TULSA - TULANE GAME PREVIEW

Saturday, November 2

New Orleans, La.

3:00 PM

Tulsa

Tulane

Photo by: Brett Rojo

TULSA - TULANE GAME PREVIEW

11/1/2019 7:00:00 PM | Football

TULSA TRAVELS TO NEW ORLEANS TO SQUARE-OFF AGAINST THE TULANE GREEN WAVE

GAME 9: TULSA (2-6, 0-4 American) vs. TULANE (5-3, 2-2 American)
Date/Time:	Saturday, November 2, 3:05 p.m. (CT)
Site:	New Orleans, La.
Stadium:	Yulman Stadium (30,000)
Coaches:	TULSA – Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 5th year TULANE – Willie Fritz (Pittsburg State), 4th year
TV:	ESPN2
Talent:	Anish Shroff (pxp), John Congemi (analyst), Kris 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:	Tulsa leads 11-4-0
First Meeting:	Nov. 9, 1968 (Tulane 25, Tulsa 15), New Orleans, La.
Last Meeting:	Oct. 27, 2018 (Tulane 24, Tulsa 17), Tulsa, Okla.
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Tulane (PDF) \| American Athletic Conference (PDF)

It will be another strenuous road test for Tulsa (2-4, 0-4 AAC) this week in New Orleans as the Tulane Green Wave return home for the first time since October 12^th, and it's Homecoming for the Wave. Tulsa will be looking for its' first conference win of the season, while Tulane looks to snap a two-game road losing streak after starting the season 5-1.

The game kicks off at 3:05 p.m. (CT) from Yulman Stadium and will be carried live on ESPN2 as well as heard on the Hurricane Radio Network, 99.5 FM Big Country in Tulsa. Fans can also download the Tune-In App to listen to all Golden Hurricane games this year.

The two teams are each coming off heart-breaking losses last week in come-from-behind bids, Tulsa losing 42-41 to 25^th-ranked Memphis and Tulane battling back from 24 points down, only to lose 41-38 at Navy.

Tulane (5-3, 2-2 AAC) brings in one of the American Athletic Conference's top offenses and a defense that also ranks 4^th in the league for total yards.

The Green Wave is just another in the long line of tough opponents for the Hurricane this season. Tulsa has faced the 5^th toughest schedule in the nation according to Cody Kellner's Points Index Strength of Schedule Ratings. Entering its 9^th game, the combined record of Tulsa's opponents entering that particular game sits at 30-6. Michigan State was 0-0, San Jose State 10-0, Oklahoma State 2-0, Wyoming 3-0, SMU 5-0, Navy 3-1, Cincinnati 5-1, Memphis at 6-1 and now Tulane 5-3.

Tulsa's defense will have to control a run game that ranks second in the league with 257.6 yards per game, while totaling 473 yards of total offense and 36.2 points, to rank among the top-5 in The American.

The Tulane offense goes quarterback Justin McMillan goes. The senior accounted for a career-high 5 touchdowns last week at Navy. With a 10-4 record as a starter, McMillan is Tulane's leading rusher with 415 yards and 9 touchdowns. He leads 6 other players that have gained over 100 yards rushing on the season, including seniors Corey Dauphine and Darius Bradwell combining for 792 yards and 5 TDs on the ground.

All those backs run behind an experienced offensive line that tip the scales at 305 pounds and stands 6-feet, 5-inches tall.

McMillan has passed for another 1,519 yards and 12 touchdowns as well. Darnell Moody leads the receiving corps with 29 receptions for 509 yards and 5 TDs, while Oklahoma State transfer Jalen McCleskey and Amare Jones each have 25 catches for 297 and 274 yards, respectively.

Tulsa's Trevis Gipson leads the defensive front for the Hurricane from his end position. He has 31 tackles with 9.5 of those stops resulting in lost yardage. Joining Gipson upfront in Tulsa's 3-3-5 defensive alignment is starting tackle Shemarr Robinson, who has 24 stops, and Louisiana native Tyarise Stevenson starting in the middle for the second straight week in place of injured Jaxon Player.

56943 — Tyarise Stevenson is from Donaldson, Louisiana, approximately an hour from
New Orleans.

Juniors Cullen Wick, Jajuan Blankenship and Cade Baumann, sophomore Deven Lamp and red-shirt freshman Anthony Goodlow all get playing time in the rotation as well.

The Tulsa linebacker corps is led by senior MIKE backer Cooper Edmiston, who has a team-leading and American Athletic Conference high of 70 tackles and has 307 career tackles. Sophomore WILL linebacker Zaven Collins, a 2018 Freshman All-American, ranks behind Edmiston in tackles with 64 stops, including 38 tackles in the last 4 games.

At the STAR linebacker position, senior Diamon Cannon and junior Yohance Burnett have both been effective in sharing playing time at that spot. Cannon has 29 stops and 3.5 TFLs on the season, while Burnett has totaled 28 tackles and 2.5 TFLs.

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

Johnson has 53 tackles to rank third on the team, including 34 solo stops, and shares the team-lead with 5 pass break-ups. Bunch has 47 stops, 3 PBUs, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery on the year. Green and Robinson have combined for 60 tackles and 8 pass break-ups.

Tulane's defense is big upfront – going 6-3, 280, 6-3, 320 and 6-3, 290 – in the likes of Cameron Sample, Jeffery Johnson and De'Andre Williams. The trio has combined for 79 tackles. Patrick Johnson controls the Joker position, a hybrid end/linebacker spot, and leads the Green Wave with 7 TFLs for -40 yards and 3 sacks.

Lawrence Graham and Marvin Moody hold down the inside linebacker slots as Graham has tallied 38 tackles and Moody 33 stops, while totaling 7.5 TFLs between them.

Safety P.J. Hall is Tulane's tackle leader with 41 stops and has intercepted 2 passes for 45 yards, while fellow safety Chase Kuerschen ranks second on the Tulane roster with 40 tackles. Senior Will Harper handles the nickel position for the Green Wave, while senior Thakarius Keyes and junior Jaylon Monroe man the corner spots as the duo has combined for 45 tackles, 5 pass breakups and 2 interceptions.

Tulsa's offense showed last week with a season-high 584 yards and more than a 12-minute edge in possession time against the 25^th-ranked Memphis Tigers that the young unit has progressed.

Zach Smith has settled into the role of starting quarterback. Smith ranks 3^rd in the American Athletic Conference for passing and 4^th for total offense. He has thrown for 2,170 yards, an average of 271.2 yards per game, and 11 touchdowns.

Five different receivers have become key targets for Smith, with 4 of the 5 totaling more than 300 yards. Junior Keylon Stokes has a team-leading 695 yards, 15.8 yards per game and 4 TDs. Sophomore Sam Crawford, Jr. has 502 yards and 2 touchdowns on 37 receptions, while senior Keenen Johnson has 318 yards and Josh Johnson 308. Sophomore JuanCarlos Santana has added 228 yards on the season.

55848 — Keylon Stokes leads all Tulsa receivers with 695 yards.

Last week, the ground attack looked like what fans have been accustomed too with the 1-2 punch of Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor II leading the way as the run game totaled 256 yards. They each toted the ball for season-high rushing totals, Brooks with 156 yards and Taylor with 85, while also tying his career-high of 3 TDs.

Brooks leads the Hurricane this year with 688 yards and 5 TDs and has had over 100 yards in three games. Taylor II, who was slowed by injury in the first 3 games, has gained 301 yards on the year. Red-shirt freshman TK Wilkerson has also seen playing time in the backfield, gaining 168 yards for a 5.2 average per carry.

Tulsa's offensive front is made up of 3 sophomores, one red-shirt freshman and one senior. Tulsa came into the season with just 27 career starts from the offensive line after losing three players who started 128 games.

The lone senior Chris Ivy, Jr. leads the trenches at his left tackle spot, while he and sophomore left guard Chris Paul has combined for 36 of the entire starting offensive linemen's 58 career starts. Red-shirt freshman right tackle X'Zauvea Gadlin has started all 8 contests this season, while sophomore center Gerard Wheeler and sophomore right guard Dante Bivens has been entrenched as starters since the second game of the year.

It appears that the New Orleans area will have clear skies and temperatures in the 60s at game time for a perfect college football Saturday.