Tulsa Plays at Toledo on Saturday

Saturday, September 16

Toledo, Ohio

6:00 pm

Tulsa

Toledo

Tulsa Plays at Toledo on Saturday

9/15/2017 9:13:00 PM | Football

By: Don Tomkalski

Tulsa-Toledo Meet on the Football Field for First Time Since 1964

GAME 3: TULSA (1-1) vs. TOLEDO (2-0)
Date/Time:	Saturday, September 16/6:05 p.m. (CT)/7:05 p.m. (ET)
Site:	Toledo, Ohio
Stadium:	Glass Bowl Stadium (26,038), Toledo, Ohio
Coaches:	TULSA – Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 3rd year TOLEDO – Jason Candle (Mount Union '03), 2nd year
TV:	ESPN3 (Digital)
Talent:	Michael Reghi (pxp), Dustin Fox (analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM or Online
Talent:	Bruce Howard (pxp), Rick Couri (analyst), Jeremie Poplin (sidelines)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Series tied 1-1
First Meeting:	Toledo 21, Tulsa 18 (Nov. 17, 1962), Tulsa, Okla.
Last Meeting:	Tulsa 39, Toledo (Nov. 21, 1964), Toledo, Ohio
Game Notes:	Tulsa \| Toledo \| American Athletic Conference

Tulsa looks for its second consecutive win, while Toledo looks to start the season 3-0 as the two teams square-off Saturday night at Glass Bowl Stadium in Toledo, Ohio. The Rockets are celebrating their 100^th season of football this year.

The Rockets are coming off a 37-24 win at Nevada after opening the season with a resounding 47-13 victory over Elon.

Tulsa's defense will have its hands full for the third straight week with an efficient and experienced Rocket offense that is averaging 42 points, 489.5 yards in total offense, 273 yards through the air and 216 rushing yards.

The Rockets are led offensively by 7,000+ yard passer Logan Woodside at quarterback. The senior has two Biletnikoff Award candidates on the receiving end of his passes in the likes of senior Cody Thompson and junior Jon'Vea Johnson. Woodside has completed 65-percent of his passes for 546 yards and two touchdowns so far this season, while Thompson has 13 catches for an 106.5-yard average per game and Johnson has seven receptions for 88 yards. Fellow receiver Diontae Johnson has caught eight passes for 155 yards.

Toledo has three running backs that share the load carrying the ball – Art Thompkins, Shakif Seymour and Terry Swanson – as the trio has combined for 440 yards and five TDs.

The offensive front is big and experienced, with two 6'6" bookend tackles – Elijah Nkanseh and Brant Weiss – leading the way for Toledo

The Tulsa defense will need to slow down the Rockets for the Hurricane to have success. Despite giving up 500+ yards and 42 points last week, two takeaways in the third quarter helped propel Tulsa to the victory.

Senior ends Jesse Brubaker and Jeremy Smith headline the Tulsa defensive front that will need to put pressure on Woodside and control the Rockets three-headed running game. New starters on the inside, Kolton Shindelar and Shemarr Robinson, are becoming more and more comfortable with each series.

Senior Craig Suits, junior McKinley Whitfield and sophomore Cody Edmiston man the linebacker corps for the Hurricane. All three linebackers are active in the Tulsa defensive scheme. Suits comes into this week's game with 217 career tackles, while Whitfield tallied 10 stops and 3 TFLs in the opener against Oklahoma State. Edmiston tallied 12 stops and had his first career interception last week against Louisiana.

Sophomore safety Manny Bunch had a team-high 13 tackles in his second career start last week, and is the only new starter in the defensive secondary this year. Returning starters Kerwin Thomas and Reggie Robinson lock down the corner positions, while senior Jordan Mitchell give the Hurricane a steady force at free safety.

Getting the nod at quarterback for Tulsa is third-year sophomore Chad President, while red-shirt freshman Luke Skipper could also see playing time behind center. President threw for 178 yards and rushed for another 69 yards against Oklahoma State in the season opener, and with a game under his belt completed 70-percent of his passes last week in a 66-42 win over Louisiana. He threw for 243 yards last week, while throwing and running for his first career touchdowns.

Tulsa's offensive line, that paved the way for a school record eight 300+ yard rushing games in 2016, added just one new starter, guard Zac Uhles to the unit. Returning starters include all-conference performers – Tyler Bowling, Chandler Miller, and Evan Plagg – along with right tackle Willie Wright.

Last week, the front line led the way for 424 rushing yards and 667 total yards in the win. The benefactor of the offensive line's prowess last week was senior running back D'Angelo Brewer, who gained a career-high 262 yards for the NCAA's best rushing performance of the season.

President targeted just four receivers last week, while he found junior Justin Hobbs five times for 103 yards and a 69-yard touchdown and sophomore Keenen Johnson six times for 80 yards to lead the way in the receiving department.

The Hurricane offense will have to find ways to get yards against a Toledo defense that ranks 35^th nationally in total defense, giving up only an average of 280 yards of total offense in their first two contests. The Rockets have held its first two opponents to 118 yards rushing and 162 passing yards.

Butkus Award candidate Ja'Wuan Woodley is one of the anchors of the Toledo defense, as the senior has seven tackles this year and had a key second-half interception last week at Nevada. Rocket defensive ends Olasunkan Adeniyi and Tuzar Skipper have been forces in the early going this year. Adeniyi has 10 stops and two TFLs, while Skipper has totaled eight tackles and one sack for -5 yards.

The secondary for Toledo is led by senior corner Trevon Mathis, while red-shirt freshman safety Jordan Williams has made his presence known through the first two weeks of the season. Williams has totaled eight tackles this year and his safety teammate Marcus Whitfield has five stops on the season to anchor the back-end of the Rockets defense.

For the second straight week, Tulsa will be facing one of the nation's top kick return teams. Toledo averages 43 yard per return to rank sixth nationally. Diontae Johnson averages 59.0 yards per return with one touchdown.

The game kicks off at 7:05 p.m. local time in Toledo (6:05 pm CT) and can be seen on ESPN3. Tulsa fans can also listen locally on the flagship of the Golden Hurricane Sports Network, Big Country 99.5 FM, or nationally through the Tune-in App.