Tulsa-UCF Game Preview

Saturday, November 19

Orlando, Fla.

7:00 p.m. (CT)

Tulsa

UCF

Tulsa-UCF Game Preview

11/18/2016 8:17:00 AM | Football

By: Don Tomkalski

Game 11: Tulsa (7-3, 4-2 The American) vs. UCF (6-4, 4-2 The American)
Date/Time:	Saturday, Nov. 19/ 8 p.m. (ET)/ 7 pm (CT)
Site:	Orlando, Florida
Stadium:	Bright House Networks Stadium (44,206)
Coaches:	Tulsa – Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 2^nd year UCF – Scott Frost (Nebraska '97), 1^st year
TV:	ESPNews/WatchESPN
Talent:	Mike Corey (pxp), Rene Ingoglia (analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM
Talent:	Bruce Howard (pxp), Rick Couri (analyst), Jeremie Poplin (sidelines)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Tulsa leads 6-3
First Meeting:	Dec. 3, 2005, Tulsa won 44-27 @ Orlando, Fla.
Last Meeting:	Nov. 7, 2015, Tulsa won 44-30 @ Tulsa, Okla.
Game Notes:	Tulsa \| UCF \| American Athletic Conference

After a zero-win season a year ago, the UCF Knights became bowl eligible after 10 games this year and come into this week's game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane with an overall 6-4 record. The Hurricane has an overall 7-3 mark with its only losses coming against 4^th-ranked Ohio State, #12 Houston and last week at Navy, while both teams have identical 4-2 records in the American Athletic Conference.

Tulsa is coming off of a 42-40 loss at Navy, while the Knights had a 24-3 home win last week over Cincinnati.

The Tulsa offense will have its hands full against a stingy UCF defense that ranks second in scoring defense in The American, allowing only 20.6 points per game, and is fourth in both rushing defense (147.6 ypg) and passing defense (212.7 ypg). The Knights lead the conference in pass defense efficiency, quarterback sacks for a 3.3 average per game and third down conversion defense at 31.6 percent.

UCF linebackers Mark Rucker and Shaquem Griffin lead the Knights' defensive attack with 73 and 72 tackles, respectively. Griffin has a conference-leading 15 TFLs for -72 yards including 10.5 sacks, while his brother Shaquille Griffin has totaled a league-high 11 pass breakups and four interceptions from his cornerback position. Rucker has added 9.5 TFLs for -39 yards, while fellow linebacker Errol Clarke has totaled 54 tackles and 9.5 TFLs for -44 yards.

Shaquille Griffin's counterpart at cornerback, D.J. Killings, has totaled eight pass breakups, while as a whole the UCF team has tallied 56 total breakups. The Knights' safeties, TJ Mutcherson and Drico Johnson, make the secondary one of the top units in the nation, as the duo has combined for 108 tackles, seven pass breakups and four interceptions.

Defensive end Tony Guerad leads the UCF three-man front with 39 tackles and 9 TFLs for -38 yards.

Tulsa's offense has been explosive this season and averages 42.2 points to rank 12^th nationally, and 518.5 total yards for a No. 8 national ranking. Tulsa ranks 15^th nationally in rushing with 248.7 yards per game and throws for another 269.8 yards, which ranks 32^nd in the nation.

The Tulsa ground game, which has rushed for 300+ yards in six games this year, will need another strong performance for a balanced Hurricane attack. Tulsa's two-headed monster at running back, D'Angelo Brewer and James Flanders, is ranked one-two in the American Athletic Conference this year with averages of 118.2 and 116.9 yards per game. The tandem has averaged 235.1 of Tulsa's 248 yards on the ground this year

The duo is the second running back tandem in school history and the 70^th overall in NCAA D1/FBS to reach 1,000 rushing yards in the same season. Tulsa's Micheal Gunter and Ken Lacy each ran for over 1,000 yards in 1982. Flanders went over 1,000 yards for the season two weeks ago, while Brewer eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark last week. Flanders has 1,169 yards and Brewer has tallied 1,064 yards on the ground this season.

Senior quarterback Dane Evans became the school's all-time passing leader last week when he threw for 369 yards and four TDs at Navy, and now has 10,945 career yards. This season he has thrown for 2,613 yards and 22 touchdowns. Evans' favorite targets have been fellow seniors Keevan Lucas and Josh Atkinson and sophomore Justin Hobbs. Lucas averages 92.0 yards and has 10 TDs on 62 receptions, while Atkinson has caught 59 passes for 816 yards and Hobbs has 603 yards on 41 receptions.

Lucas is approaching the school record for career receiving yards with 2,990 yards, needing 353 more to tie Howard Twilley (1963-65) for the all-time mark, and with 27 career TDs is five away from Twilley's and Steve Largent's record of 32 receiving touchdowns.

The offensive line is anchored in the middle by sophomore center Chandler Miller. The left-side has been manned all season by sophomore guard Tyler Bowling and junior tackle Evan Plagg, while on the right side Willie Wright and Blake Belcher missed two games apiece, with Zac Uhles and Alex Pagonis filling in during their absence.

The UCF offense has been pretty balanced this season, gaining 194.4 yards through the air and 167.1 rushing yards.

Freshman McKenzie Milton has taken over at quarterback for the Knights and has completed 59-percent of his passes for 1,350 yards and nine touchdowns, while rushing for 124 yards and three TDs. Eighteen different players have been on the receiving end of UCF passes this year, led by Tre'Quan Smith's 554 yards and three touchdowns.

UCF's run game has six different runners with over 100 yards on the ground, as Dontravious Wilson and Jawon Hamilton have rushed for 426 and 415 yards, respectively. Wilson has scored eight touchdowns and Hamilton has three TDs.

Tulsa's defense will need to be as effective in keeping the UCF offense off-balance as the Hurricane has done over the last few weeks. In the last three games, Tulsa's defense has totaled 21 TFLs, 12 QB sacks, 11 pass breakups and seven QB hurries.

Senior linebacker Trent Martin leads the Hurricane defense with 75 tackles, and is followed by fellow linebackers Matt Linscott with 67 and Craig Suits with 56 stops. The trio has combined to tally 15.5 stops for -67 yards, six pass breakups and three interceptions on the year.

The Tulsa defensive line has used nine players so far this season. Tackles Jerry Uwaezuoke and Hayden Carman and ends Jeremy Smith and Jesse Brubaker have been the starters up front for the Hurricane. The foursome has combined to total 140 tackles and 26 TFLs for -125 yards through nine games, while Petera Wilson, Frankie Davis and Myles Mouton at end and tackles Kolton Shindelar and Shemarr Robinson have seen valuable time on the defensive front for Tulsa.

The Tulsa safeties include senior Jeremy Brady, junior Jordan Mitchell and sophomore McKinley Whitfield, while true freshman Manny Bunch and red-shirt freshman Cristian Williams have seen more minutes in the secondary in recent weeks. Brady, who missed two games with an injury, has tallied 51 tackles, three pass-breakups and one interception. Whitfield has 49 stops and Mitchell has compiled 36 tackles and a team-high eight pass break-ups.

Patrolling the corners is junior Kerwin Thomas and red-shirt freshman Reggie Robinson.
Thomas has 38 tackles and seven pass breakups, while Robinson has totaled 29 stops and three pass breakups.

The Official Tulsa Watch Party will be held at Mamadou's Restaurant & Sports Bar in downtown Tulsa at the Aloft Hotel.