Sooners avoid a Green Wave upset
Oklahoma nearly coughs up a 23-point halftime advantage
NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma nearly took its hospitality too far.
The Sooners’ game against Tulane was relocated from New Orleans because of Hurricane Ida, and Oklahoma’s athletic department and fans went all out to make their guests feel at home. Oklahoma had the Green Wave painted on the 25-yard lines, and Sooners fans cheered when Tulane’s players ran into the field before the game.
The Sooners then nearly let the Green Wave claim their first win over a Top 10 opponent since 1973. Spencer Rattler passed for 304 yards and a touchdown and No. 2 Oklahoma, playing a road game on its home field, narrowly avoided a shocking upset by holding on for a 40-35 victory over Tulane on Saturday.
“That was one of the hardest hitting teams, one of the most physical teams I’ve played,” Rattler said. “They came out there, and they played great, better than us, for sure. They wanted to win more than us. You could tell it. We have to be cleaner, sharper, and have to be better.”
The Sooners, who led 40-22 early in the fourth quarter, gave up a pair of late touchdowns. Tulane had fourth-and-13 just short of midfield with just under two minutes to go when quarterback Michael Pratt ran for only 12 yards and the Green Wave turned
the ball over on downs. The Sooners ran out the clock.
Oklahoma led 37-14 at halftime.
“The second half, I think clearly our team felt like the game was over,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said. “That’s obviously my job to make sure our mentality is right. I don’t think it was. I think we were playing well at that point and had separated a little bit. And then you could just see we weren’t quite the same team coming out.”
Oklahoma’s Gabe Brkic tied an FBS record with three field goals of 50 or more yards, and Marvin Mims had five catches for 117 yards. Rattler, a preseason first-team AP All-American, completed 30 of 39 passes, ran for a score and threw for another, but he
also threw two interceptions. Pratt passed for 296 yards and three touchdowns for the Green Wave. He also ran for a score.
“Really proud of the effort,” Tulane coach Willie Fritz said. “Obviously, we didn’t come down here to play close. But we could have won the game. If we would had played better in the first half, I think we would have had a much better opportunity to do it. But we’re going to be able to watch the tape and build on it.”
Tulane opened the scoring on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Pratt to Cameron Carroll. The Green Wave went up 14-7 in the first quarter on a 15-yard touchdown run by Jaetavian Toles.
Oklahoma scored the next 30 points.