Tulsa vs. Temple Football Game Preview

Saturday, November 25

H.A. Chapman Stadium

3:00 pm

Tulsa

Temple

Tickets

Tulsa vs. Temple Football Game Preview

11/24/2017 12:07:00 PM | Football

19 Seniors Play in Final Game as Tulsa Closes Out Season at Home Saturday vs. Temple

GAME 12: TULSA (2-9, 1-6 American) vs. TEMPLE (5-6, 3-4 American)
Date/Time:	Saturday, November 25, 2017, 3:01 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Tulsa, Okla.
Stadium:	Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium (30,000)
Coaches:	TULSA – Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 3rd year TEMPLE – Geoff Collins (Western Carolina '94), 1st year
TV:	ESPNews
Talent:	Jay Alter (pxp), Craig Haubert (analyst)
Tickets:	To purchase tickets, click here
Gameday Guide:	For gameday guide, click here
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM or Online
Talent:	Bruce Howard (pxp), Rick Couri (analyst), Jeremie Poplin (sidelines)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Tulsa leads 2-1
First Meeting:	Tulsa 24, Temple 17 (Oct. 10, 1987), Philadelphia, Pa.
Last Meeting:	Temple 35, Tulsa 24 (Oct. 11, 2014), Philadelphia, Pa.
Game Notes:	Tulsa \| Temple \| American Athletic Conference

TULSA, Okla. –– Tulsa looks to send its 19 seniors out with a win, while the Temple Owls are seeking bowl eligibility with a victory as the two teams meet Saturday afternoon in a 3:00 p.m. (CT) contest at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Perfect football weather with sunshine and temperatures in the mid-60's has been projected for Saturday afternoon in Tulsa.

The football game follows an 11:00 a.m. Tulsa basketball contest against the Central Arkansas Bears next door at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. A ticket for either game allows you to get into both events. Both games are also "Toys for Tots' where a new, unwrapped toy will give a fan FREE admission to the games.

Tulsa (2-9, 1-6 AAC) has had too many close encounters this season, losing 5 of its games by 7 or less points, including two on last second field goals. The Temple Owls (5-6, 3-4 AAC) have had their share of close contests as well, losing 3 games by 7 or less points.

Tulsa's offense has tried to maintain its balance between the run and pass game throughout the season, and after 11 games averages 425 yards of total offense and 30 points per game.

Senior running back D'Angelo Brewer became the American Athletic Conference and Tulsa's all-time rushing leader with a 163-yard performance last week against the No. 23-ranked USF Bulls. Brewer will look to expand on his 3,662 career total against the Owls.

Brewer leads the nation's 19^th-ranked rushing offense with 1,262 yards, a 5.0 average per carry, 8 TDs and 236.2 yards per game.

Brewer's freshman running-mate, Shamari Brooks, who had gained over 600 yards and a team-leading 10 touchdowns, has been sidelined since the 9^th game of the season. Now, Brewer is backed up by fellow senior Rowdy Simon, a former walk-on, who fought-off an early season injury to return to the field.

Brewer is ranked second in the AAC for rushing, but is the league's leading running back, only trailing Navy quarterback Zach Abey in yards per game.

The Tulsa offense has seen a pair of quarterbacks leading the offense this season with red-shirt freshman Luke Skipper and sophomore Chad President. Skipper left last week's game with an injury, and is questionable heading into the Temple contest.

Skipper has 5 starts under his belt and has completed 56-percent of his passes for 163 yards per game and 3 touchdowns in 7 total games this year. President, who started the first 6 games, has also played the last 5 games behind center, and on the year has rushed for 394 yards and 9 touchdowns for a 6.2 average per carry for the Hurricane, while throwing for 881 yards and 2 TDs.

On the offensive front, from left to right – Tulsa lines up with senior Evan Plagg, who returned last week after missing 3 games with an injury, junior Tyler Bowling, junior Chandler Miller, senior Zac Uhles and junior Willie Wright.

A young corps of receivers will need to create some plays downfield as junior Justin Hobbs and sophomore Keenen Johnson lead the way. The duo has combined for 96 of Tulsa's 150 receptions and 1,323 yards, while senior Nigel Carter has been active the last 3 games with 10 catches for 157 yards and one TD.

Tulsa's offense goes up against a Temple defense that gives up less than 400 yards of total offense per game. The Owls defense has forced 12 fumbles, intercepted 6 passes and has held the opposition to 393.9 yards.

Most likely, the Owls will be without linebacker and leading tackler Chapelle Russell out with an injury for a third straight game. But, fellow linebacker Shaun Bradley has picked up the slack with 68 tackles and 10 TFLs for -278 yards. Bradley is joined in the starting lineup by junior Todd Jones.

Temple's defensive front is led by a pair of very active defensive ends – Sharif Finch and Jacob Martin – while Jullian Taylor is a load on the interior. Finch and Martin have combined for 22 TFLs for -125 yards. Finch has 49 stops and a team-leading 14.5 TFLs for -76 yards, including 7.5 sacks for -51 yards, while six of Martin's 7.5 TFLs are quarterback sacks. Taylor has 35 stops and 8 TFLs as well.

Corners Delvon Randall and Sean Chandler, along with safeties Mike Jones and Artrel Foster lead the secondary. Randall has posted 68 tackles and has a team-best 4 of Temple's 6 interceptions on the year. Chandler has 64 stops and 3 pass breakups, while Jones has totaled 35 tackles and a team-high 6 pass breakups.

Like Tulsa, Temple has used two quarterbacks this season and as of late Frank Nutile has gotten the call as the Owls signal-caller. Nutile, a junior, has completed 59-percent of his passes for 1,084 yards and 8 touchdowns, while sophomore QB Logan Marchi has thrown for 1,658 yards and 9 TDs in 7 games played.

The running game has a pair of juniors carrying the load in the likes of Ryquell Armstead and David Hood. Armstead has rushed for 500 yards and Hood has added 478 yards on the ground, combining for 6 rushing touchdowns.

Temple quarterbacks have targeted 17 different pass-catchers, but the three that stand out each stand 6'2" or better and each have 500+ receiving yards. The trio of Isaiah Wright, Keith Kirkwood and Adonis Jennings has combined for 1,616 yards and 14 touchdowns.

The Temple offensive line is a mix of youth and experience with two seniors, one junior and two red-shirt freshmen getting the call upfront.

Tulsa's defense has been hit hard with injuries this year, but has shown resilience on the field. A total of 7 Tulsa defenders have missed at least one game and 21 different players taking on a starting role this year for the Hurricane defense.

Three players who started out the year as starters have been sidelined for a good portion of the season and will miss the season finale, including both safeties, Jordan Mitchell and Many Bunch, and tackle Kolton Shindelar. Mitchell has missed the last 8 games, Bunch 5 and Shindelar has been sidelined for 6 games.

Last week, after giving up 3 explosive scoring plays of 25, 54 and 35 yards against a potent USF offense in the first quarter, the Hurricane defense put the clamps on the Bulls. Tulsas held USF to 192 yards in the final three periods, including only 82 second-half yards, while forcing two turnovers.

Ends Jesse Brubaker and Jeremy Smith have been the leaders of a young Hurricane defensive front, while combining for 104 tackles and 12.5 TFLs for -79 yards. On the interior, Tulsa has used six players mainly true freshman Garrett Flanary, red-shirt freshman Tyarise Stevenson, true sophomore Shemarr Robinson, juniors Myles Mouton and Payton Prince and the senior Shindelar. Mouton made the move inside from end in the 7^th game of the year.

Tulsa's three starting linebackers are ranked 2-3-6 for tackles this year. Sophomore Cody Edmiston has totaled 93 stops, two fumble recoveries and one interception from his MIKE linebacker position.

Senior Craig Suits has been active from his WILL spot, having totaled 62 stops, a team-leading 9.5 TFLs and has intercepted a team-high 2 passes. Sophomore Diamon Cannon lines up as Tulsa's starting linebacker at the STAR position, and has totaled 53 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 2 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, 2 pass breakups and one interception.

Another linebacker, senior Petera Wilson has shared playing time at the MIKE linebacker spot and also is inserted on pass situations on the edge. Wilson has totaled 54 tackles, 5.5 TFLs for -24 yards, 3 sacks for -17 yards and 2 fumble recoveries, including one for a 3-yard TD run.

Tulsa's leading tackler is junior McKinley Whitfield, who moved over from his STAR linebacker spot to safety when Mitchell went down with the injury. Whitfield has 102 tackles and also leads the team with 8 pass breakups, while returning his one interception for 51 yards.

Sophomores Cristian Williams and Keidrien Wadley, who moved over from corner, have shared starts the last 5 weeks at the other safety spot in place of Bunch. Williams has been credited with 35 stops and Wadley has 10 tackles and one interception.

The corner slots have seen three different starters for the two positions this year –– senior Kerwin Thomas, sophomore Reggie Robinson and true freshman Akayleb Evans, while another true freshman Allie Green IV has also seen time at corner. Robinson has 10 starts, Evans and Thomas each have 6 starts.

In addition to the ESPNews broadcast, the game can be heard on the Golden Hurricane Radio Network, Big Country 99.5 FM locally, as well as nationally on the Tulsa Tune-In App.