Tulsa
Florida Atlantic
Football Game Day . . . Tulsa hosts FAU at 2:30 pm
9/4/2015 9:53:00 AM | Football
| Game 1: Tulsa (0-0) vs. FAU (0-0) | |
|---|---|
| Date / Time: | Saturday,Sept. 5, 2015/2:30 pm (CT) |
| Site: | Tulsa, Okla. |
| Stadium: | Skelly Field @ H.A. Chapman Stadium (30,000) |
| TV: | CBS Sports Network |
| Talent: | Sean Grande (pxp), Corey Chavous (analyst), Melanie Collins (sidelines) |
| Radio: | Big Country 99.5 FM |
| Talent: | Bruce Howard (pxp), Rick Couri (analyst), Jeremie Poplin (sideline) |
| Live Stats: | www.sidearmstats.com/tulsa/football |
| Series: | FAU leads 1-0-0 |
| First/Last Meeting: | FAU 50, Tulsa 21 (Sept. 13, 2014), Boca Raton, Fla. |
Tulsa, Oklahoma –– The Philip Montgomery era gets underway Saturday afternoon as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane hosts the FAU Owls at H.A. Chapman Stadium. The game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. and will be aired nationally on CBS Sports Network. Tickets for the game are still available.
Montgomery brings his Fun, Fast and Physical approach to Hurricane football after spending the last seven years at Baylor University. As offensive coordinator, his last two Baylor teams led the nation in scoring and total offense.
In the 115-year history of Tulsa football, the Golden Hurricane has posted a 66-48-1 record in season openers. Tulsa has a 61-24 record for a .718 winning percentage in home openers at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium since it was built in 1930.
"Finally we're at that point where it is time to put up or shut up, I guess is the right way to say it. We had a good camp, stayed pretty healthy all the way through it. Â There's a lot of enthusiasm. You can feel the excitement building for the season," said Montgomery. " We're playing a very talented Florida Atlantic team. Coach Partridge has done a great job there. We're excited to finally step on the field with our guys and see what we're really all about."
Tulsa's offense returns 10 starters including junior signal-caller Dane Evans, who threw for 3,102 yards and 23 touchdowns last season. Evans' top-five targets return to the Tulsa lineup, including one of the nation's top pass catchers in 2014, junior Keevan Lucas and senior Keyarris Garrett. Lucas caught 101 passes for 1,219 yards and 11 TDs, while Garrett totaled 698 yards and five touchdowns on 47 receptions.Â
A stable of running backs is led by senior Zack Langer, who rushed for 801 yards in 2014, as well as D'Angelo Brewer, Tavarreon Dickerson and James Flanders, all of whom saw considerable playing time last year. Red-shirt freshman Ramadi Warren has turned in a solid camp and is expected to help the cause in the backfield as well.
Tulsa's offensive line returns four letterwinners and three starters to the front five, but only one, right tackle Blake Belcher, is in the same position as he was a year ago.
Tulsa's defense needs to be improved for the Hurricane to have success in 2015. The starting front four has two returning starters from last season and one who started the 2013 campaign. End Derrick Alexander and tackle Derrick Luetjen return as starters to anchor the line, while Jesse Brubaker, who started as a true freshman in 2013, returns to the starting spot next to Luetjen at tackle after missing most of last year with an injury.
Trent Martin, who totaled 64 tackles last year, anchors the middle of the defense at linebacker, while 2014 FWAA Freshman All-American Craig Suits returns to the outside. Suits had the second-most tackles last year with 81 stops and added four pass break-ups.
Although returning eight lettermen, the Tulsa secondary is still rather young with only strong safety Michael Mudoh bringing more than two years of game experience. Mudoh enters his senior season with 271 career tackles. Fellow senior Darrell Williams, who was hampered with injuries in the early part of his career, and sophomore Kerwin Thomas appear to get the nod at the starting corner slots for the Hurricane, while sophomore Jordan Mitchell will open up at free safety.
FAU is coming off of a three-win season, and claimed the first-ever meeting between the two schools with a 50-21 win in Boca Raton, Florida last year.
The FAU offense returns six starters to a unit that gained 363.1 yards per game, as returning senior quarterback Jaquez Johnson, who wears No. 32, averaged 248 of those total offensive yards. The dual threat rushed for 513 yards and passed for 2,215 yards while accounting for a total of 14 touchdowns in 2014. Against Tulsa last year, Jaquez completed 15-of-20 passes for 318 yards and three TDs, while gaining 18 yards and one TD rushing.
Jenson Stoshak headlines the receiving corps after catching 37 passes for 508 yards last year, and returning rusher Jay Warren returns to the lineup after gaining 571 yards on the ground to lead the Owls last year.
The FAU secondary returns two playmakers – cornerback Cre'von LeBlanc and safety Sharrod Neasman, to a defense that returns six starters and a total of 20 letterwinners. LeBlanc is FAU's returning leader for tackles with 71, had eight pass deflections and returned two interceptions last year for 76 yards, while Neasman totaled 60 tackles and five pass break-ups.
FAU defensive tackle Trevon Coley and end Trey Hendrickson headline the front four for the Owls defense, as the two combined for 16.5 tackles for -90 yards and nine sacks for -76. Starting linebacker Robert Relf totaled 65 tackles last year, while Nate Ozdemir and Freedom Whitfield saw plenty of action in 2014 as well.
It looks to be a great Saturday afternoon to kick-off the college football season.Â
