TULSA - Charles Clay, a freshman from Little Rock Central, caught a 51-yard touchdown pass from Paul Smith with 43 seconds left to lift Tulsa past SMU 29-23 on Saturday afternoon.
Trailing 23-21, Tulsa (5-3, 3-2 Conference USA) stopped SMU (1-7, 0-4) on fourth-and-goal at the Tulsa 1 with 1:56 left. With one timeout left, the Golden Hurricane went 99 yards in nine plays to score the winning touchdown.
Smith completed 27 of 45 passes for 336 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead Tulsa, which entered the game ranked third in total offense in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-A). It was the eighth consecutive game in which Smith passed for more than 300 yards.
Tulsa finished with 438 yards of offense but trailed most of the game because the Golden Hurricane committed five turnovers, compared to one for SMU.
Tulsa freshman receiver Trae Johnson caught 11 passes for 158 yards, both career highs, and a touchdown, while Clay had five catches for 106 yards.
Justin Willis passed for 192 yards and rushed for 44 yards to lead the Mustangs.
In other Conference USA games, Duke Calhoun caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Martin Hankins with 36 seconds left to give Memphis a 28-27 victory over Tulane. The Tigers (4-4, 3-1) rallied to win despite Green Wave running back Matt Forte having his fourth consecutive 200-yard rushing game. He carried a school-record 44 times for 278 yards and 2 touchdowns. Forte broke the school record for rushing yards in a season, surpassing the 1,421 that current Minnesota Vikings running back Mewelde Moore gained in 2001, finishing the day with 1,539 for the season. Tulane (2-6, 1-3) missed an opportunity to increase a 27-21 lead when Ross Thevenot was wide right on a 22-yard field goal with 5:07 left in the game. ... Quarterback Bernard Morris ran for 120yards and two touchdowns to lead Marshall to a 34-21 victory against Rice in Huntington, W.Va. Marshall (1-7, 1-3) snapped an eightgame losing streak dating to last season. Two of the conference's worst defenses allowed a combined 909 yards. Marshall ran for a season-high 254 yards. Chase Clement threw two touchdown passes and he scored on a 20-yard run, all in the second half, for Rice (1-7, 1-3). ... Pat Pinkney passed for two third-quarter touchdowns and East Carolina continued its quest for a berth in the Conference USA title game with a 41-6 victory against Alabama-Birmingham (2-6, 1-3) in Greenville, N.C. The Pirates (5-4, 4-1) came into the game with the league's best turnover margin. Free safety Van Eskridge intercepted UAB quarterback Sam Hunt on the third play of the game at the Blazers' 35. Four plays later, freshman running back Jonathan Williams started the onslaught with a 35-yardrun to put the Pirates up to stay at 7-0. Led by Chris Johnson (15 carries, 79 yards) and Williams (5-63), ECU rolled up 194 rushing yards through three quarters (216 overall) as it led 20-6 at the half and 41-6 after three quarters.
WESTERN ATHLETIC
Tech rushes by Utah St.
LOGAN, Utah -Patrick Jackson and Daniel Porter each rushed for more than 100 yards and two touchdowns to lead Louisiana Tech past Utah State 31-21.
Porter rushed for 129 yards on 22 carries. Jackson had 101 yards on 14 carries for the Bulldogs (3-5, 2-3 ), who won for the first time on the road this season in four tries.
Louisiana Tech finished with 518 yards of offense, including 351 in the second half. Jacob Actkinson, Curtis Marsh and Kevin Robinson each scored a touchdown for the Aggies (0-8, 0-4), who lost their school-record 14th consecutive game.
Robinson finished with 179 total yards. He came into the game averaging 208.3 all-purpose yards.
In another Western Athletic Conference game, Luke Lippincott rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns as Nevada beat Idaho37-21. Lippincott's 2-yard run with 10:41 left in the game capped an 18-play, 87-yard drive that put the Wolf Pack ahead 24-14. Nevada (4-4 overall, 2-2) pulled away late after Idaho (1-8, 0-5) had pulled to within 17-14 early in the third quarter on Nathan Enderle's 18-yard touchdown pass to Eric Greenwood.
MOUNTAIN WEST Wyoming tops UNLV
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Devin Moore rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown as Wyoming overcame UNLV in the fourth quarter for a 29-24 victory Saturday.
The Cowboys (5-3, 2-2) grabbed the lead and final score when Wade Betschart caught a 3-yard pass from Karsten Sween for a touchdown with 5:42 left.
A two-point attempt failed, but the Rebels (2-7, 1-4) never got back within scoring range.
In another Mountain West game, Brian Johnson threw for 130 yards and two touchdowns and Ray Stowers ran for 123 yards and a touchdown to lead Utah past Colorado State 27-3 in Fort Collins, Colo. The Utes (6-3, 3-2) scored on four offensive possessions in the first half. The Rams (1-7, 1-4) countered with a field goal on the following drive after being stopped on three consecutive plays inside the Utah 10.
Sports, Pages 39 on 10/28/2007