Tulsa Football Hosts San Jose State Tonight at 6 PM

Game 1: Tulsa (0-0) vs. San Jose State (0-0)
Date/Time:	Saturday, Sept. 3/6:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Tulsa, Okla.
Stadium:	H.A. Chapman Stadium (30,000)
Coaches:	Tulsa – Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 2^nd year San Jose State – Ron Caragher (UCLA '90), 4^th year
TV:	CBS Sports Network
Talent:	Carter Blackburn (pxp), Aaron Taylor (analyst), Jenny Dell (sidelines)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM
Talent:	Bruce Howard (pxp), Rick Couri (analyst), Jeremie Poplin (sidelines)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Tied 3-3
First Meeting:	San Jose State 34, Tulsa 10 (Sept. 25, 1999), San Jose, Calif.
Last Meeting:	Tulsa 34, San Jose State 24 (Nov. 20, 2004), Tulsa, Okla.
Game Notes:	Tulsa \| S an Jose State \| American Conference

The 2016 season kicks off tonight for The University of Tulsa as the Golden Hurricane hosts the San Jose State Spartans in a 6:00 p.m. game at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Tickets are still available for the game online at TulsaHurricane.com, by calling 918.631.GoTU (4688) and in person at the Reynolds Center Ticket Office on the TU campus.

It's a WHITE-OUT at Chapman Stadium. All fans are encouraged to wear white, while special white-out shirts can be purchased on game day for $10 at Gate 2 and at the Stadium Souvenir Shop. These shirts can also be purchased on Friday at the TU Campus Corner Bookstore (southeast corner of 11^th and Harvard).

The two teams are each coming off six-win seasons and bowl appearances in 2015, and will be meeting for the seventh time. Tulsa and San Jose State were members together of the Western Athletic Conference in the 2000s and faced each other six times for a 3-3 series tie.

"We have a great opponent coming in here, a bowl team that won their bowl against Georgia State. Coach Caragher has done a great job there. We've got a great test in front of us," said Tulsa Head Coach Philip Montgomery

"Obviously we've got to have a great crowd on Saturday. We need that support from them and the help they're going to provide for us. But our guys are excited and ready to go to work, ready to battle with somebody new instead of ourselves," added Montgomery.

Looking back to the 2015 season, the game pits strength against strength as Tulsa's potent offensive attack faces the nation's second-ranked pass defense from a year ago. San Jose State ranked second in the nation last year for least passing yards allowed, giving up only 157.8 yards through the air and gave up just 358.5 total yards to rank 34^th nationally, while the Hurricane offense ranked 11^th for passing and 13^th for total offense, gaining 333.2 pass yards and 507.4 total yards.

Tulsa returns senior quarterback Dane Evans to lead the charge offensively, while two projected 2015 starters – receiver Keevan Lucas and guard Blake Belcher – return for the 2016 season after missing most of last year with injuries. Evans threw for 4,332 yards and 25 touchdowns on the year, while in a little more than three games Lucas caught 26 passes for 409 yards and five TDs.

1,000-yard receiver Josh Atkinson returns to the receiving corps, as the senior caught 76 passes a year ago for 1,071 yards and is joined by Justin Hobbs, who filled in for Lucas and had 551 receiving yards. The Tulsa running game is led by D'Angelo Brewer, as the junior rushed for 837 yards and six TDs last season.

The Spartans defense, under the new direction of Ron English as the coordinator, returns six starters, including its top three tacklers in the likes of linebackers Christian Tago and Frank Ginda and safety Maurice McKnight. Tago led the way with 125 tackles and nine TFLs, while McKnight had 100 tackles. Ginda added 80 stops for the Spartans. Ends Nick Oreglia and Isaiah Irving are active on the outside as the duo combined for 75 tackles and 7.5 TFLs in 2015.

The San Jose State offense is led by the Mountain West Conference's most accurate passer a year ago as Kenny Potter completed 67-percent of his passes for 1,984 yards and 15 TDs, while rushing for another 415 yards.

In addition to Potter, SJSU returns seven more starters from the six-win Spartan team of a year ago, including four offensive linemen. Tight end Billy Freeman is huge in the Spartan offensive attack as the 6'3" target caught 48 passes for 586 yards and six TDs, leading SJSU in all three categories, while receiver Tim Crawley is also back after having caught 39 passes for 424 yards.

The Spartans offense will receive a big boost from graduate transfers Deontae Cooper, a running back from the University of Washington, and Stanford receiver Dontonio Jordan, while a third transfer, sophomore Rahshead Johnson comes over from Southern Cal.

Improvement from 2015 is what will be needed from the Tulsa defense this year, and Montgomery has been pleased with the progress of his defensive unit in the preseason. Tulsa's defense returns 23 lettermen, including seven returning starters and another five players who have started at least one game in their careers.

Four of Tulsa's top-5 tacklers from 2015 return to the roster, as the linebacker corps of Matt Linscott, Trent Martin and Craig Suits return as starters from last season. Linscott and Martin each had over 100 tackles to ranked second and third on the roster, with Linscott totaling 107 and Martin 104 stops. Defensive line starters Jeremy Smith and Jesse Brubaker return as does secondary starters Kerwin Thomas at corner and safety Jeremy Brady, however Brubaker has moved from tackle to end this season.

Brady and Thomas are the other two returning defenders that ranked among Tulsa's top-5 tacklers a season ago. Brady was the Defensive MVP of the Camping World Independence Bowl and ended the year with 71 stops, while Thomas had 60 tackles and a team-leading 12 pass break-ups. They each had two interceptions to lead the team as well.

Saturday night should be an exciting game at H.A. Chapman Stadium to conclude the FBS games in the state of Oklahoma as both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State play earlier in the day. Season tickets, mini-plans, Mazzio's Family Fun Zone and single-game tickets are still available.

Follow the Golden Hurricane throughout the season at www.TulsaHurricane.com.

Tulsa Football Hosts San Jose State Tonight at 6 PM

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Players Mentioned

Josh Atkinson

Blake Belcher

Jeremy Brady

D'Angelo Brewer

Jesse Brubaker

Dane Evans

Justin Hobbs

Matt Linscott

Keevan Lucas

Trent Martin

Jeremy Smith

Craig Suits

Kerwin Thomas