Ten, ten, eight, ten: Army's metronome edges Tulsa 35-38

Ten, ten, eight, ten. Army's scoring by quarter against Tulsa read like a metronome, and the final tick — a field goal struck after the Knights had fallen behind in the fourth quarter — delivered a 38-35 road win on October 24.

Cale Hellums opened the scoring with a first-quarter touchdown and Dawson Jones added a field goal; Army led 10-7 after one quarter. Javon Ross answered for Tulsa in the first quarter and again in the second, but Hellums crossed the goal line once more before halftime and Jones split the uprights one more time. At the break: Army 20, Tulsa 14.

The third quarter swung the other way. Godspower Nwawuihe scored and Zach Mundell ran in the two-point conversion — Army's eight-point frame — but touchdowns from David Wells and Trequan Jones dragged Tulsa level at 28-28. Jimmy Calloway then put the Golden Hurricane in front 35-28, their first lead since the second quarter. Hellums answered with his third touchdown to make it 35-35, and Jones' third field goal decided it, 38-35.

Quarter by quarter, Tulsa won only the third, 14-8, yet still led 35-28 in the fourth after Calloway's score. Hellums was the hammer: three touchdowns across three different quarters, the last arriving at the exact moment Army trailed. Jones was the counterweight, three field goals and none bigger than the closing kick. Ross's two touchdowns kept Tulsa in it, but the Knights always had one more beat.

Army never broke rhythm, not once, across four quarters. Tulsa simply ran out of answers to the same steady beat.