Football Pulls off Scintillating 27-24 Overtime Victory at Houston

Friday, September 30

Houston, TX

6 P.M.

Tulane University

4-0 , 1-0

University of Houston

2-3 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Tulane

Houston

Tyjae Spears wins it for the Green Wave.

Photo by: Parker Waters

Football Pulls off Scintillating 27-24 Overtime Victory at Houston

Sep 30, 2022 | Football

Box Score

FINAL STATS | POSTGAME FRITZ PRESS CONFERENCE | GALLERY BY PARKER WATERS

HOUSTON – The Tulane football team (4-1, 1-0 AAC), with its third-string quarterback and facing a late fourth quarter deficit, pulled off an amazing 27-24 overtime road victory at Houston (2-3, 0-1 AAC) on Friday night at TDEDU Stadium.

Kai Horton, who was thrust into action after starter Michael Pratt was unavailable due to an undisclosed injury and backup Justin Ibieta exited after the game's first series with an injury himself, found running back Tyjae Spears in the right corner of the end zone for the 10-yard, walk-off game-winner.

After Houston had just taken the lead on the previous drive, Tulane tied the game with just 39 seconds remaining in regulation as Horton calmly led the 11 play, 75-yard drive. The push down the field was capped off on the three-yard shovel pass touchdown to tight end Tyrick James. Kicker Kriston Esnard's ensuing extra point made the score 21-all.

Spears led the team with his 54 yards rushing and 85 yards receiving. Horton connected on 11-of-21 passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Duece Watts had three catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. James had two catches for seven yards and touchdown.

Linebacker Nick Anderson led the team with 14 tackles, a total that tied his career-high. Dorian Williams had 11 tackles, a sack and 1.5 stops for loss.

As a team, Tulane ran for 84 yards and had 189 through the air.

The Green Wave began the scoring as Horton connected with Watts on a 13-yard pass and catch to finish off the five play, 63-yard drive with 12:42 remaining in the second quarter. The game remained tied at seven all until the second half when defensive back Jadon Canady scooped and scored on a 57-yard fumble return to put Tulane up 14-7 with 8:31 remaining in the third quarter. Houston, however, again tied the game with just over 10 minutes remaining.

Houston quarterback Clayton Tune went 22-for-33 for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Wideout Nathaniel Dell caught eight passes for 73 yards and two scores, himself. Running back Brandon Campbell posted 66 rushing yards and a touchdown as the Cougars put up 175 yards on the ground.

Abdul-Lateef Audu and Alex Hogan shared the team's top tackling honors with seven stops apiece.

The Green Wave next returns home to host East Carolina on Saturday, October 8 at 2:30 p.m. at Yulman Stadium in a game that will be broadcast on ESPNU. The Pirates (2-2, 0-1 AAC) will travel to USF tomorrow for a 1:30 p.m. kick.

NOTES
The win makes the Green Wave 4-1 to start the season … It is the first time that Tulane has been 4-1 or better to start the year since 2019 and the 26th time overall (2022, 2019, 1998, 1979, 1974, 1973, 1966, 1956, 1949, 1948, 1939, 1936, 1934, 1931, 1929, 1925, 1922, 1919, 1917, 1912, 1911, 1909, 1908, 1904, 1901 and 1900 … Justin Ibieta is only the third different quarterback to start for Tulane since Michael Pratt arrived on campus (Keon Howard; 2 – South Alabama – 9/12/20 and Navy – 9/19/20) and Kai Horton; 1 – Cincinnati – 10/30/21) … Jadon Canady's 57-yard fumble return for touchdown was the longest touchdown return for the program since 2002…The win ended Tulane's four-game overtime losing streak.

TICKETS
Tickets for the 2022 season can be purchased by calling 504-861-WAVE (9283), logging on to TulaneTix.com or visiting the ticket office at the James W. Wilson Jr. Center.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow Tulane football on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram. Follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

WE ARE NOLA BUILT
Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.