Army Beats Tulsa 38-35 on Dawson Jones' 50-Yard Field Goal as Time Expires

Last November, Tulsa walked into West Point and stole a 26-25 win on a game-winning field goal. On Friday night in Tulsa, Army returned the favor, and Dawson Jones made sure the receipt had a bigger number on it.

Jones drilled a 50-yard field goal as time expired, and Army beat Tulsa 38-35 at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium. It capped a wild finish in which the Black Knights blew a 14-point lead, fell behind by seven, and then scored 10 points in the final 1:50 to escape.

Army moves to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the American, winning its third straight game. Tulsa drops to 4-4 and 1-3 in league play, and the Golden Hurricane's path to bowl eligibility just got a lot steeper.

Both teams arrived with momentum. Army was coming off a 56-24 rout of FAU, and Tulsa had just snapped a three-game skid with a 38-17 win over Rice. The history added some spice, too. Last year's loss at West Point came against a Tulsa team that had dropped 10 straight American games, and it handed head coach Tre Lamb his first conference win. Friday night, on ESPN2, was the first chance to answer it.

A first half of punches and counterpunches

Nobody waited long to get going. Cale Hellums opened the scoring with a 41-yard touchdown run on fourth down, the kind of play that tells you exactly how Army planned to spend the night. Tulsa answered when Javon Ross punched in an 8-yard touchdown run to tie it.

Then Jones stepped up for a career-long 51-yard field goal, giving Army a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. It would not be his last long kick of the night.

Tulsa flipped the lead early in the second quarter. Baylor Hayes found Ross for a 17-yard touchdown pass, and the Golden Hurricane led 14-10.

Army's response was peak service academy football. The Black Knights put together a 15-play drive that took 9:51 off the clock, and Hellums finished it with a 1-yard run on fourth down. That made it 17-14 and drained most of the second quarter in the process.

Late in the half, sophomore cornerback Julian Porter picked off Hayes with about 30 seconds left. That gave Army just enough time to move into range, and Jones hit a 34-yarder with two seconds left for a 20-14 halftime lead.

Army builds a lead, then watches it vanish

The second half started with a bang. On Army's second play of the third quarter, Godspower Nwawuihe broke loose for a 66-yard touchdown run. Zach Mundell ran in the two-point conversion, and Army led 28-14.

At that point, the game looked like it was heading toward a familiar script. Army had the lead, the ball control and the running game. Tulsa had other ideas.

David Wells Jr. scored on an 11-yard run to pull Tulsa within seven. Then Trequan Jones broke a 59-yard touchdown run, and suddenly it was 28-28. Two big runs, one quarter, and a 14-point cushion was gone.

Early in the fourth, Hayes hit Jimmy Calloway for a 13-yard touchdown with 13:25 left. That completed a 21-0 run and gave Tulsa a 35-28 lead. Military Appreciation Night in Tulsa was turning into a celebration for the home side.

The blocked punt that changed everything

The score sat at 35-28 for most of the fourth quarter. Army's offense could not find the end zone, and Tulsa's could not put the game away. Then special teams broke the stalemate.

An Army defender blocked a Tulsa punt and recovered it at the Tulsa 13, handing the Black Knights a short field with the clock running down. Hellums finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:50 remaining, his third rushing score of the night, and the game was tied at 35.

Tulsa needed a drive to answer. Instead, the Golden Hurricane went three-and-out.

Jones closes it out

Army took over with 51 seconds left. The Black Knights moved 27 yards, just enough to give Jones a look from 50.

He did not need much more than that. The kick split the uprights as time expired, and the Black Knights had their revenge.

Army's football account summed it up simply: "No doubter from 50 by Dawson Jones." Hard to argue. The kick made Jones the first Army kicker to make two field goals of 50 yards or more in a single game, and he finished a perfect 3-for-3 on the night, with makes from 51, 34 and 50 yards.

The players who carried Army

Hellums was the engine. He ran 30 times for 121 yards and three touchdowns, and he completed 7 of 12 passes for 64 yards. Along the way, he passed 2,000 career rushing yards, a milestone that fits a quarterback who seems to treat every third-and-short like a personal challenge.

Nwawuihe was the explosive piece. He needed just 12 carries to rack up 135 yards, including the 66-yard touchdown that briefly looked like the dagger. As a team, Army ran for 275 yards and converted three of its four fourth-down attempts.

Porter's interception before halftime deserves its own mention. Without it, Army does not get the 34-yard field goal, and the final margin was exactly three points. He also added five tackles.

Tulsa had its chances

Tulsa's offense deserves credit for the comeback. Hayes completed 23 of 34 passes for 262 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Calloway was his favorite target, catching 10 passes for 88 yards and the go-ahead score.

Ross accounted for two touchdowns, one on the ground and one through the air. Trequan Jones's 59-yard run might have been the play of the night if Army had not stolen the ending.

But Tulsa's final two possessions will sting. The blocked punt gave Army a short field, and the three-and-out that followed gave Army one more chance. Against a team that lives on clock control, you cannot hand the ball back that cheaply.

What it means

For Army, this was exactly the kind of win that separates contenders from also-rans in the American. The Black Knights are 4-1 in league play and have won three straight. Next on the schedule was a trip to Memphis on Oct. 31, with the Tigers sitting at 6-2 and 3-1, a game with real conference title implications. Air Force follows after that.

For Tulsa, the math is getting tough. At 4-4, the Golden Hurricane need to find two more wins to reach bowl eligibility. Their next game is a trip to Tulane on Nov. 7, and that is not exactly a soft landing.

Tulsa wore special white helmets with its logo in American-flag colors for Military Appreciation Night, and the 1st Infantry Division was honored during the game. A crowd of 20,247 watched it all unfold. For the visiting cadets, it was a night to remember.

The last word

Last year, Army lost to Tulsa on a game-winning field goal. This year, Army won on one.

There is a lesson buried in there about patience. Army trailed by seven with less than two minutes to go, on the road, against a team that had just scored 21 straight points. A lot of teams fold in that spot. The Black Knights found a blocked punt, a short touchdown drive, a defensive stop and a kicker who did not blink.

That is how you win in November. Army just got an early start.

Sources: Stars and Stripes, The Associated Press via Ground News, We Are The Mighty, EssentiallySports, BVM Sports and Tulsa Athletics. Tulsa's own game recap (opens in a new tab) has more. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Army Athletics.