Tulsa holds off SMU 34-31 after climbing out of deep hole

Published Nov. 27, 2021 8:14 p.m. ET

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DALLAS (AP) — Davis Brin passed for 244 yards and a touchdown, three different ball carriers also scored and Tulsa fended off SMU 34-31 in a see-saw game to end the regular season on Saturday.

Zack Long kicked field goals of 36 and 27 yards with the latter, coming with 4:06 left in the game, providing just enough to preserve the win.

Tulsa (6-6, 5-3 American Athletic Conference) was in a 17-0 hole barely more than a quarter into the contest. The Golden Hurricane rallied with 31 unanswered points into a seemingly comfortable 31-17 lead with 13:30 to go.

But SMU (6-4, 4-4) rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, pulling within 34-31 when Tyler Levine crashed into the end zone from the 2 to cap a 69-yard drive with 2:50 left.

Tulsa's LJ Wallace recovered the ensuing onside kick and the Golden Hurricane ran the clock.

The loss was SMU's first at home this season. Tanner Mordecai, who threw for 298 yards and a touchdown for the Mustangs, set the conference single-season record with 39 TDs.

COACHING GO ROUND

With SMU's Sonny Dykes headed to the coaching job at TCU, Rhett Lashlee, a former offensive coordinator for Dykes, appears set to take over. Lashlee, the offensive coordinator for University of Miami, is set to accept the SMU job, according to multiple reports. Dykes will join the Horned Frogs after five years as coach at SMU, where he led the Mustangs to a 30-17 record including the program’s first 10-win season since 1983.

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