Collins, Brin lead Tulsa to stunning 2 OT win
TULSA — Falling behind early is becoming a regular occurrence for Tulsa. So are late-game heroics.
Zaven Collins returned an interception 96 yards for a touchdown in the second overtime to give No .25 Tulsa a 30-24 comeback victory over Tulane on Thursday night.
Tulsa (5-1,5-0 American Athletic Conference) forced overtime when thirdstring quarterback Brin Davis connected with JuanCarlos Santana for a Hail Mary 37-yard touchdown pass.
“Words can' t really explain that one,” Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery said. “I'm just so proud of our young men. That is just a special group of guys down there. I don't know that we played our best ball tonight, but we found a way to win. They are going to fight for 60 minutes, every second of it, and it took every second of it tonight.”
Playing i ts first game as a ranked team since 2008, Tulsa outgained Tulane 522 yards to 302, but turned the ball over three times. The Golden Hurricane trailed 14-0 entering the fourth quarter, the fourth game this season they have overcome a 14-point-or-more deficit to win.
Brin entered with 2:09 left in the third quarter after backup Seth Boomer was carted off the field because of a left leg injury. Starter Zach Smith left with a torso injury late in the first quarter.
“It's been an unbelievable night,” said Brin, a redshirt sophomore who saw his first meaningful college action .“I've just prepared for the past three years and waiting on my opportunity to take advantage of it. I got that call and I knew that's what I had to do and felt really confident about it.”
Brin completed 1 8 of 28 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns. His 18-yard TD run with 9:17 remaining got Tulsa' s comeback started.
“Obviously, you don't prepare for the third-team guy coming in,” Tulane coach Willie Fritz said. “We didn't know much about him. I thought the young man came in and did a nice job.”
Corey Taylor II, carrying the ball for the first time in four games, gained 132 yards on 19 carries for t he Golden Hurricane. Santana added eight receptions for 138 yards and the game-tying score.
Montgomery said that Collins, who also sealed Tulsa' s come-frombehind 28-24 win last week over then- No. 19
S MU, should be considered for the Heisman Trophy.
“Unbelievable kid, unbelievable teammate, great leader ,” Montgomery said. “Why is that guy not in the running for the Heisman? Tell me someone that has affected more games than that guy. I mean, if we want to talk about the best football players in college football, in my opinion, he's there.”
Tulane ( 5- 5, 2- 5) was coming off a 38-12 victory over then- No. 25 Navy last week, its first win over a ranked opponent in 36 years, and nearly did it again just five days later.
Stephen Huderson ran for 106 yards on 25 carries for the Green Wave, including the contest' s first TD on a 5-yard run with 5:25 remaining in the third quarter. Larry Brooks had an interce pt ion and recovered a fumble for the Green Wave.
Fritz was frustrated by surrendering the Hail Mary touchdown pass.
“We work on that situation—Hail Mary pass—the day before t he games,” Fritz said. “Obviously, we didn' t execute it very well. Poor coaching, poor execution. We just didn't play very good down the stretch. We needed to make a play.”