G.J Kinne News

Todd Graham said Friday's 33-30 win over Memphis allowed his University of Tulsa football team to enter the offseason in the best way possible.

Talk about drama, especially when it goes your way. Kevin Fitzpatrick booted a 37-yard field goal in overtime to lift Tulsa past Memphis, 33-30, in its regular season finale Friday at Chapman Stadium.

MEMPHIS AT TULSA Where. H.A. Chapman Stadium When. 1:30 p.m., today Radio. 1200-AM Last meeting.

HATTIESBURG - Southern Miss gave up 396 passing yards to Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne on Saturday, and that's becoming more of a trend for the USM defense in recent games.

The Southern Miss football team delivered a must-win over Tulsa on Saturday, and now must prepare for another do-or-die situation if they are to compete for a Conference USA title.

Mother Nature was the only thing that could stop Southern Miss' high-scoring offense on Saturday night.

Tulsa's players remember when football used to be fun. They remember the first time they put on football pads.

UPDATE FROM TULSA: According to WITN's Brian Meador, Pirates Jamar Bryant and Josh Smith did not make the trip, both are out with shoulder injuries.

Tulsa's late-season swoon has been filled with fourth-quarter collapses. The Golden Hurricane dropped a 44-17 decision to East Carolina on Sunday night for its fifth consecutive loss in a disappointing football season.

TULSA HAS FOUND some creative ways to stumble during a losing streak that grew to five games on Sunday night.

Pat Pinkney completed 20-of-29 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns, as East Carolina used a 21-point fourth quarter to defeat Tulsa, 44-17. Darryl Freeney caught eight passes for 152 yards and a score for the Pirates , who became bowl eligible for the fourth straight season with the victory.

Tyler Holmes said he couldn't feel sorry for himself if he tried. Not when his University of Tulsa football roommate has had it so much rougher.

Justin Skillens was feeling the heat. He needed to make a play. Fans of the former Booker T. Washington football standout wondered when he was going to start contributing more as a University of Tulsa freshman.

Things have changed since East Carolina beat Tulsa for last year's Conference USA football title.

While Tulsa's offensive line continues to struggle as a unit, head coach Todd Graham went out of his way to say freshman center Trent Dupy has "improved dramatically" in recent weeks.

Matt Hogan's career-best 51-yard field goal as time expired capped a dramatic comeback and lifted 13th-ranked Houston over Tulsa, 46-45, at Chapman Stadium.

When Conference USA reshuffled its membership and divisional lineups a few years ago, a new rivalry was born - and predicting what's going to happen when Tulsa and Houston get together can be an exercise in futility.

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane churned out 501 yards of total offense in last year's game against the Houston Cougars - and lost.

Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne - who suffered a concussion in last weekend's 27-13 loss to SMU - is expected to start Saturday's home game against nationally ranked Houston.

I COULD break out the clever Halloween cliches. Would be easy to use words like scary or frightening to describe Tulsa's performance on a sun-drenched Saturday when boos were heard at Chapman Stadium.