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Ranking TU's most gut-wrenching defeats
Published: 9/9/2010 2:04 PM
Last Modified: 9/9/2010 2:04 PM

Perspective: Before last season, TU hadn't lost a football game on the final play of the fourth quarter since 1984.

The Golden Hurricane has suffered two final-play losses in its last five games, including Sunday, when East Carolina cashed a 33-yard Hail Mary on a fourth down play at game's end.

Where does that game rank among TU's most gut-wrenching defeats? I came up with a list of contenders dating to the 1982 season. Why 1982? That's as far back as my collection of easily researchable TU media guides goes.

Rank 'em how you want. But these are the gut-wrenchers in descending chronological order:

Sept. 5, 2010
East Carolina 51, Tulsa 49: TU scored its most points ever in a defeat, losing on a 33-yard Hail Mary with 0:00 showing on the clock.

Nov. 7, 2009
Houston 46, Tulsa 45: Tulsa led by eight points entering the final minute and stopped a two-point conversion attempt with 21 seconds left. But Houston successfully executed an onside kick and got a game-winning 51-yard field goal as time expired.

Nov. 1, 2008
Arkansas 30, Tulsa 23: Tulsa was in position to beat Arkansas for the first time since 1976, rallying from a 17-0 deficit to tie the score at 23 late in the third quarter. Arkansas returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for what would prove to be the deciding score. TU drove to the Hogs’ 4 late in the fourth quarter, but failed to score.

Dec. 6, 2008
East Carolina 27, Tulsa 24: Tulsa committed seven turnovers in a C-USA championship game. East Carolina consumed more than seven minutes of the fourth quarter with a 53-yard drive and kicked a game-winning field goal with 1:43 left. TU’s last possession ended with an interception that took place when receiver Brennan Marion was injured and fell while running a deep pass route.

Oct. 6, 2007
UTEP 48, Tulsa 47: UTEP drove 76 yards to score a game-winning touchdown with 57 seconds remaining. TU’s Jarod Tracy missed a field goal attempt wide left on the final play.

Nov. 11, 2006
Rice 41, Tulsa 38: Rice won with a touchdown pass on a third-and-10 play in double-overtime.

Nov. 5, 2005
UTEP 41, Tulsa 38: UTEP covered 71 yards in just five plays and kicked a game-winning field goal with six seconds left.

Nov. 6, 2004
SMU 41, Tulsa 35: TU rallied from deficits of 17-0 and 27-7, but suffered an interception on its first overtime possession and SMU got a 25-yard touchdown run on the next play.

Oct. 23, 2004
Nevada 54, Tulsa 48: TU’s Brandon Diles ran for 202 yards and three touchdowns, but lost a fumble before stepping into the end zone in the third overtime period.

Nov. 15, 1997
SMU 42, Tulsa 41: John Fitzgerald threw a touchdown pass to Damon Savage with 18 seconds left and all TU had to do was kick a tying PAT to force overtime. James Anderson never got a chance to kick because the holder couldn’t get the snap down and was forced to improvise a pass attempt that fell incomplete.

Nov. 9, 1996
TCU 31, Tulsa 24: TCU never led until Basil Mitchell sprinted 74 yards for a touchdown with 1:45 left.

Nov. 26, 1994
Louisville 34, Tulsa 27: Louisville drove 62-yards for a deciding touchdown with 1:58 left and TU failed to score after driving to the 6 at game’s end.

Oct. 22, 1994
East Carolina 28, Tulsa 21: East Carolina got a go-ahead touchdown pass with 4:32 left, then held on a fourth-and-2 play after allowing TU to drive to the 15

Oct. 8, 1994
UTEP 24, Tulsa 7: UTEP got a field goal with 1:07 left for a seven-point cushion and TU failed to score after driving to the 7 at game’s end.

Sept. 24, 1994
OSU 17, Tulsa 10: John Fitzgerald passed TU from its 17 to the OSU 26, but his last-play pass to Michael Kedzior was ruled out of the end zone.

Oct. 2, 1993
Cincinnati 22, Tulsa 15: TU surrendered the winning points on David Small’s 50-yard touchdown run with 61 seconds left.

Sept. 18, 1993
OSU 16, Tulsa 10: TU, on its final possession, advanced to the OSU 27. Jason Gildon stripped Gus Frerotte of the ball and Gildon fell on it with 25 seconds left.

Sept. 4, 1993
Iowa 26, Tulsa 25: Iowa got a touchdown and game-winning two-point conversion pass with 53 seconds left.

Sept. 26, 1992
OSU 24, Tulsa 19: OSU scored 21 points on defense and special teams touchdowns and stopped TU at the 7 at game’s end, when three consecutive passes fell incomplete.

Dec. 16, 1989
Oregon 27, Tulsa 24: Oregon booted the winning points in the Independence Bowl on a field goal with 3:07 and scored following a controversial play. Ducks quarterback Bill Musgrave appeared to fumble on a third down play at the 1 and TU’s Lenny Williams emerged with the ball. Officials ruled that no fumble occurred.

Oct. 8, 1988
Louisville 9, Tulsa 3: TU marched to the Louisville 1 on its next-to-last possession and lost a fumble.

Sept. 10, 1988
Arkansas 30, Tulsa 26: T.J. Rubley passed (380 yards) Arkansas silly, but, on second-and-4 at the Razorbacks’ 8 late in the fourth quarter, he was hit in the backfield by Kerry Owens and lost a fumble.

Aug. 30, 1986
Louisiana Tech 22, Tulsa 17: TU gained a first-and-goal at the 2 on its next-to-last possession, but turned the ball over on downs. A final possession ended with an interception.

Sept. 14, 1985
Texas Tech 21, Tulsa 17
Texas Tech gained two total yards in the first quarter and 75 yards in the first half. But the Red Raiders got a 20-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Kessee to Tyrone Thurman with 11 seconds left to salvage victory.

Nov. 17, 1984
Southwest Louisiana 18, Tulsa 17: SW Louisiana scored 11 points in the last 3:43, getting a touchdown, a two-point conversion and, finally, a 45-yard-field goal with 0:00 showing on the clock.

Oct. 27, 1984
Texas Tech 20, Tulsa 17: Texas Tech recovered a fourth-quarter fumble and turned it into a game-winning touchdown drive, capped by Ricky Gann’s 31-yard field goal with 1:56 left.

Sept. 10, 1983
Arkansas 17, Tulsa 14: Jason Staurovsky missed a tying 43-yard field goal attempt with seven seconds remaining.


Reader Comments 3 Total
Ignatz (2 years ago)
Gee, Tramel, thanks a lot. I remember every single one of those horrible games.
MusicLover (2 years ago)
It would be inspirational to have a similar story about our most heart-stopping victories, like the one over OSU at Skelly, where OSU fans were already in the bars drinking and heard that TU came back and won. It can happen.
As soon as Tulsa has an inspirational victory, I'll be glad to blog in the other direction. By luck of the draw, I was in the press box for the Miracle on 11th Street.
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Tulsa World sports writer Jimmie Tramel is a former class president at Locust Grove High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern State University with a journalism degree and, while attending college, was sports editor of the Pryor Daily Times. He joined the Tulsa World on Oct. 17, 1989, the same day an earthquake struck the World Series. He is the OSU basketball beat writer and a columnist and feature writer during football season. In 2007, he wrote a book about Oklahoma State football with former Cowboy coach Pat Jones.

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