the first drive Spencer Sanders scrambled for eight yards and came up a bit gimpy.. The Cowboys would strike first on an Alex Hale 27 yard field goal. 3-0 Pokes.
The Cowboys forced another stop on defense and on their first play, Spencer Sanders fielded a high snap which was part of a bad handoff to Chuba Hubbard resulting in a fumble which was recovered by Tulsa. Sanders went off to the locker room.
Off the turnover, TU still couldn’t get anything going. Zach Smith and the Golden Hurricane attempted a fourth down conversion deep in OSU territory, but Tre Sterling notched a drive stopping tackle. OSU ball.
Ethan Bullock took the reigns for the injured Sanders. After two short Hubbard runs, Bullock dropped back on third down and was sacked by former Del City product Anthony Goodlow. OSU punted to Tulsa.
OSU’s defense didn’t disappoint on the next drive, but Bullock still couldn’t get anything going. We hit the end of the first quarter with the Cowboys holding on to a 3-0 lead.
OSU’s defense continued their dominate day as Corey Taylor looked to convert a fourth and short, but the Cowboys pulled another stop on 4th. Turnover on downs.
The Pokes still struggled offensively though. Ethan Bullock handed to Chuba Hubbard on 4th down, but he was stuffed in the backfield. Following that Zach Smith connected with Keylan Stokes on a 41 yard dime. Two plays later, Smith tossed a 16 yard touchdown to Josh Johnson. Tulsa took a 7-3 lead.
At the half, the OSU radio broadcast reported that Spencer Sanders would miss the rest of the game with a high ankle sprain. They also added that Shane Illingworth, the freshman four star back up quarterback, hadn’t practiced much this week and wouldn’t play. OSU did connect on a 23 yard strike from Bullock to Tylan Wallace. His first catch of the day, but the drive ended with a punt. Tulsa took over.
The Cowboy defense stood up again as Trace Ford got a big third down tackle. The Cowboys got it back, Ethan Bullock got something going hitting Landon Wolf for nine yards, then LD Brown took off for 19 yards, and then Bullock connected with Tylan Wallace. Momentum was there. However, Bullock threw an interception to Allie Green IV. Tulsa had it.
Shane Illingworth did in fact make his debut after OSU got a stop on their next drive. He connected on two long passes with Tylan Wallace for 29 and 36 yard which led to the Cowboys getting inside the TU ten. The next play, Chuba Hubbard powered it in from three yards out as OSU took a 10-7 lead.
Tulsa marched down the field, and with ten minutes left, inside the red zone, but Tyler Tipton missed a 26 yarder. OSU clinging to the 10-7 advantage. Four plays later, LD Brown busted off a 51 yard touchdown run, but was called back for holding. Alex Hale would extend OSU’s lead to six with a 40 yard field goal. Cowboys up 13-7.
Tulsa got it back and with two minutes left, deep in their own territory, the Golden Hurricane had to go for it on 4th despite facing a 4th and 24. And just like they did all day, Malcolm Rodriguez notched a huge sack. Tulsa was 1-5 on 4th downs in the game.
Off the turnover on downs, Alex Hale added three more points from 29 yards out as the Cowboys took a 16-7 lead. Tulsa tried to make something happen late which ended with Kolby Harvell-Peel intercepting a Zach Smith pass.
OSU picked up their first win of the season 16-7. Illingworth webt four of five for 74 yards. Ethan Bullock was eight of 13 for 41 yards and an interception. Chuba Hubbard notched 27 carries for 93 yards.
Next up, OSU hosts West Virginia September 26th.