UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas -- Comeback kids. Bowl eligible. Potential game of the year.

Shortly after 10:30 p.m. Saturday, there were so many words -- and very few breaths -- to describe what happened at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.

To sum it up, SMU beat Tulsa. And it was done in the most dramatic fashion possible.

In the third overtime, an SMU team once down three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, completed arguably college football's comeback of the year, defeating Tulsa, 43-37, in a three-overtime show in front of 28,142. The game featured a fourth-quarter comeback, last-second dramatics and, last but not least, a game-winning touchdown catch that was once ruled an incompletion.

In the final overtime, following a missed field goal by Tulsa, SMU quarterback Shane Buechele connected with wide receiver James Proche for a 25-yard strike. The catch originally was ruled incomplete, but the play was overturned after a referee's review. Proche had a foot inbounds, which ultimately sent the Ford Stadium crowd into a frenzy.

"If I catch the ball, I feel like I'm going to be in," Proche said. "It was a great throw -- an amazing throw -- from Shane, so give him his props. I'm just really proud of the work that we put in."

Lost in everything was the fact that No. 24 SMU not only improved to 6-0 but also earned bowl eligibility in its first six games played. This was a game where the Mustangs once trailed, 30-9, in the third quarter. It also was a game where the Mustangs avenged last year's 27-24 loss to Tulsa -- a game that prevented the Mustangs from becoming bowl eligible.

Tulsa dominated Saturday's game for three solid quarters, but SMU outscored the Golden Hurricane, 21-0, in the fourth and then weathered the storm using three overtimes -- including the second overtime where it fended off a Tulsa team trying to take advantage of a fumble.

"Heck of a football game," SMU coach Sonny Dykes said. "I'm really proud of the way our guys hung in there and figured out a way to get the game won. Give Tulsa a lot of credit. I thought they played hard, I thought they played well and had a good game plan."

Proche's biggest catch of the game capped an outstanding overall performance. He caught 11 balls for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Buechele threw for 280 yards in the win.

"I love winning," Proche said. "I've always been a winner, and we're gonna keep winning."

SMU now will go into its bye week undefeated for the year and 2-0 in American Athletic Conference play. Tulsa fell to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in AAC play.