Going into Saturday, Tulsa had lost three-straight and Rice had lost five-straight.
One American Conference team was bound to get a cathartic win in Houston. While early signs suggested Rice would be that team, Tulsa responded with 31 unanswered points to secure a 38-17 road victory.
Golden Hurricane quarterback Baylor Hayes enjoyed arguably his best showing of the season. The redshirt sophomore registered 249 passing yards and three touchdowns without an interception on a 20-of-27 showing.
Hayes flipped the script in the late second quarter, delivering an 11-yard touchdown strike to Javon Ross to slice into Rice’s 10-point advantage. Three snaps later, Tulsa safety Devin Robinson flew in for a strip sack and defensive end Hudson Ball recovered the ball at the Rice 5-yard line. That set up Hayes for a touchdown connection to his top target Oran Singleton Jr. with 33 seconds remaining in the first half. That turned a 17-7 Tulsa deficit into a 21-17 lead in under three minutes of action.
The Golden Hurricane pitched a 17-0 shutout in the second half. Hayes completed his hat trick through the air with a screen pass to running back Sevion Morrison, who brought home his first receiving touchdown since recovering from a torn Achilles. The finishing blow also came from the running back room. With 3:39 remaining, Damari Alston followed his pulling center Malachi Preciado for a 45-yard rushing touchdown, cementing the 31-0 run for the visitors.
Three different running backs and two different wide receivers scored in a Tulsa offense that distributed that utilized its full arsenal Saturday evening in Houston.
Prior to the Golden Hurricane offensive explosion, Rice was in the midst of its best first half of the season. Jacurri Brown dominated out of the gate, producing 146 of his 154 rushing yards in the first half. The mobile quarterback navigated through the Tulsa defense on 50 and 78-yard touchdown runs, using his long strides to escape defenders. However, Brown’s day was spoiled by injuries. He was banged up several times in the contest, and Rice rotated between him and backup Gael Ochoa throughout the second half.
Both quarterbacks finished with just two completions as Rice’s option offense was outgained through the air, 249-62. Brown was responsible for over 53 percent of Rice’s rushing production and outgained Tulsa’s rushing offense by himself, but it wasn’t enough to snap the Owls’ losing streak.
Rice (1-6, 0-3 American) now rides its longest losing streak since 2020 with six consecutive defeats. The Owls still have yet to upend FBS competition this season, and they are on the brink of missing bowl eligibility (last year they qualified at 5-7 due to a lack of eligible teams). Rice eyes a turnaround Saturday, Oct. 24 at Florida Atlantic in a battle between a run-heavy Owls team and a pass-heavy Owls team.
Tulsa (4-3, 1-2 American) picks up a much-needed conference victory. The Golden Hurricane dropped nine of 10 conference matchups under head coach Tre Lamb but finally secured an American victory which can swing the program’s momentum. Tulsa now seeks its first conference home win under Lamb, and the opportunity to achieve that comes Friday, Oct. 23 when Army visits H.A. Chapman Stadium.