Tulsa nets record comeback in double-overtime victory
FRESNO, Calif. — Dane Evans’ running joke about his running ability typically prompts laughs within the University of Tulsa’s quarterback room.
Known as a prolific passer rather than a mobile quarterback, Evans likes to tell his coaches nobody can catch him when he decides to take off. On Saturday, he proved it.
In a thrilling 48-41 win in double overtime, Evans provided the winning touchdown against Fresno State, perfectly executing a fake handoff, racing up the middle, steadying himself against right guard Blake Belcher and diving into the end zone.
“I know I’m not the fastest guy on the team,” Evans said. “I’m not the dual-threat guy, but I like to think once we get that close to the end zone, it’s about wanting to get into the end zone.”
Tulsa rallied in dramatic fashion from a 31-0 deficit in the second quarter, completing the largest comeback victory in program history and surpassing 20-point rallies against Oklahoma State in 1995 and Arkansas in 1971.
“Most teams, when they’re down 31 points that early in the game, they’re done,” coach Philip Montgomery said. “They’re packing up their stuff.
“Our guys continued to fight and grind and do what they had to do to keep chopping that tree down until we were back in it, then having enough left in the tank to go ahead and finish it off.”
After a field goal from Redford Jones tied the game at 41 with a minute left in regulation, TU was gifted a fumble on Fresno State’s possession to open the first overtime but came up empty on its series and Jones missed a long field goal.
The Hurricane picked up no yards on the first play of its second-overtime drive, then lost yardage because of a false start. Evans found Justin Hobbs for a 12-yard gain, and TU faced third-and-3 when Evans scored on his 18-yard run.
Fresno State, a struggling team that moved to 1-3, had a chance to even the score but threw incompletions on three plays and quarterback Chason Virgil was sacked on the other.
“They gave us everything they had,” safety Jeremy Brady said. “It was just our will and knowing the work we put in, we were just going to fight. We were going to fight to get back into it.”
Before the comeback, the Hurricane had an abysmal start reminiscent of the struggles of the 2012 season. The defense gave up a bizarre touchdown on a bounced backward pass on the Bulldogs’ first play and displayed missed tackles and coverage lapses throughout the first 20 minutes.
The TU offense was completely ineffective while recording minus-3 yards through four drives and going three-and-out on six occasions in the first half. A fumble by Keevan Lucas in Fresno State territory led to another touchdown, and even the special-teams unit contributed odd gaffes.
“I can’t explain it,” Montgomery said. “I really thought we were ready to play, but obviously we weren’t in the first quarter. … There was no momentum, no emotion on the sideline. That’s not how we play.”
TU (3-1) finished with 617 yards of offense while relying on a career-high 252 rushing yards from D’Angelo Brewer and 101 yards from James Flanders. Lucas and Josh Atkinson each reached the 100-yard receiving mark.
“(Winning in double overtime) is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time,” Brewer said. “We love moments like this. It makes us better as a team moving on from situations like this. It was a good experience.”