Tulsa Football Game Notes vs. SMU
10/23/2017 12:20:00 PM | Football
Tulsa Plays at SMU Friday Night on ESPN2
GAME 9:
TULSA (2-6, 1-3 The American) vs. SMU (5-2, 2-1 The American)
Friday, October 21, 2017 • 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Gerald J. Ford Stadium (32,000), Dallas, Texas
TV: ESPN2
Radio: Big Country 99.5 FM
FOR FULL GAME NOTES PACKAGE, CLICK HERE
THE COACHES
TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE
Head Coach: Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 3rd year
Career Record: 18-16 (3 years)
TU Record: same
SMU MUSTANGS
Head Coach: Chad Morris (Texas A&M '92), 3rd year
Career Record: 12-17 (3 years)
SMU Record: same
THE STORYLINES . . .
• This week's game is the first of 3 straight Tulsa games played on a weeknight.
• Tulsa has the smallest FBS undergraduate enrollment with 3,406 students, while SMU has an enrollment of 11,739 students.
• Tulsa averages 444.8 total yards, and SMU averages 496.4 yards per game.
• Tulsa has 2 of the AAC's top-6 rushers (Brewer & Brooks), while SMU has 2 of the league's top-4 receivers (Quinn and Sutton).
THE TULSA-SMU SERIES . . .
• This is the 24th meeting between Tulsa and SMU.
• The Mustangs hold a 13-10 series edge … Tulsa has won the last 3 games.
• Tulsa has won 4 games in Dallas, including a 40-31 win in the 2015 season … other Tulsa wins in Dallas were 20-7 (1943), 31-26 (1991) and 37-31 (2008).
• In SMU's 8 home wins, the Mustangs have won by a margin of 8.8 points, while Tulsa has won its 4 road games in the series by 8.3 points.
TULSA QUICK HITS . . .
• Tulsa has had 21 freshmen (true or red-shirt) play in at least one game this year.
• A total of 14 players have made at least one start this year, 5 on offense and 9 on defense.
• D'Angelo Brewer is only the 4th Tulsa player with 3,000+ rushing yards.
• McKinley Whitfield has 5 straight double-figure tackle games and a total of 6 on the year.
• RS-freshman QB Luke Skipper has the 5th and 6th most passing yards for a Tulsa freshman in school history… he had 259 at UConn and 256 at Tulane.
• Of his 38 completions in 4 games, Skipper has had 11 completions for over 20 yards, including 5 completions for 50 yards or more.
• True freshman RB Shamari Brooks' 668 rushing yards is the most for a true freshman, and is 2nd-most overall for a freshman, true or red-shirt … he trails Reggie Williams' (1995) 765 yards by 97 yards.
• In each of the last 3 games, sophomore Keenen Johnson has had a reception for 50 yards or more (50, 70 and 74).
THE DEFENSIVE DIFFERENCE . . .
• Tulsa's defense has shown imrovement statistically over the last two weeks.
• In the first 6 games, Tulsa allowed opposing teams to average 44.0 points and 587.5 yards of total offense.
• In the last 2 games, the Hurricane has given up only 18.5 points and 422.5 yards per game.
• Against Houston, the Hurricane defense had 3 takeaways taht led to 21 points.
• Last week vs. UConn, Tulsa's defense held UConn to only 69 yards rushing on 42 carries, and stopped the Huskies on two 3-and-outs and trailing 20-0 in the 4th quarter … Tulsa's offense scored TDs after getting the ball back from the defense.
SHAMARI LOOKS TO BECOME TOP FROSH RUSHER . . .
• True freshman Shamari Brooks has rushed for 668 yards, a 5.9 average and 9 touchdowns in 8 games this year.
• His 668-yard rushing total is the most for a true freshman in school history, and second-most for a Tulsa freshman overall (true or red-shirt).
• The previous-high for a Tulsa true freshman was Kenneth Lee's 582 yards in 1986.
• The single-season overall freshman record of 765 yards is held by Reggie Williams (1995) … Brooks is 97 yards shy ot tying that record.
• He has four 100-yard rushing games, including 104 and 2 touchdowns at Tulane, 141 yards and 3 TDs at Toledo, 111 and one touchdown vs. Houston and 164 yards and 2 TDs at UConn.
• He went over 100 yards rushing for the third straight week against UConn.
• Brooks' 164 yards vs. UConn is the 6th best rushing performance for a Tulsa freshman, while his 141 yards vs. Toledo was the 9th best.
• Brooks is just the 14th freshman (true or red-shirt) to gain 100 yards in a single game for the Golden Hurricane.
• His four 100+ yard games is tied with Reggie WIlliams (1995) for the most 100-yard rushing games by a Tulsa freshman.
• His 3 consecutive 100-yard games is one shy of Reggie Williams (195) for most consecutive 100-yard freshman rushing games.
• His 100+ games are the 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th times in school history that a freshman had rushed for over 100 yards in a game, and the first time since 2015 when red-shirt freshman Ramadi Warren gained 139 yards against Cincinnati.
SMITH LEADS FOR TFLs AND SACKS . . .
• Senior DE Jeremy Smith leads Tulsa with 7 TFLs for -60 yards and 6 sacks for -51 yards, along with a total of 42 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.
• He ranks 2nd in the AAC for sacks with a 0.75 average per game.
• Against Houston, he totaled 7 tackles, including 3 TFLs for -37 yards, that included 2 sacks for -28 yards … he also had one forced fumble and one pass break-up.
• In his carer, Smith now has 129 career tackles, 23.5 TFLs for -134 yards and 14.5 sacks for -97 yards in 41 career games
HEARTBREAKERS . . .
• A lot of times, a college football game comes down to one play or a few seconds … that has been the case in three games for the Hurricane this season.
• Last year, Tulsa claimed 3 overtime victories en route to a 10-3 season, but this year the breaks haven't turned Tulsa's way.
• Tulsa lost on two field goals with no time remaining earlier this season … Tulsa dropped a 54-51 decision at Toledo on a last second 33-yard field goal.
• A week later, the same occurred when the Hurricane lost on a 53-yard field goal as time elapsed against the New Mexico Lobos.
• Last week at UConn, it was too little too late for Tulsa … trailing 20-0, the Hurricane scored 14 points in the final 7:09.
• Tulsa has one last chance with under one minute to play to snatch the victory … Tulsa's defense held UConn on 3 plays, and got the ball back for the offense with 0:51 to play and 88 yards away from the end zone.
• On its' 6th play of the drive, Tulsa completed a 50-yard pass to the UConn 9-yard line and had 0:01 for a final last pass play that Luke Skipper sent to Keenen Johnson, but it was knocked away in the end zone by a UConn defender.
Players Mentioned
Running Back
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RB
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Wide Receiver
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Quarterback
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Defensive End
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Running Back
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Safety
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