TULSA – UCF GAME PREVIEW

Friday, November 8

Chapman Stadium

6:00 PM

Tulsa

UCF

Tickets

Photo by: Brett Rojo

TULSA – UCF GAME PREVIEW

11/7/2019 12:00:00 PM | Football

Tulsa Hosts UCF Tonight in 6 PM Primetime Game

GAME 10: TULSA (2-7, 0-5 American) vs. UCF (7-2, 4-1 American)
Date/Time:	Friday, Nov. 8, 6:05 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Tulsa, Oklahoma
Stadium:	Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium (30,000)
Coaches:	TULSA – Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 5th year UCF – Josh Heupel (Oklahoma '01), 2nd year
TV:	ESPN 2
Talent:	Dave Flemming (pxp), Gene Chizik (analyst), Paul Carcaterra (sidelines)
Tickets:	Purchase Tickets
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 series 7-3-0
First Meeting:	Dec. 3, 2005 (Tulsa 44, UCF 27), Orlando, Fla.
Last Meeting:	Nov. 19, 2016 (Tulsa 35, UCF 20), Orlando, Fla
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) I Memphis (PDF) I American Athletic Conference (PDF)

Tulsa has the nation's 3^rd toughest strength of schedule this week and that ranking will likely go up as the Golden Hurricane hosts two-time defending American Athletic Conference Champion UCF this week.

Five of Tulsa's first 9 opponents were ranked this past week in the first College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings – #20 Cincinnati #21 Memphis, #23 Oklahoma State, #24 Navy and #25 SMU, while 4 of Tulsa's first five conference foes are ranked among the nation's top-25 by the Associated Press, and this week's opponent UCF is 26^th when extending the list of others receiving votes.

Friday's Tulsa-UCF matchup is college football's primetime game on ESPN2. The contest kicks off at 6:05 p.m. (CT) from H.A. Chapman Stadium.

This is the 11^th meeting between the two schools with Tulsa leading the series 7-3.

Based on enrollment, this game is like David vs. Goliath. Tulsa has the nation's smallest undergraduate enrollment among FBS schools with 3,297 students, while UCF's enrollment of 58,913 is the largest.

UCF is coming off of a 44-29 victory over Houston and comes into Friday night's contest with a 7-2 overall mark and a 4-1 record in The American.

The Knights offense comes into the game with the American Athletic Conference's top scoring offense (46.3 ppg), total offense (551.0 ypg) and passing offense (324.9).

The Knights have 4 rushers who have gained over 400 yards, led by utility back Otis Anderson's 543 rushing yards for a 6.6 average. Bentavious Thompson has gained 467 yards for an average of 8.1 yards per carry, Adrian Killins 413 yards for a 6.9 average and Greg McCrae's 401 yards for an average of 5.6 yards.

Freshman Dillon Gabriel is just another in a line of young quarterbacks that have led the Knights to unprecedented success over the last few seasons. Gabriel has passed for 2,516 yards and 23 touchdowns, while completing 60.6 percent of his passes with a pass efficiency rating of 171.01.

Gabriel Davis and Tre Nixon lead the receiving corps with 962 yards and 7 TDs and 627 yards and 7 TDs, respectively. The Knights' offensive line is led by 2018 first-team all-conference performers Cole Schneider at left guard and right tackle Jake Brown.

Tulsa's defense will have to be at the top of its game against the Knights. Trevis Gipson leads the defensive front from his end position with 34 tackles and 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 25 stops, and Tyarise Stevenson starting in the middle for the third straight week in place of injured Jaxon Player.

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 77 tackles and has 314 career tackles. Sophomore WILL linebacker Zaven Collins, a 2018 Freshman All-American, ranks behind Edmiston with 72 stops.

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 56 tackles to rank third on the team, including 37 solo stops, and shares the team-lead with 5 pass break-ups. Bunch has 51 stops, 3 PBUs, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery on the year. Green and Robinson have combined for 64 tackles and 8 pass break-ups, while Robinson has all 3 of Tulsa's interceptions this year, including 2 last week against Tulane.

Once again, Tulsa's offense will have a tough test against another one of the league's top defenses. UCF ranks second in The American for total defense, allowing opponents to 348 yards, and scoring defense of only 22.4 points per game.

Zach Smith has settled into the role of starting quarterback for the Hurricane. Smith is ranked 4^th in the American Athletic Conference for passing and 5^th for total offense. He has thrown for 2,440 yards, an average of 271.1 yards per game, and 12 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 773 yards, 16.4 yards per game and 5 TDs. Sophomore Sam Crawford, Jr. has 531 yards and 2 touchdowns on 40 receptions, while senior Keenen Johnson has 378 yards and Josh Johnson 365. Sophomore JuanCarlos Santana has added 228 yards on the season.

The 1-2 running back punch of Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor II has combined for 1,103 yards and 10 touchdowns. Brooks leads the way with 753 yards and 5 TDs and has had over 100 yards in three games, while Taylor II has gained 350 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 starting offensive front is made up of 2 sophomores, one red-shirt freshman, one junior 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 38 of the entire starting offensive linemen's 60 career starts. Red-shirt freshman right tackle X'Zauvea Gadlin has started all 9 contests this season, while sophomore center Gerard Wheeler has started since the second game of the year. Guards Dylan Couch and Dante Bivens handle the snaps at right guard.

Defensively, the Knights are also among the leaders in the American for scoring (2^nd), total defense (2^nd), rushing (4^th) and passing (5^th).

All-conference performers Nate Evans at linebacker, cornerback Nevelle Clarke and end Brendan Hayes lead an experienced and deep defensive unit.

Evans is the team-leader with 71 tackles and 9.5 TFLs with 4 quarterback hurries. Fellow linebackers Eric Mitchell is next with 51 tackles and has added 7.5 TFLs and 3 pass breakups and Eriq Gilyard has added 49 stops.

Clarke, who has a team-high 10 pass breakups with 2 interceptions, is joined on the backend by fellow corner Tay Gowan and safeties Richie Grant and Antwan Collier. Gowan has 26 stops and 6 pass breakups, while the safety combo has totaled 90 tackles and 12 pass breakups between them.

On the defensive front, 9 of Hayes' 15 tackles has gone for lost yardage. He is joined upfront by Randy Charlton at end and Kalia Davis and Anthony Montalvo at the tackle spots. Charlton has 15 stops and 2.5 TFLs, while the two tackles have combined for 40 tackles and 11.5 TFLs for -65 yards.

In addition to ESPN2's coverage, fans can listen to the contest 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.