Frustrated fans snooze at Robertson Stadium once the homecoming game against Tulsa gets out of hand. | Justin Tijerina /The Daily Cougar
The Cougars just couldn’t find their rhythm on offense as Tulsa had a big day on UH grounds.
Head coach Tony Levine said the game got away from them late in the first half.
“We made mistakes. (We) got behind in the second quarter and couldn’t catch up,” Levine said.
The Cougars were able to keep the game close and finished the first quarter down by a field goal. Tulsa capitalized on the mistakes the Cougars’ offense lacked.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback David Piland was 15 of 32 for 148 yards, and could not jump-start the offense. He threw an interception and the offense did not score while he was behind center. The Golden Hurricanes gained 363 yards rushing and three running backs rushed for more than 60 yards.
“We knew that with D.J. (Hayden) being out we would have to step up. We prepared really hard this week,” said senior linebacker Everett Daniels. “A lot of things didn’t go our way this week.”
The offensive line had a hard night keeping Tulsa’s defense from their quarterback and Piland was sacked three times. The run game was just not able to find a grove during the game.
Redshirt freshman running back Kenneth Farrow was held to 55 yards and no touchdowns.
The only touchdown on the evening for the Cougars came when redshirt senior quarterback Crawford Jones came in for Piland, and threw a pass for freshman running back Ryan Jackson in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
But that play came only after one of Jones’ passes was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Tulsa defense.
Levine said Tulsa’s defense deserves praise for the turnovers.
“We had dropped to many passes, and turned the ball over four times. I give Tulsa credit,” Levine said. “Tulsa is probably the most complete football team we have played this season in all three phases.”
