TULSA - SMU GAME TONIGHT

Saturday, October 5

Dallas, Texas

6:30 PM

Tulsa

SMU

Photo by: Brett Rojo

TULSA - SMU GAME TONIGHT

10/4/2019 5:00:00 PM | Football

GAME 5: TULSA (2-2, 0-0 American) vs. #24 SMU (5-0, 1-0 American)
Date/Time:	Saturday, October 5, 6:32 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Dallas, Texas
Stadium:	Gerald J. Ford Stadium
Coaches:	TULSA – Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 5th year SMU – Sonny Dykes (Texas Tech '93), 2nd year
TV:	ESPNU
Talent:	Anish Shroff (pxp), Ahmad Brooks (analyst), Kristen Budden (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:	SMU leads 14-11-0
First Meeting:	Oct. 5, 1935 (SMU 14, Tulsa 0), Tulsa, Okla.
Last Meeting:	Nov. 24, 2018 (Tulsa 27, SMU 24), Tulsa, Okla.
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| SMU (PDF) \| American Athletic Conference (PDF)

TULSA TRAVELS TO DALLAS TO FACE THE 5-0 SMU MUSTANGS

DALLAS, Texas ––Tulsa (2-2) opens its American Athletic Conference schedule after a bye week with a Saturday night game against the #24-ranked SMU Mustangs. SMU comes into the game with a perfect 5-0 record and a 1-0 league mark after a road win last week at USF.

The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. at Gerald J. Ford Stadium and will be aired on ESPNU.

The Mustangs find themselves in a spot that has evaded the program for more than 30 years, a top-25 national ranking. SMU enjoys its first ranking since October 1986.

SMU has been potent on offense, gaining over 500 yards per game, and has been opportunistic on the defensive side with 10 takeaways while holding opponents to under 370 yards of total offense.

SMU's quarterback Steve Beuchele, running back Xavier Jones and receiver Reggie Roberson, Jr., each leads The American in their specific statistical category – Beuchele is first for passing with 277.0 yards, Jones leads in rushing at 105.0 yards per game and Roberson has a team-high 102-yard average per catch.

Beuchele, a transfer from Texas, has completed 69-percent of his passes for 1,385 yards and 10 TDs, while Jones has gained 525 yards and has rushed for 10 touchdowns. A West Virginia transfer, Roberson has caught 30 passes for 510 yards and 3 TDs.

The SMU offense may revolve around the big 3, but there are many more options in the Mustangs offensive attack.

Ke'Mon Freeman has rushed for 223 yards, while TJ McDaniel has an 8.3 average per carry with 174 yards and 3 TDs on just 21 carries. The receiving corps is led by Roberson, but he is not the only option for Beuchele. Steady senior James Proche has caught a team-high 34 passes for 376 yards and 5 TDs. Kylen Granson and Myron Galliard have 220 and 125 yards, respectively.

The SMU offensive line measures 6-foot, 4-inches and 304 pounds and is led by the lone senior upfront, guard Nick Dennis.

Tulsa's defense has withstood a number of tests from opposing offenses this year, and will have to be up to the task against the Mustangs.

End Trevis Gipson has totaled 18 tackles with 6.5 of those stops resulting in lost yardage, while nose tackle Jason Player has 13 stops and 3.5 TFLs. Shemarr Robinson starts at tackle in Tulsa's 3-3-5 defensive alignment. Juniors Tyarise Stevenson, Cullen Wick and Cade Baumann, sophomore Deven Lamp and red-shirt freshman Anthony Goodlow all get playing time in the rotation.

The Tulsa linebacker corps is led by senior MIKE linebacker Cooper Edmiston, who has a team-leading 34 tackles. Edmiston's forced fumble late in the game against Wyoming prevented the Cowboys from scoring from the Tulsa three-yard line.

Last season, Edmiston was the team leader for tackles (113), interceptions (4) and fumble recoveries (4). WILL linebacker Zaven Collins was named Freshman All-America by USA Today and the FWAA after totaling 85 tackles and a team-high 9.5 TFLs. He is tied for the second-most on the squad with 26 stops this year, while senior Diamon Cannon and junior Yohance Burnett share time at the STAR position. Burnett has totaled 16 tackles and 2.5 TFLs, while Cannon has 11 stops on the season.

Tulsa's secondary is long and athletic and experienced –Reggie Robinson II and Allie Green – man the corners, while the safeties are seniors Manny Bunch and Brandon Johnson. The nickel safety position is manned this season by Cristian Williams and Bryson Powers.

Johnson has 26 tackles and a team-high 4 pass break-ups, while Bunch has 24 stops and one fumble recovery. Green and Robinson have combined for 26 tackles and 6 pass break-ups. Robinson has Tulsa's lone interception on the year, while he also recovered a fumble in the Wyoming win to seal the victory for the Hurricane.

Tulsa's offense will have to put points on the board as the SMU defense allows just 26.6 points, while its offense had put up 44.4 points per game.

The Hurricane offense has made steady progress as the season moves along, averaging 457 total yards in the last three games after being shut down to less than 100 total yards in the season opener at Michigan State. The Hurricane averages 165.7 rushing yards and 291.7 yards through the air over the past three contests.

Shamari Brooks has had over 100 yards in two games this year, going for 140 yards at San Jose State and 107 yards against Oklahoma State. Corey Taylor II was slowed by injury in the first 3 games, but gained a season-high 58 yards in Tulsa's last outing against a stout Wyoming run defense. Red-shirt freshman TK Wilkerson has also seen playing time in the backfield, gaining gained 117 yards for a 6.2 average per game.

Zach Smith has settled into the role of starting quarterback. Smith has thrown for 1,018 yards and 5 touchdowns this year, including a season-high 354 yards and 2 TDs in Tulsa's last game against Wyoming.

His two main targets have each had a 100-yard receiving game this year. Sophomore Sam Crawford, Jr. has a team-leading 329 yards on 23 receptions, while junior Keylon Stokes has caught 19 passes for 302 yards. Senior Keenen Johnson had his best game of the year in the last outing with 7 catches for 95 yards.

Tulsa's young offensive front came into the season with just 27 career starts after losing three players who started 128 games. This line will again be tested by a defense that has totaled 41 TFLs and 25 quarterback sacks in its first 5 games.

The Hurricane line is led by senior left tackle Chris Ivy, Jr. and sophomore left guard Chris Paul, who has combined for 28 of the entire starting offensive linemen's 38 starts. Center Gerard Wheeler and right guard Dante Bivens made their first career starts in the second week of the season and has started since, while right tackle X'Zauvea Gadlin has started all 4 contests this year.

Three graduate transfers have reinvigorated the SMU defense –– tackle Zach Abercrumbia from Rice, linebacker Richard McBryde from Auburn and corner Brandon Stephens from UCLA.

The Mustangs are holding the opposition to 122.6 rushing and 244 passing yards, while recovering 5 fumbles and intercepting 5 passes. McBryde has a team-leading 29 tackles, while Stephens has 13 stops and a team-high 6 pass break-ups. Abercrumbia has totaled 12 tackles and 2 TFLs.

End Delontae Scott and linebackers Patrick Nelson and Delano Robinson are among the Mustangs' top-5 for tackles. Scott has 19 tackles and a team-best 8.5 TFLs for -40 yards with 3.5 sacks for -28 yards. Nelson has 29 stops and leads the Mustangs with 5.5 sacks for -45 yards and Robinson has tallied 27 tackles.

In addition to Stephen's play in the secondary, safety Rodney Clemons has totaled 22 stops and a team-best 3 interceptions.

Fans can watch the 26th meeting between the two schools on ESPNU or listen on the Hurricane Sports Network, locally on Big Country 99.5 FM, or go to the Tune-In APP.