Rattler, No. 2 Oklahoma slither past tenacious Tulane

NORMAN, Okla. — Spencer Rattler passed for 304 yards, and No. 2 Oklahoma beat Tulane 40-35 on Saturday in a game that was relocated from New Orleans because of Hurricane Ida.

Oklahoma led by five in the fourth quarter and Tulane had possession, but quarterback Michael Pratt ran for 12 yards on a fourth-and-13 play. Tulane turned the ball over on downs, and Oklahoma ran out the clock.

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 for the Sooners

(1-0).

Pratt passed for 296 yards and three touchdowns for the Green Wave (0-1). He also ran for another score.

Oklahoma had the Green

Wave painted on the 25-yard lines, and Sooners fans cheered when Tulane’s players ran onto the field before the game.

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 and took a 37-14 lead into the break.

Brkic made three field goals in the second quarter. His second was a 51-yarder, and then he closed the half with a careerhigh 56-yarder. It was the longest field goal for an Oklahoma kicker since 1977.

Pratt scored on a 4-yard keeper, and the Green Wave got the 2-point conversion to make it 37-22.

Tulane trimmed its deficit to 40-28 when Pratt threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Carroll. Pratt stumbled and fell in the backfield on the 2-point try.

Brkic missed a 31-yard field goal, giving Tulane a shot late. Pratt’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Will Wallace made it 40-35 with 2:18 remaining, and Tulane recovered the onside kick before failing to score.

KANSAS STATE 24, STANFORD 7

In Arlington, Kansas State sixth-year quarterback Skylar Thompson ran for two touchdowns, bulling into the end zone for the first one after missing most of last season with a shoulder injury, and the Wildcats opened the season with a victory over the Cardinal.

Deuce Vaughn sprinted 59 yards for a touchdown and finished with 124 yards rushing on 13 carries for the Wildcats, who finished last season with a fivegame losing streak.

ARKANSAS 38, RICE 17

Trelon Smith’s 2-yard touchdown run with 12:44 left in the fourth quarter was the gamewinner, and the host Razorbacks rallied to beat the Owls in both teams’ season opener.

Smith was Arkansas’ most consistent offensive player in a game the Razorbacks struggled on that side of the ball. He finished with 102 yards on 22 carries with the score.

MARYLAND 30, WEST VIRGINIA 24

Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns, and the Terrapins topped the turnover-prone Mountaineers in College Park, Md. The Mountaineers committed four turnovers.

HOWARD PAYNE 43 TEXAS LUTHERAN 17

The Yellow Jackets racked up 655 yards of offense to dominate the Bulldogs in Brownwood.

Landon McKinney threw for 353 yards and three touchdowns for the Yellow Jackets, while Tauren Bradley picked up 88 yards and a score on the ground.

Texas Lutheran quarterback Seth Cosme completed 13 of 25 passes for 136 yards, adding 38 rushing yards. DaKory Willis led the Bulldogs’ on the ground with 79 yards and a touchdown, while Jacob Forton racked up 73 yards and a score.

TLU’s rushing attack was limited to 4.2 yards per carry.

Brian Bahr / Getty Images Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler accounted for two TDs and 304 passing yards, but he also threw two interceptions.