No. 23 Tulane goes down to wire to hold off Tulsa

Field Level Media|published: Sat 11th November, 15:52 2023

Nov 11, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tulsa Golden Hurricane safety Jaise Oliver (25) tries to tackler Tulane Green Wave running back Makhi Hughes (21) in first quarter action at Yulman Stadium. credits: Matthew Dobbins-USA TODAY Sports

Makhi Hughes rushed for 131 yards with a touchdown and No. 23 Tulane stopped a two-point conversion pass to hang on for a 24-22 victory over visiting Tulsa in an American Athletic Conference game Saturday afternoon at New Orleans.

Hughes had his sixth consecutive 100-yard game and Michael Pratt passed for 194 yards and a touchdown for the Green Wave (9-1, 6-0 AAC).

Kirk Francis completed 22 of 34 passes for 345 yards and Kamdyn Benjamin finished with eight receptions for 157 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Hurricane (3-7, 1-5), which lost its fifth consecutive game.

Down eight points, Tulsa rallied late with Francis completing a 57-yard pass to Carl Chester then getting 4-yard TD pass to from Braylon Braxton to Benjamin. But Braxton's pass on a two-point conversion was incomplete, preserving Tulane's two-point lead with 3:03 remaining.

The Green Wave ran out the clock when Pratt converted a third-and-9 with a 10-yard completion to Chris Brazzell II and Hughes got loose for a 31-yard run with just over a minute remaining.

Tulane's Shedro Lewis returned the second-half kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown that increased the Green Wave's lead to 21-10.

Francis' 51-yard pass completion to Benjamin led to Chase Meyer's 30-yard field goal that cut the deficit to 21-13 late in the third quarter.

Meyer kicked a 47-yard field goal on the fourth play of the fourth quarter to pull Tulsa within 21-16 before Tulane's Valentino Ambrosio delivered a 30-yard field increased the lead to 24-16 with 9:21 remaining.

The Hurricane received the game's opening kickoff and the possession ended when Braxton was intercepted by Jarius Monroe at the Green Wave 30. Tulane delivered the game's opening score on Hughes' 1-yard touchdown run.

Pratt added a 39-yard touchdown pass to Alex Bauman that gave Tulane a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Francis threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin and Meyer kicked a 37-yard field goal to trim the lead to 14-10 at halftime.

—Field Level Media

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