With Sophomore Quarterback Derek Thompson out with a foot injury it was up to Andrew McNulty to get the start for North Texas (1-4).  It was a tough situation for the freshman.  Head Coach Dan McCarney had faith in the youngster stating in practice he moved the chains with whatever team he was guiding. He did get in a few games during the year so was not completely going into the game colds.

During the Indiana game, the North Texas defense had sure handed tackles and needed to play the same way against Tulsa. However, they digressed during the Tulsa game allowing the Golden Hurricane to break tackles for big gains.

It was not what the fans, players and coaches wanted to see as Tulsa (2-3) rolled over North Texas 41-24. After a dominating performance against Indiana (1-4) last week, who by the way nearly knocked off Penn State (4-1) before losing 10-16, North Texas was expected to be more competitive against the Golden Hurricane.

North Texas did accomplish some goals which could put them in position to win. For example, North Texas controlled the ball 40:53 minutes of the game while Tulsa had it only 19:07 minutes of the game. The problem was Tulsa scored so fast, they did not need a lot of time to get the job done.  For example, two interceptions for two touchdowns doesn’t burn a lot of time off the clock.

However, because North Texas held the ball so long, the defense did not look as tired during the fourth quarter and they were pretty effective.  Tulsa had four possessions in the fourth quarter and instead of being stopped by the endzone, they were forced to punt once, intercepted once, lost a fumble and held the ball to the end of the game.

North Texas had a total of 82 offensive plays while Tulsa managed only 56.  North Texas ran the ball 54 times and passed it 28. Tulsa was 24-32.

McNulty’s first outing was shaking at best with his two touchdowns coming throwing the ball to the wrong colored jersey. His final stats were 11-18-2.

McCarney may have started a backup quarterback controversy unintentionally.  The last two North Texas scores came when Brent Osborn was inserted in the game during the fourth quarter. He went 6-7 with no interceptions and two scores.   While it may have come with some of the Tulsa subs in there but he seemed to be able to handle the offense just fine.

Michael Outlaw, Zach Olen were injured and reports should be available Sunday. It looks like Olen has a bruise contusion on his leg after a blocked field goal attempted. Outlaw apparently twisted his ankle and preliminary reports are he will be ok. Derek Thompson is day to day and hopes to be back for Saturday’s contest against FAU.

Lance Dunbar recorded his 18th 100 yard game in the loss.