The Tulsa Golden Hurricane were thoroughly beaten by Michigan State 28-7 in their season-opening game Friday night, though the final score does not indicate the level of domination.
Tulsa was held to a school-record low -73 rushing yards. That’s not a typo. They went almost three-quarters of a field backwards in the game. They only offset that amount with 153 passing yards. Their 80 net total yards gained was their lowest since 1987.
Final: Michigan State 28, #TulsaFB 7. Hurricane sets a program record with negative-73 rushing yards and is limited to 80 total yards for its lowest offensive production since 1987.
— Kelly Hines (@KellyHinesTW) August 31, 2019
On the other end, the -73 rushing yards was a school record for Michigan State’s defense as you would expect.
So how does a school end up with -73 rushing yards? Well, in college football, sacks count against a quarterback’s rushing stats. Beyond their -32 rushing yards from their quarterback, Tulsa had a few botched snaps including one that went for a safety that also contributed to the low rushing stats.
Another bad snap by Tulsa and this one ends up in a safety! Michigan State up 15-0 pic.twitter.com/2GiwdKKo3f
— #FlashSZN (@ftbeard_17) August 31, 2019
As ugly as -73 rushing yards is, it still was a long ways away from the record low.
Tulsa's -73 rushing yards tonight set a program record, but came up shy of the FBS record. Northern Illinois moonwalked -109 yards on 33 carries against Toledo in 1967 (and lost 35-0).
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) August 31, 2019
