Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler passes quickly to Mario Williams. Mario gets around the defense, and dives across goal line for the score. (0:28).
NORMAN (Okla.) -- No. 2 Oklahoma won a road match against Tulane, scoring a win of 40-35. This was a close victory for Oklahoma.
Both teams had to move their openers from New Orleans due to Hurricane Ida. Oklahoma's athletic department, fans and athletes went out of their way for guests to feel at home. The Green Wave was painted in Oklahoma on the 25-yard line, and Sooners fans cheered as Tulane's players entered the field.
The Sooners almost let the Green Wave win their first victory over a Top 10 opponent in 1973.
Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma's quarterback, said, "That was one the hardest hitting teams, one the most physically demanding teams I've ever played." They came out there and played better than us. They wanted to win more than we. It was obvious. It is possible to tell.
The Sooners led 40-22 at the start of the fourth quarter but gave up two late touchdowns. With just over two minutes left, Tulane was at fourth-and-13. However, quarterback Michael Pratt ran only 12 yards to make it a short touchdown. The Green Wave then turned the ball over with downs. The Sooners won the race.
Oklahoma led 37-14 at halftime.
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley stated, "The second-half, I think clearly our side felt like the game was over." It's my responsibility to ensure that our mentality is correct. It wasn't, I think. We were probably playing well at that time and had split a bit. Suddenly, you could see that we weren't the same team when we came out.
The Sooners managed just 27 yards on 19 carries in halftime, but they could not win the game. Oklahoma was 2-for-7 on third down during the second half, and outgained by 230 yards to just 118. Similar to other Sooners' collapses, it was also similar. Willie Fritz, Tulane's coach, even mentioned Oklahoma's defeat to Kansas State last year, when the Sooners lost a 21 point lead. This was to keep his team motivated.
Oklahoma's Gabe Brkic set an FBS record by completing three field goals of 50 yards or more (56, 55, and 51), while Marvin Mims caught five passes for 117 yards.
Rattler was a preseason AP All-American on the first-team. He completed 30 passes and threw for another. Rattler also threw two interceptions.
Pratt passed for 296 yard and three touchdowns for Green Wave. He ran for a touchdown.
Fritz stated, "Really proud" of Fritz's effort. "Obviously, we didn’t come down to play close. We could have won this game. We would have had a better chance to win if we had performed better in the first quarter. We'll be able watch the tape and continue to build upon it.
The score was opened by Tulane on a 6-yard touchdown run from Pratt and Cameron Carroll. JaetavianToles' 15-yard touchdown run put the Green Wave up 14-7 after quarter one.
Oklahoma scored the next 30 goals. In the second quarter, Brkic scored three field goals. His second field goal was a 51 yarder. He closed the half with a 56-yarder that was his longest career. This was the longest field goal by an Oklahoma kicker since 1977. He was just short of the school's record for the longest field goal. Tony DiRienzo made a 60-yarder in 1973.
Nik Bonitto, an Oklahoma linebacker, said that "He saved us today." "I will keep it 100 with you. He scored some timely field goals. Some of his field goals were very long. He made some really long ones. This is something we all see in practice every day. He knew this was a common practice and it was no surprise that he used them.
Pratt scored from 4-yards on a keeper. The Green Wave converted the 2-point conversion to make it 37-22.
Tulane reduced it to 40-28 after Pratt's 5-yard touchdown to Carroll. Pratt fell in the backfield after falling on the 2-point attempt.
Brkic missed a 31 yard field goal giving Tulane an opportunity late. With 2:18 left, Pratt's touchdown pass of 5-yards to Will Wallace made it 38-35. Tulane then recovered the onside kick but failed to score.
Fritz stated that Fritz loved the focus of his players, especially considering so many people have issues back home.
Fritz stated, "Our guys have done it extremely well." "They have. I've got good young men. Our guys are my best friends. That's the thing that I am most proud of. They are capable of handling this type of situation.
This report was contributed by The Associated Press.
