DALLAS (FWAA) Tulsa's first win over a ranked team in 10 seasons came at the expense of No. 11 UCF, and it did it by scoring the game's final 15 points and win in Orlando 34-26. The win that snapped UCF's 21-game home win streak earned the Golden Hurricane the Reveal Suits National Team of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Oct. 3 as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the first time for Tulsa to earn the Team of the Week honor. All Division I FBS and FCS schools are eligible to be selected. This is the 19th season for the FWAA to award a Team of the Week.
The Golden Hurricane have become a nemesis for UCF; the home win streak they snapped began the week following a previous Tulsa win, 35-20, in 2016. The victory is Tulsa's first against a ranked opponent since beating No. 24 Hawaii 62-35 in the 2010 Hawaii Bowl, and it's the first win over a top-15 team since a 35-34 home win over No. 15 Texas A&M in 1996.
Tulsa's 18-point comeback is the 13th come-from-behind win in head coach Philip Montgomery's six seasons. Trailing by 11 points at halftime, Tulsa's special teams sparked the rally when Bryson Powers caused and recovered a fumble in one motion, and Zach Smith found Sam Crawford for a 34-yard scoring strike on the next play to bring the Golden Hurricane to within 23-19. Smith finished 17-of-29 passing for 273 yards and three touchdowns.
Tulsa's special teams forced and recovered two fumbles while its defense came up with an interception, 10 tackles for losses and nine pass break-ups.
Tulsa is idle this Saturday before hosting No. 11 Cincinnati on Oct. 17.
The other National Team of the Week nominee for the weekend of Oct. 3 are:
Arkansas (1-1): The Razorbacks gave first-year head coach Sam Pittman his first win with a 21-14 win at No. 14 Mississippi State. It was the Hogs' first SEC win since a 38-37 win over Ole Miss on Oct. 28, 2017 and its first win over a ranked opponent since 2016 against No. Florida (31-10). Linebacker Bumper Pool had a career-high 20 tackles, 10th-most in a game in school history.
Georgia (2-0): The No. 4 Bulldogs held No. 7 Auburn to a pair of field goals in a 27-6 win, the Tigers' lowest scoring output since Georgia blanked them 38-0 in 2012 at Auburn. Junior quarterback Stetson Bennett (17-for-28, career-high 240 yards, TD) made his first career start and built a 24-3 halftime lead with 288 yards of total offense. Georgia is now 9-4 against top 10 teams under head coach Kirby Smart.
Iowa State (2-1): The Cyclones beat Oklahoma at home for the first time since 1960, ending a 24-game home losing streak in the series with a 37-30 win. Iowa State is 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2002 and is now 11-1 in October since 2017, the most such wins by an FBS team in that span. ISU's balance showed against against Oklahoma; ISU has posted more than 400 yards of total offense for the 13th time in 17 games, and its defense has racked up 7.0 or more TFL's in its first three games.
TCU (1-1): Quarterback Max Duggan totaled 310 yards of offense, including the go-ahead 26-yard touchdown run with 4:01 to play as TCU toppled No. 9 Texas, 33-31. TCU is now 7-2 against Texas since joining the Big 12 in 2012, and 4-1 in Austin. The Frogs survived with a critical defensive play when linebacker Garret Wallow punched out a Texas fumble at the TCU one-yard-line with Corey Bethley making the recovery with 2:32 to play.
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Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football.
The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key
executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas
that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team.
For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson
at tiger@fwaa.com.