FOOTBALL NOTES: ARKANSAS STATE GAME

GAME #3
TULSA (1-1, 0-0 AAC) vs. ARKANSAS STATE (1-1, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018 • 6:02 pm (CT)
H.A. Chapman Stadium (30,000) • Tulsa, Okla.
TV: CBS SN
Radio: Big Country 99.5 FM

FULL GAME NOTES PACKAGE, CLICK HERE

THE COACHES
TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE
Head Coach:          Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 4th year
Career Record:      19-21 (4 years)
TU Record: same

ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES
Head Coach:       Blake Anderson (Sam Houston State '92), 5th year
Career Record:      32-21 (5 years)
ASU Record:           same

THE STORYLINES . . .
•       This is the first time these teams have met since 2003.
•       Tulsa, a private institution, has the smallest FBS enrollment with 3,343 students, while Arkansas State's enrollment is 13,930 students.
•       Both teams are coming off road losses, Tulsa fell 28-21 at Texas, while Arkansas State lost to No. 1-ranked Alabama 57-7.

THE TULSA-ARKANSAS STATE SERIES . . .
•      This is the 5th meeting between Tulsa and Arkansas State, but this first time since 2003.
•      The series is tied 2-2 as each team has won on their home field.
•      Tulsa won the first meeting, 21-20 in 1978, and the last game, 54-7, in 2003.
•      Although 20 years separated the Arkansas State wins, the Red Wolves won back-to-back games in 1981, 31-7, and again in 2002, 21-19.

ALZHEIMER'S GAME . . .
•   For the second straight year, the Walk to End Alzheimer's for the Tulsa area will take place on campus on the morning of the Tulsa-ASU game. All walkers get FREE admission to the Tulsa-Arkansas State game.
•   This game is designated as the Walk to End Alzheimer's Game, a disease that has touched the lives of Coach Montgomery and wife Ashli. They   have become    deeply involved in helping with the fight against this disease.
•   For game tickets, call 918.631.GoTU (4688) or go to Tulsahurricane.com.
•   To join the fight in Tulsa, go to TulsaWalk.org. The Montgomery team is Team Sandra Jean.

QUICK HITS . . .
•      Senior Chandler Miller has now started 40 consecutive games at center, ever since his first game as a red-shirt freshman in 2015.
•      Tulsa started the third straight year with a different quarterback starting the opener ––Luke Skipper (2018), Chad President (2017) and Dane Evans (2016).
•      QB Luke Skipper came into the season with only 3 TD passes last year, and in the first 2 games already has 3 TD passes, covering 49, 14 and 35 yards.
•      McKinley Whitfield reached 200 career tackles with his third stop at Texas, and now has 201 career stops.
•      True sophomore RB Shamari Brooks has 14 rushing touchdowns in his first 11 career games.
•      Tulsa's streak of 16 straight games with a 100-yard rusher was snapped at Texas, as the leading rusher for that game, Shamari Brooks, gained 66 yards.
•      In the season opener, sophomore RB Corey Taylor II, coming off the bench, had over 100 yards for the second straight season opener.
•      In the opener, Tulsa's defense held UCA to 247 total yards the lowest output for a Tulsa opponent since holding UCF to 235 yards in a 2012 regular season meeting.
•      The attendance total of 90,563 at Texas was the second-largest crowd that the Hurricane has ever played in front of, second only to the 104,410 fans at Ohio State in 2016.
•      Tulsa is 9-6 in non-conference games under Philip Montgomery … 3 of the 6 losses have come against ranked opponents –– #4 Ohio State in 2016, #10 Oklahoma State in 2017 and #16 Oklahoma in 2015.

MONTY'S OFFENSE . . .
•      In 40 games under Philip Montgomery, Tulsa has scored over 40 points 20 times and has posted a 16-4 record when doing so.
•      Tulsa has gone over 500 yards of total offense in 18 games under Montgomery.
•      The Golden Hurricane has gone over 600 yards 7 times under Montgomery, including a high game of 667 yards in 2017 against Louisiana-Lafayette.
•      Tulsa has 11 300+ yard rushing games in the Montgomery era, with a school record eight in 2016 and 3 last season.
•      Tulsa is 9-1 when two players have gone over 100 yards in a game since 2015 under Montgomery.
•      Tulsa has had two 400+ rushing games under Montgomery, both coming in back-to-back games in 2017 (424 vs. Louisiana, 423 at Toledo).
•      Tulsa has seven 50+ scoring games in the last 27 games under Montgomery, dating back to the 2015 Independence Bowl when Tulsa scored 52 points against Virginia Tech.
•      In the first 3 years under Montgomery, Tulsa's offense averaged 36.5 points, 486.6 yards in total offense, 259.4 passing yards and 227.2 yards rushing.

ONE-TWO PUNCH . . .
•      Tulsa has a solid one-two punch in the backfield with sophomore running backs Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor II toting the ball for the Hurricane.
•      Last year, Tulsa had 4 players amass a combined 15 100-yard rushing games, and in three games two players rushed for over 100 yards.
•      Since 2015, there have been 10 games with 2 100-yard rushers … Tulsa is 9-1 over that stretch with 2 players each surpassing 100 yards in a single game.
•      In the opener, Brooks and Taylor turned in a double 100-yard game as Brooks had 129 yards and 2 TDs and Taylor totaled 110 yards.
•      It marked the 5th 100+ rushing game for Brooks in just 10 career games and the 2nd career 100+ game for Taylor in just 9 career contests.

SWARMING . . .
•      Tulsa's defense turned in another solid performance against the Texas Longhorns.
•      Tulsa held UT on 4th-and-Goal from the 2-yard line, thus preventing the Longhorns from taking a 14-0 lead on their second possession.
•      Tulsa blocked a punt in the 2nd quarter and forced a fumble in the 3rd quarter, but neither amounting to Tulsa TDs.
•      In the 3rd quarter, the Tulsa defense held Texas to just 36 yards on 14 plays

McKINLEY REACHES 200 CAREER TACKLES . . .
•      Senior safety McKinley Whitfield came into his senior year with 193 career tackles, and after 8 stops, 4 apiece in the first two games, he now has 201 career tackles.
•      Whifield had a team-high 113 tackles last year, and added 8 PBUs and one INT.
•      Whitfield totaled 8 double-figure tackle games last season, as his first was the first of his career … he had a career-high 14 stops against both Tulane and Navy.
•     After playing safety his first two seasons, Whitfield began the 2017 season at linebacker, but due to injuries moved back to safety in the fourth game of the season and finished the year there.

FOOTBALL NOTES: ARKANSAS STATE GAME

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Players Mentioned

Shamari Brooks

Chandler Miller

Chad President

Luke Skipper

Corey Taylor II

McKinley Whitfield

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