Tulane’s Tyjae Spears rushed for a season-high 157 yards and a touchdown as the No. 19 Green Wave stayed atop the American Athletic Conference with a 27-13 win at Tulsa on Saturday afternoon.
In his fourth 100-yard game, Spears carried 14 times and scored from 34 yards out in the second quarter to help Tulane (8-1, 5-0) take control with a 17-3 lead.
Michael Pratt completed 11 of 19 passes for 125 yards with TD tosses to Tyrick James and Shae Wyatt. He threw one interception. Shaadie Clayton-Johnson topped the 100-yard rushing mark for the first time with 106 yards on 14 carries.
Braylon Braxton was 13-of-25 passing for 146 yards with a TD pass to JuanCarlos Santana but Tulsa (3-6, 1-4) lost for the fifth time in six games.
A 55-yard run by Spears on the second play from scrimmage set up the visitors. Pratt finished it by zipping a strike of 10 yards to James.
Zack Long answered with a season-long 46-yard field goal on Tulsa’s first drive.
The Green Wave’s Valentino Ambrosio made a 20-yard kick to round out the first quarter scoring — giving Tulane a 72-13 advantage over the opposition in the first 15 minutes of 2022.
Spears ended an 88-yard drive at 6:10 of the second quarter by slicing through the Tulsa defense with his long run for a 17-3 advantage.
However, the home side gained momentum when Kendarin Ray intercepted Pratt with just over a minute left in the half. Braxton then tossed a 28-yard TD to Santana two plays later for a 17-10 halftime score.
On its first series of the second half, Wyatt put Tulane back up by two scores by hauling in a pass of 20 yards from Pratt to make it 24-10.
Long’s 40-yard boot trimmed it to 24-13.
Ambrosio’s 33-yard field goal inside the final minute completed the scoring as the Green Wave won for the fifth straight outing.
–Field Level Media
