Jackson Arnold threw for 169 yards and a touchdown and ran for 97 yards and another score as No. 15 Oklahoma held off Tulane 34-19 on Saturday in Norman, Okla.
The Sooners were in a precarious position in the fourth after Tulane pulled within five.
But then Billy Bowman Jr. pulled down a redirected Darian Mensah pass for an interception, giving Oklahoma the ball in Tulane territory.
Then the Sooners (3-0), who had come up empty on four consecutive drives, finally showed some life.
Arnold hit Deion Burks for a 20-yard gain to begin the drive, then three plays later, Arnold broke off a 24-yard touchdown run to give Oklahoma some breathing room.
The Sooners’ R Mason Thomas came up with two sacks on the next drive to all but seal the game.
Thomas forced and recovered a fumble with less than two minutes left.
Arnold finished 18-of-29 passing with one interception as the Sooners failed to reach 200 yards passing for the third consecutive game to start the season. Oklahoma hadn’t thrown for less than 200 yards in three consecutive games since 2014.
The Sooners outgained Tulane 349-279.
Mensah was 14-of-32 passing for 166 yards, a touchdown and an interception while Makhi Hughes ran for 71 yards on 19 carries for the Green Wave (1-2).
Earlier in the fourth quarter, Tulane brought pressure up the middle, forcing Arnold to quickly look for a receiver over the middle.
Green Wave linebacker Tyler Grubbs stepped in front of Burks and had plenty of clear space in front of him, going 22 yards for a touchdown.
Tulane’s two-point conversion was unsuccessful, keeping the score 24-19.
Tulane managed just 36 yards on its first four drives, punting each time and picking up just one first down.
But the Green Wave started finding some rhythm offensively after that, eating up nearly five minutes on a 12-play drive. Tulane came up empty on the drive, though, with a missed field goal.
The Sooners responded with a quick touchdown drive, keyed by Arnold’s 47-yard run on the first play, to take a 21-0 lead.
Tatum finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Tulane kept up its offensive momentum on its last drive of the half, as backup quarterback Ty Thompson came in on second-and-goal and found Reggie Brown in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown to cut the Sooners’ lead to 21-6 at the break.
