GAME PREVIEW: Tulsa at Arkansas

Saturday, October 20

Fayetteville, Ark.

11:00 AM

Tulsa

Arkansas

Photo by: Jon Lambert

GAME PREVIEW: Tulsa at Arkansas

10/19/2018 9:49:00 AM | Football

Tulsa Travels Across the Border to Take on Arkansas in a Morning Kickoff

GAME 7: TULSA (1-5, 0-3 American) vs. ARKANSAS (1-6, 0-4 SEC)
Date/Time:	Saturday, October 20, 11:01 a.m. (CT)
Site:	Fayetteville, Arkansas
Stadium:	Razorback Stadium (76,000)
Coaches:	TULSA – Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 4th year ARKANSAS – Chad Morris (Texas A&M '92), 1st year
TV:	SEC Network
Talent:	Taylor Zarzour (pxp), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst), Kris Budden (sideline)
Tickets:	To purchase tickets, ArkansasRazorbacks.com
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM or Online
Talent:	Bruce Howard (pxp), Rick Couri (analyst), Jeremie Poplin (sidelines)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Arkansas leads 53-16-3
First Meeting:	Tulsa wins, No score recorded. (1898), Muskogee, Okla.
Last Meeting:	Arkansas 19, Tulsa 15 (Nov. 3, 2012), Fayetteville, Ark.
Game Notes:	Tulsa \| Arkansas \| American Athletic Conference

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.–– The fortunes of one team will change on Saturday afternoon as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (1-5, 0-3 AAC) cross the border to face the Arkansas Razorbacks (1-6, 0-4 SEC) as each team is looking for its first victory since the season opener.

Both teams have been so close to the 'W' column. Just last week, Tulsa fell by one point 25-24 at home against the #23-ranked USSF Bulls, and the Razorbacks took SEC rival Ole Miss to the final minutes, falling by a score of 37-33.

Saturday's game will be played at Razorback Stadium and aired on the SEC Network, Cox Channel 1345 locally in Tulsa. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:01 a.m.

The Razorbacks first-year offensive system has made steady progress, scoring over 30 points in each of the last two games for the first time this year, and coming against #1 Alabama and Ole Miss. The Hogs are coming off of a season-best 476-yard performance against the Rebels last week.

Junior Ty Storey triggers the Arkansas offense from the quarterback position. Storey went out last week with an injury, and 6'7" sophomore Cole Kelley stepped in. Storey has competed 57-percent of his passes for 983 yards and seven touchdowns, while rushing for 177 yards. Kelley, who will see time in short-yardage situations, has rushed for three TDs and passes for 448 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Rakeen Boyd, Devwah Whaley and Chase Hayden gives the Razorbacks three quality runners out of the backfield. Boyd leads the way with a whopping 7.6 yards on 53 carries, while also catching 15 passes for 153 yards. Whaley has gained 298 yards on the ground in just 5 games and Hayden has 139 yards.

Storey uses an array of receivers in the Razorback offense. His main targets on the outside are LaMichael Pettway with 273 yards and 4 TDs, Jordan Jones (11 for 168), Mike Woods (11- for 144) and Deon Stewart (10 for 119 yards). The tight end is a big target in the Hogs offense as Cheyenne O'Grady and Austin Cantrell have combined to grab 19 receptions for 256 yards and 4 touchdowns.

The Arkansas offensive line measures 6'5" and 309 pounds and is led by a trio of seniors – Hjalte Froholdt, Johnny Gibson and Brian Wallace.

Tulsa counters on defense with a front line that features two 300+ pounders on the interior with junior Shemarr Robinson and sophomore Tyarise Stevenson. The lone senior upfront is Myles Mouton at one end spot and junior Trevis Gipson mans the other defensive end position for the Hurricane.

Stevenson has started 5 of 6 games this year whether anchoring Tulsa's 3-man or 4-man fronts. Gipson and Robinson have tallied 24 and 20 tackles, respectively, to lead the front four.

Linebackers Cooper Edmiston at MIKE, Zaven Collins at WILL and Diamon Cannon at the STAR position have been active for the Hurricane this season Edmiston leads the Hurricane with 54 tackles and three interceptions. Collins has added 33 tackles and five TFLs for -20 yards, while Cannon has tallied 29 stops for 2 TFLs for -14 yards and three pass breakups.

The secondary is led by senior safety McKinley Whitfield, who has 36 tackles and four pass breakups on the season. Manny Bunch has 32 tackles and two pass break-ups from his safety position. When Tulsa goes to five players on the back-end, red-shirt freshman Bryson Powers and JC transfer TieNeal Martin get the call.

Tulsa has used four cornerbacks interchangeably this season –– sophomores Allie Green and Akayleb Evans, junior Reggie Robinson and senior Keanu Hill. Green has four starts, Evans and Hill three each and Robinson, who missed most of the preseason and the first game with an injury, has two starts.

Robinson has started 20 career games, but made his first start against Houston after missing
Hill, Evans and Green have each started three games this year. The foursome has combined for 56 tackles and 11 pass break-ups.

Tulsa's offense has been able to run the ball for an average of 209 yards per game, but turnovers have stifled the Hurricane offense.

Seth Boomer will be in the saddle at the quarterback position for the third straight game for the Hurricane. The red-shirt freshman has thrown for 306 yards and two TDs in his two starts. His first career appearance resulted in 13 completions for 227 yards at Houston, the second-most yards ever for a Tulsa freshman making their collegiate debut.

Tulsa's running game, although gaining over 200 yards per contest, has seen its top two ballcarriers – Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor II – banged up this year as each has missed one game. Brooks has gained 475 yards and six TDs, while Taylor has 411 yards and four touchdowns. Brooks returned to the lineup last week after missing the Houston game, while Taylor missed last week's game and is questionable heading into the Arkansas contest.

Upfront for the Hurricane, three seniors lead the way having started a combined 116 games. All-conference center Chandler Miller has started all 44 games since starting his first game of his red-shirt freshman season, while tackle Willie Wright has started 41 games and guard Tyler Bowling has started 31 consecutive contests. Junior Chris Ivy holds down the left tackle spot, while Waahid Muhammad, who missed preseason camp, has seen playing time there as well. Two 300-pounders, Tiller Bucktrot and Chris Paul, have shared time at right guard this season.

The Hurricane will receivers will need to make plays against the Hogs defense to open up lanes for the Tulsa run game. Tulsa's top two receivers – senior Justin Hobbs (19 for 256 yards) and Keenen Johnson (18 for 271 yards) – cannot be held to zero catches like what occurred last week.

The tight end position features senior Chris Minter, who missed the first two games with an injury, and fellow senior Cole Neph. A main force in Tulsa's run game offense, Minter has also totaled four TDs on 10 career receptions, while Neph has caught five passes this year for 50 yards and two touchdowns.

Arkansas' defense has given up 430.6 yards and 36.9 yards, but a big chunk of that came against the potent offenses of #1 Alabama and Ole Miss, over 600 yards in each game.

De'Jon Harris leads the Razorbacks and the SEC in tackles with 77 stops from his linebacker position. Fellow linebacker Dre Greenlaw has totaled 29 stops and hares the interception lead with two pickoffs.

End McTelvin Agim and tackle Armon Watts lead the front four for the Razorbacks with 24 and 23 tackles, respectively.

The Arkansas secondary has been active this year and is led by senior safety Santos Ramirez with 53 tackles, while fellow safety Kamren Curl has 34 stops and four pass breakups. Corners Ryan Pulley and Jarques McClellion have combined for nine pass break-ups.

The Tulsa-Arkansas matchup is the 73^rdamong the two schools, as the Razorbacks lead the series 53-16-3. The last 41 meetings, dating back to 1953 have been played in the state of Arkansas.