Photo by: Brett Rojo
GAME PREVIEW: Tulsa at Texas
9/7/2018 11:49:00 AM | Football
| GAME 2: TULSA (1-0, 0-0 American) vs. TEXAS (0-1, 0-0 Big 12) | |
|---|---|
| Date/Time: | Saturday, September 8, 7:05 p.m. (CT) |
| Site: | Austin, Texas |
| Stadium: | Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium (100,119) |
| Coaches: | TULSA – Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 4th year TEXAS – Tom Herman (Cal Lutheran '97), 2nd year |
| TV: | Longhorn Network |
| Talent: | Lowell Galindo (pxp), Ahmad Brooks (analyst), Jen Lada (sideline) |
| Tickets: | To purchase tickets, 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: | First Meeting |
| First Meeting: | No previous meetings |
| Last Meeting: | No previous meetings |
| Game Notes: | Tulsa | Texas | American Athletic Conference |
Alabama … Ohio State … Oklahoma … Michigan … Nebraska … Notre Dame … Penn State … Southern Cal … Texas … are the most iconic names in college football history.
Tulsa will square off against one of those teams on Saturday night in Austin, Texas as the Golden Hurricane will face the Texas Longhorns at 100,119-seat Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium with a 7 :00 p.m. kick time. Texas is the third-winningest program in college football with 898 victories.
It will be the first ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron. Tulsa is coming off of a season-opening 38-27 win last week against the Central Arkansas, while the Longhorns dropped a hard-fought 34-29 decision at Maryland.
Although the UCA Bears were ranked 15th in the FCS rankings, the match-up against the Longhorns ratchets up to a whole new level. The Longhorns have an astounding 107-15-3 record all-time in openers at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium and has won 17 of its last 18 home openers.
Like Tulsa, the Longhorns had a competitive quarterback battle during preseason camp and sophomore Sam Ehlinger opened up the season as the starter, while junior Shane Buechele adds an experienced backup for the Horns.
Ehlinger completed 21-of-39 passes last week with two touchdown passes. He has a bevy of talented and tall receivers to choose from, beginning with 6'4" Lil'J Humphrey, who caught six passes for 82 yards, and 6'6" Collin Jackson (3 for 59 yards), while a smaller Devin Duvernay (4 for 58 yards) is just as productive for the Longhorn receiving corps.
A trio of running backs – Tre Watson, a graduate transfer from Cal, sophomore Daniel Young and freshman Keontay Ingram – can run with the best of them. They each shared the carries last week in the Maryland game, as Watson led the way with 52 yards on 12 carries.
As one would expect, Texas is big on the front line, averaging 6-foot, 5-inches tall and 304 pounds, as center Zach Shackelford and Patrick Vahe lead the way for the offensive line. Senior tight end Alex Beck returns this year as a John Mackey Award nominee after missing last season with a foot injury.
Tulsa's defense put in a solid performance last week, holding UCA to 247 total yards, 82 rushing yards and 0-10 on third downs, and that type of performance along with a few takeaways will be needed to slow down the Longhorns offense.
The front four for the Hurricane features two 300+ pounders on the interior with junior Shemarr Robinson and sophomore Tyarise Stevenson, while the lone senior upfront is Myles Mouton at one end spot and junior Trevis Gipson on the other side. Robinson shared the team-lead last week with six tackles, while Gipson totaled four stops.
Tulsa's linebacker corps is an experienced group with returning starters Cooper Edmiston at MIKE and Diamon Cannon at the STAR position, while Robert Revels moves into the starting WILL spot after seeing valuable playing time his previous two seasons. The trio of juniors combined to total 12 tackles, one sack, one pass breakup and one fumble recovery in the opener.
An experienced, yet young secondary will be tested by the Longhorns. Senior safety McKinley Whitfield leads a group that returns fellow safeties Many Bunch and Jordan Mitchell, both of whom missed most of the 2017 season after suffering ACL injuries. The corner slots are manned by four players that have been interchangeable, including true sophomores Akayleb Evans and Austin, Texas native, Allie Green, as well as senior Keanu Hill and junior Reggie Robinson.
Tulsa's offense that featured two 100-yard rushers in the season opener will find a Texas defensive unit that held seven of its opponents to less than 100 yards rushing as a team in 2017. Upfront, 310-pound senior Chris Nelson anchors the three-man front, while Charlie Omenihu and Breckyn Hager compliment Nelson.
The Texas linebackers are led by seniors Anthony Wheeler and Gary Johnson, along with junior Malcolm Roach. Wheeler had six tackles last week, while his backup Jeff McCulloch came in to register eight stops
Safety Brandon Jones leads the secondary, as the junior totaled a team-high 10 tackles last week. A trio of seniors join Jones on the backend, including corners Dane Davis and Kris Boyd and nickelback P.J. Locke III. Those four secondary-men have combined to start 69 games over their careers.
Sophomore Luke Skipper won the starting quarterback job in the preseason and opened the season completing 15-of-24 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns last week.
A more experienced receiving corps in 2018 is led by senior Justin Hobbs, who came into the season with over 2,000 career yards, and last week caught three passes for 61 yards, including a 49-yard TD. He is joined by juniors Keenen Johnson, who had two receptions for 63 yards last week, and Jarion Anderson, who in his most significant playing time of his career at receiver caught four passes for 24 yards in the season opener.
Skipper also found tight end Cole Neph four times last week, including a 14-yard toss in the end zone for Tulsa's go-ahead score in the fourth quarter.
A pair of sophomores handled the load at running back last week in the likes of Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor II. Brooks, who set the school's true freshman rushing record with 687 yards and 10 TDs last year, led the way with 129 yards and two touchdowns, while Corey Taylor II gained 110 yards a week ago.
Tulsa's offensive front has three seniors who have combined to start 102 games. All-conference center Chandler Miller has started all 39 games since starting his first game of his red-shirt freshman season, while tackle Willie Wright has started 36 games and guard Tyler Bowling has started 25 consecutive contests. Junior Chris Ivy holds down the left tackle spot, while two 300-pounders Tiller Bucktrot and Chris Paul shared time at right guard in the opener.
As of Friday, tickets still remained for the game. Fans still interested in purchasing tickets cal call the Texas ticket office at 512-471-3333 and ask for tickets in the Tulsa sections (121, 122, 123, 124 or 125).
The game will be aired live on the Longhorn Network, Channel 347 on Cox Cable in Tulsa.
Players Mentioned
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Offensive Tackle
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