NDL: S32W1 - Oregon State (47) at Tulsa (35)
Disappointment in Tulsa!
Article By: TULSA, OK — Week 1 of the NDL season delivered a wild one, as the Oregon State Beavers stormed back in the fourth quarter to shock the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane, 47–35, in a game that was truly a tale of two halves.
Tulsa came out swinging in front of their home crowd, but it was Oregon State who struck first with a 2-yard touchdown run by Jam Griffin late in the first quarter. "We wanted to set the tone early, and Jam did exactly that," said Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith. "That opening score gave us confidence, even though we knew Tulsa would punch back."
Tulsa responded in the second quarter, leaning heavily on running back Bill Jackson. He tied things up with a 2-yard plunge and later broke loose for a 55-yard touchdown with just under two minutes before the break. "Bill was electric out there," said Tulsa head coach Texas Fan. "He’s got that gear you just can’t coach."
The Beavers kept pace with a pair of Everett Hayes field goals, including a 39-yarder just before halftime, cutting Tulsa’s lead to 14–13. “We wanted to keep the scoreboard moving,” said Coach Smith. “Even when it’s just three, it’s about staying in striking distance.”
The third quarter saw Tulsa build on their lead. Cooper Legas hit Braylon Presley for a 4-yard touchdown with 4:00 remaining, and on the very next play from scrimmage, the Golden Hurricane defense picked off a McCoy pass and returned it 27 yards to the end zone. At that point, Tulsa was up 28–13 and seemingly in control.
“We felt like we had it locked down at that point,” admitted Coach Fan. “Momentum was all ours, and the crowd was fired up.”
But Oregon State wasn’t done. Quarterback Giovanni McCoy turned the tide with a dazzling 75-yard touchdown run, slicing the lead to 28–19. “That run changed the mood,” Coach Smith said. “You could feel it on the sideline — like, ‘OK, we’re not out of this.’”
Tulsa opened the fourth quarter with another strike — a 25-yard touchdown from Legas to Camden Benjamin just six seconds in. At 35–19, it looked like the Beavers were finished.
Instead, they were just getting started.
Oregon State responded with a bruising 2-yard touchdown from Anthony Anderson, then added a two-point conversion to cut the lead to eight. “We challenged our offensive line to take over in the fourth, and they responded,” said Smith.
On Tulsa’s next possession, disaster struck. Legas was hit mid-throw on a screen, and the ball popped into the air and landed in the waiting hands of Oregon State lineman Isaiah Chisholm, who rumbled 23 yards to the house.
“That was a freak play,” said Coach Fan. “One in a thousand. But it broke something in us — mentally, emotionally. We just couldn't bounce back after that.”
The very next drive saw another gut-punch. A fumbled exchange from the Tulsa quarterback was scooped up and returned 51 yards for a score, giving Oregon State their first lead since the opening quarter. Then, with 1:40 to go, cornerback Jack Kane iced the game with a 40-yard pick-six, capping an explosive 28-point fourth quarter.
Coach Smith couldn’t hold back his pride after the win. “I’ve never seen a group refuse to quit like that. That’s what Beaver football is all about — grit, heart, and finishing.”
For Tulsa, it was a devastating collapse. "It was a disappointing final stanza — no way around it," Coach Fan said postgame. “We’re going to watch every frame of that fourth quarter. I guarantee this team will learn from it, and we won’t let it happen again.”
The Beavers leave Tulsa 1–0, while the Golden Hurricane will be left picking up the pieces of a game they had in their grasp — until they didn’t.
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