Tulsa Postgame Notes vs. North Texas
10/1/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 1, 2011
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes
• Senior linebacker (#32) Curnelius Arnick wore #8 in the game in honor of former Golden Hurricane teammate and linebacker George Clinkscale, who died on September 21 at the age of 24.
• Tulsa players also wore the initials "GC" on the back of their helmets, positioned next to "71 Just Keep Smiling." The #71 is in memory of former teammate Wilson Holloway who passed away in February 2011 after a long battle with hodgkins lymphoma. Holloway would have been a senior offensive lineman this season.
• Senior quarterback G.J. Kinne started his 30th straight game.
• Junior Ricky Johnson made his first start of the season and 12th start of his career. Johnson started 10 games last season.
• Junior receiver Bryan Burnham scored on a 49-yard pass from Kinne at 12:00 mark of the first quarter. It was Burnham's sixth touchdown of the season. The scoring play was also Kinne's 60th career passing touchdown.
• Burnham's scoring play also marked the first time this season that Tulsa scored a first quarter touchdown.
• In his first career start, true freshman cornerback Dwight Dobbins registered his first career interception at the 9:07 mark of the first quarter. Dobbins returned the pick for a 36-yard touchdown.
• In the first quarter, Tulsa's defense stopped North Texas on 4th and Goal from the 1-yard line play marking the second time in two games that Tulsa has held an opponent on 4th and Goal from the 1-yard line.
• Late in the first quarter, junior cornerback Lowell Rose saw his first action since the first quarter of the Oklahoma game (9/3/11).
• Late in the first quarter, junior linebacker DeAundre Brown saw his first action this season. Brown made his first tackle of the season early in the second quarter.
• At the 1:58 mark of the second quarter, Shawn Jackson recorded his first quarterback sack of the season for a loss of eight yards.
• At the 1:50 mark of the second quarter, senior defensive end Tyrunn Walker blocked a field goal attempt. It was Tulsa's first blocked field goal of the season and the first of Walker's career.
• At the 1:41 mark of the second quarter, sophomore Trey Watts rushed for 35 yards. It was the longest run of his career. Watts' previous long was a 31-yard rush against Oklahoma State.
• At the 0:48 mark of the second quarter, junior Ricky Johnson caught a 12-yard pass from Kinne for his second touchdown in the last two games.
• Tulsa scored 28 points in the first half. Previously, Tulsa had a combined 23 first half points in its first four games of the season.
• Tulsa's 28 first half points are the most since the team scored 28 points in the first half against Southern Mississippi last season (11/26/10).
• At the 12:28 mark of the third quarter, junior safety Dexter McCoil returned an interception for a 74-yard touchdown. It was his first interception of the season and first interception return for a touchdown of his career. McCoil now has eight career interceptions.
• McCoil's 74-yard interception return for a touchdown was the longest by a Tulsa player since Marco Nelson's 81-yard touchdown return last season against Oklahoma State (9/18/10). McCoil's return also ties for the fifth longest in Tulsa history. Barry Minter returned an interception for a 74-yard touchdown against Southern Mississippi (10/3/92).
• Dobbins and McCoil's interception returns for a touchdown marked the first time two Tulsa players accomplished that feat since the team did so against Hawai'i in the Hawai'i Bowl (12/24/10). In that game, Curnelius Arnick and John Flanders each had a 54-yard interception return for a touchdown.
• In the third quarter, junior defensive tackle Daeshon Bufford recorded his first career quarterback sack for an eight-yard loss.
• At the 6:43 mark of the third quarter, senior tight end Clay Sears caught a 60-yard pass from Kinne. His previous career long was a 31-yard reception against Sam Houston State (9/26/09).
• At the 5:23 mark of the third quarter, junior H-back Willie Carter scored on a two-yard run. It was his second touchdown of the game and second career game with two or more touchdowns. Carter scored three touchdowns against Southern Mississippi last season (11/26/10).
• Burnham finished the game with 101 yards on six receptions. It was his first career 100-yard receiving game. His previous career high was 94 yards against Tulane (9/10/11).
• Kinne finished the game with 314 passing yards. It was his 10th career game with 300 or more passing yards and the first time he has surpassed that mark this season.
• Sears finished the game with 71 receiving yards on three catches. His previous career high for a game was 45 yards on three receptions against Sam Houston State (9/26/09). Sears' game yardage surpassed his 2010 season total of 64 yards.
• Tulsa scored 41 points marking the 27th time in the past five seasons that Tulsa has scored 40 or more points in a game.
