9/18/2021

Davis Brin passes for 428 yards and two touchdowns

COLUMBUS, Ohio –– Tulsa had the No. 9-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on the ropes late in the fourth quarter before the home team added two scores in the final three minutes for a 41-20 victory Saturday afternoon at Ohio Stadium.
 
The Hurricane amassed 501 total yards with 428 of those coming through the air. Davis Brin completed 31-of-54 yards and added two touchdown tosses. With leading receiver Keylon Stokes sidelined for the game by an injury, Brin found nine different targets with Josh Johnson leading the way with eight receptions for 149 yards.
 
Brin’s 428 yards was the most for a Tulsa quarterback since the 2015 season when Dane Evans threw for 421 yards against Memphis.
 
“I’m really proud of the way we played today. We did some good things and gave ourselves some good opportunities. We went toe-to-toe with an exceptional team. It’s been a tough start, but I am encouraged by the way we played today,” said Tulsa Head Coach Philip Montgomery. “We still have a lot of football ahead of us. We have a good football team and now we have to focus on getting over the hump. We have to get back on the practice field and get back to work.”
 
TreVeyon Henderson led the Ohio State offense with 277 rushing yards and three touchdowns, but the heralded Buckeyes receiving corps was held intact with only 185 yards through the air.
 
Ohio State led 13-6 at halftime, but Henderson put some separation on the scoreboard with a 48-yard scamper on the Buckeyes’ first second-half possession to give the home team a 20-6 lead.
 
The Hurricane scored its first TD of the game when Brin connected with Cannon Montgomery on a 21-yard catch and run to cut its deficit to seven points at 20-13, capping a 48-yard, 5-play drive with one minute remaining in the third quarter. But, the Buckeyes relied on their offensive star of the day when Henderson tallied his third rushing TD with a 52-yard jaunt to put the Buckeyes up by a score of 27-13.
 
Tulsa responded at the 12:07 mark of the fourth quarter with 22-yard toss from Brin to Johnson to bring the score to within seven points at 27-20. The score capped a 75-yard, six play drive for the Hurricane.
 
Tulsa’s defense shut down the Buckeyes on their next possession and the Hurricane offense got to the OSU 43-yard line when a sack on 3^rd-and-7 forced the visitors to punt. Ohio State responded with a 65-yard, 7-play drive to make the score 34-20 and then an interception returns of 61 yards capped the scoring for the Buckeyes with less than two minutes to play.
 
After the Hurricane defense stopped Ohio State on the game’s first possession, Brin took the Hurricane offense on an 81-yard, 16-play drive that was capped by a Zack Long 22-yard field goal for a 3-0 Hurricane lead. The Tulsa scoring drive took 6:30 off the clock.
 
Ohio State responded with a field goal of their own, coming from 43 yards, after a 12-play, 47-yard drive.
 
Tulsa took its next possession for another three points, going 62 yards in 14 plays, as Long knocked through a 31-yarder this time for the Hurricane for a 6-3 lead with 10:47 left on the second quarter clock.
 
The Buckeyes took its first lead at 10-6 with a 64-yard, six-play drive that took only 1:56 off the game clock.
 
Tulsa’s Travon Fuller intercepted an Ohio State pass at the Hurricane 25-yard line, but Tulsa couldn’t manage to turn it into any points. The Buckeyes marched to the Hurricane 27-yard line, but Tulsa forced the home team to another field goal that put the Buckeyes ahead 13-6 with 0:51 remaining in the first 30 minutes.
 
At halftime Tulsa held a 217 to 199-yard advantage in total offense with a 204 to 99 yards for the Buckeyes. OSU had 100 yards rushing to Tulsa’s 13 yards. Brin completed 17-of-27 first-half passes for 204 yards.

COURTESY TULSA ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS