Tulane rallies from 10-point deficit, beats Charlotte in OT, 38-31

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Johnnie Daniels had 99 yards rushing and two touchdowns, TJ Smith returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and Tulane rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Charlotte in overtime, 38-31, on Friday night (Oct. 30).

Short-yardage quarterback Dagan Bruno lunged for a short TD on fourth-and-goal on the first possession in overtime. Charlotte a first-and-goal at the 4, but after two short runs yielded just 1 yard, Conner Harrell threw back-to-back incomplete passes to end it.

Derrick Eley had a 1-yard rushing TD that gave Charlotte a 31-21 lead with 10:52 remaining in the fourth quarter. Cooper Helmke made a 27-yard field goal about 4½ minutes later and Trace Johnson threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Bredell Richardson with 10 seconds left that tied the game 31-31.

Charlotte (1-7, 1-3 in the American Athletic Conference) beat Temple 38-31 on Oct. 17 to snap a 14-game losing streak (dating to last season) overall and a 10-game skid in conference play.

Johnson completed 28 of 36 passes for 284 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Tulane (4-4, 2-2).

Henry Rutledge had 121 yards rushing on a season-high 22 carries for Charlotte. Khamani Alexander scored on a 44-yard run.

Harrell threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jaden Barnes with 4:01 left in the second quarter. After a Tulane punt, Eley caught a 16-yard TD pass from Harrell that capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive and gave the 49ers a 24-14 at halftime.

The teams each had 437 total yards in regulation.

Tulane next hosts Tulsa next Saturday (Nov. 7) at 11 a.m.

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