Jackson Arnold ran for two touchdowns and threw for another as No. 15 Oklahoma beat Tulane 34-19 on Saturday.
Arnold passed for 169 yards and ran for 97. Taylor Tatum caught a touchdown pass and ran for a score, and Deion Burks caught seven passes for 80 yards to help lead the Sooners.
Oklahoma (3-0) won its final tune-up before it plays its first Southeastern Conference game next Saturday at home against Tennessee.
Oklahoma expected a battle. Tulane was coming off a 34-27 loss to then-No. 17 Kansas State last week. And the Sooners remembered the close call in 2021, when No. 2 Oklahoma held on to beat the Green Wave 40-35.
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Darian Mensah completed just 14 of 32 passes for 166 yards for Tulane. Makhi Hughes ran for 71 yards and caught a touchdown pass for the Green Wave (1-2).
The Sooners held Tulane to 279 yards and ended the Green Wave’s 10-game road win streak.
Oklahoma took a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, but Tulane stayed in it when backup quarterback Ty Thompson connected with Reggie Brown for a 7-yard touchdown pass with 19 seconds left in the second quarter. The extra point failed, and the Sooners led 21-6 at halftime.
The Green Wave hung tough. Hughes’ 8-yard touchdown catch on fourth down was upheld upon review, and Tulane cut Oklahoma’s lead to 24-13 in the third.
Tyler Grubbs‘ 22-yard interception return for a touchdown to start the fourth quarter threw a scare into the Sooners. The Green Wave missed the 2-point conversion, and Oklahoma’s lead was cut to 24-19.
Arnold’s second TD run, a 24-yarder, put the Sooners up 31-19 with 6:05 to go.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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