Central Michigan vs. Tulsa: Score and Reaction for 2016 Miami Beach Bowl
Tulsa has put itself in the running for the most dominant performance of the 2016-17 bowl season.
The Golden Hurricane showcased their talent on both sides of the ball with a 55-10 win over Central Michigan in the Miami Beach Bowl.
This result wasn’t too much of a surprise, especially considering Tulsa came into the game as a double-digit favorite, per OddsShark. Kevin McGuire of NBC Sports broke down the matchup:
This Miami Beach Bowl is actually playing out pretty much as I suspected it would. Tulsa just far and away the better team, and it shows.
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) December 19, 2016
Still, it was as complete a performance as possible as the AAC squad moved to 10-3 on the season. The Chippewas fell to 6-7 with five losses in their last six games.
Dane Evans was as good as ever for Tulsa, totaling 320 passing yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. He also set a new school record with 84 career touchdown passes, per the team’s Twitter account.
Meanwhile, the strength of the offense all year was the ability to spread the ball around to different players. Josh Atkinson was a star in the passing game with 12 catches for 131 yards, although he was still overshadowed by Keevan Lucas and his three receiving touchdowns.
Like Evans, Lucas also put his name in the record books with his 32nd career touchdown, tying Steve Largent and Howard Twilley for the most in school history.
James Flanders and D’Angelo Brewer took care of business on the ground with 100 rushing yards each.
The Golden Hurricane also reached an unprecedented level of production for the season, per Yahoo’s Dr. Saturday:
Tulsa set an FBS record for offensive production. First school with a 3,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard receivers and two 1,000-yard RB’s.
— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) December 19, 2016
Cooper Rush simply couldn’t keep up for Central Michigan, ending the day with 242 yards on 24-of-49 passing with no touchdowns and three interceptions.
Tulsa earned a 581-386 advantage in total yards and 34-19 in first downs in what was a one-sided battle throughout.
As Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press captured, it wasn’t exactly a packed house for the game at Marlins Park:
And we are underway at the Miami Beach Bowl. 2:30 kickoffs on a Monday never great for crowds. pic.twitter.com/X1g4DAwlVv
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) December 19, 2016
Still, it…
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