Tulane falls 60-10 to Tulsa on Homecoming in its worst conference loss

NEW ORLEANS: Tulane lost its Homecoming game 60-10 to Tulsa on Saturday at Yulman Stadium, the most points a visiting team has scored in the stadium and a defeat that dropped the Green Wave to 4-5 overall and 2-3 in the American Conference.

Tulsa (5-4, 2-3 American) scored on the opening drive, on a short touchdown pass from Baylor Hayes to Oran Singleton Jr., and never gave the game back. A field goal early in the second quarter made it 10-0, and Tulsa added three more touchdowns before halftime, all three in the last six minutes of the half, to lead 32-0 at the break. Two third-quarter touchdowns stretched the margin to 46-0.

Photograph by Spatms, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Hayes finished 26 of 33 for 338 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to Singleton, who caught 13 passes for 177 yards. Tulsa ran for 224 yards and scored four rushing touchdowns, one each from Javon Ross, Damari Alston, Seth Davis and Sevion Morrison, and its other receiving touchdown went to Jimmy Calloway. In all, Tulsa gained 562 yards and 31 first downs against 204 yards and 15 first downs for Tulane, and Tulane threw two interceptions while Tulsa committed no turnovers.

Tulane reached the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter, on a 38-yard field goal by Cooper Helmke with the score at 46-0 against it. Tulsa answered with two more touchdowns to make it 60-3, and Tulane scored its only touchdown in the final seconds, a 4-yard pass from backup quarterback Dagan Bruno to Bredell Richardson.

The 60 points are the most Tulsa has scored against Tulane and the most by any team in the tenure of Tulsa coach Tre Lamb, and the 50-point margin is the largest Tulsa has recorded against Tulane. For Tulane, the margin is its largest defeat in American Conference play and its most lopsided loss since a 65-10 defeat at Georgia Tech in 2015.

Photograph by Bobster687, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The athletic director answers

Hours after the game, Tulane athletic director David Harris released a statement about the performance. He called what happened on the field unacceptable and far below the standard the program has set in recent years, said he understood the frustration and disappointment of supporters, and said he was embarrassed by what took place in front of the families of the players, the alumni, the fans and the wider Tulane community.

Harris wrote that the season has not met the expectations of the athletic department, that the players and staff have owned what happened and will evaluate it thoroughly, and that he is accountable for Tulane Athletics and accepts that responsibility. He said the university will keep investing in the football program at a level that matches its expectations, and that the team is focused on its next game, at Rice, and on a strong finish to the season.

The loss came in the first season under head coach Will Hall and a week after an overtime win at Charlotte had moved Tulane to 4-4. Tulane closes the regular season at Rice, at home against North Texas and at South Florida, and it needs two wins in those three games to reach the six wins required for bowl eligibility.