Tulsa's Undefeated Hopes Dashed in Arkansas

It was a nice story -- aren't they all? -- but things aren't always meant to be. The boy doesn't always get the girl. Some Cinderellas don't get to ride in giant pumpkins. Tulsa won't get its undefeated, BCS dream season after falling to Arkansas 30-23.

The Golden Hurricanes' vaunted offense staggered early, trailing 17-7 before rallying to within three points at halftime, 23-30. The difference was an Arkansas kickoff return touchdown in the third quarter. Scoring was frozen after that as Arkansas' defense tightened. Tulsa did manage over 500 yards of offense but could not score in the decisive fourth quarter.

Although defeated, the Hurricanes' heads should be held high. Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn was unable to exact revenge against former employer Arkansas, but his team put up a ton of yards against an SEC defense and was a 4th and goal play in the final minute from tying the game and putting their 30th point on the board.

They should now return to dominating C-USA competition, finishing with Houston, Tulane and Marshall. They're still a threat to finish the year with a scoring average of more than 50 points/game, phenomenal by any standard.

They're good, they know it, just not BCS good and not quite good enough to take down a surging SEC team in their home stadium. This isn't the last we'll see of Tulsa.