Tulane Erases Late Deficit to Beat Charlotte 38–31 in Overtime

Tulane erased a ten-point fourth-quarter deficit, tied the game with ten seconds left and beat Charlotte 38–31 in overtime Friday at Jerry Richardson Stadium. Backup quarterback Dagan Bruno scored the winning touchdown on a fourth-down sneak.

After Bruno’s score, Tulane stopped Charlotte’s fourth-down pass into the end zone to finish the comeback. The Green Wave improved to 4–4 overall and 2–2 in the American Conference; Charlotte dropped to 1–7.

A failed fake punt gave Tulane its final regulation opportunity. Charlotte coach Tim Albin accepted responsibility for the decision after his team tried to extend a possession while protecting a seven-point lead with under two minutes remaining.

Tulane then drove 61 yards in eight plays, finding the end zone on an 11-yard pass. Cooper Helmke’s extra point made it 31–31, completing a rally that began after Charlotte moved ahead 31–21 with 10:52 remaining.

Johnnie Daniels ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns for Tulane. Trace Johnson finished with 284 passing yards, while the Green Wave produced 467 yards of offense against Charlotte’s 455. Henry Rutledge led Charlotte with 121 rushing yards. Johnson completed 28 of 36 passes and threw one touchdown during Tulane’s narrow road victory Friday.

Charlotte quarterback Conner Harrell threw for 239 yards. Rutledge also caught four passes for 79 yards, giving the 49ers contributions from their leading rusher through the air as well as on the ground.

The lead changed hands repeatedly in the second quarter. TJ Smith returned a kickoff 95 yards for a Tulane touchdown, but Charlotte responded with two passing scores to take a 24–14 halftime advantage.

Charlotte had scored at least 30 points in each of its last two games, after totaling 18 in the preceding two. The offensive improvement still left Albin discussing another defeat and the late possession that escaped his team.