TULSA – WYOMING GAME PREVIEW

Photo by: Brett Rojo

TULSA – WYOMING GAME PREVIEW

9/20/2019 9:16:00 AM | Football

Tulsa Hosts Wyoming Cowboys Saturday for Hometown Heroes and Hall of Fame Game

GAME 4: TULSA (1-2, 0-0 American) vs. WYOMING (3-0, 0-0 MWC)
Date/Time:	Saturday, Sept. 21, 2:32 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 WYOMING – Craig Bohl (Nebraska '82), 6th year
TV:	CBS Sports Network
Talent:	John Sadak (pxp), Randy Cross (analyst)
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:	Wyoming leads 3-2-0
First Meeting:	Nov. 20, 1954 (Wyoming 28, Tulsa 27),Tulsa, Okla.
Last Meeting:	Nov. 21, 1998 (Tulsa 35, Wyoming 0), Tulsa, Okla.
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Wyoming (PDF) \| American Athletic Conference (PDF)

The Wyoming Cowboys come into H.A. Chapman Stadium on Saturday afternoon with a perfect 3-0 record and one of the nation's top running attacks, as well as one of the country's top-ranked run defenses.

Tulsa's achilles heel last week was defending a potent run game as Oklahoma State put up 337 yards rushing on 46 carries. So, this week the Golden Hurricane defense will have to show it can slow down a Wyoming attack that averages 245.3 yards per game.

Wyoming has four ballcarriers each with over 100 yards rushing this year, while each also average over 4.5 yards per carry and three have long runs of over 60 yards. Graduate transfer Trey Smith, from Louisville, leads the way with 222 yards and a 5.7 average, followed by quarterback Sean Chambers and his 196 yards and 6.3 average.

The Wyoming running backs have a huge line to run behind, averaging 6'5", 312 pounds with three sophomores and two juniors among the starting five.

The Cowboys have not had the same success through the air yet this season. Chambers has completed just 39-percent of his passes for 245 yards and only 81.7 yards per game, but has spread out his 18 completions to 9 different receivers.

Tulsa's defensive line will need to have success against the Wyoming front five if the Hurricane is to slow down the Cowboys run game.

End Trevis Gipson has totaled 12 tackles with 4.5 of those stops resulting in lost yardage, while nose tackle Jason Player has 11 stops and 2.5 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 25 tackles. 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 has tallied 19 tackles this year, while senior Diamon Cannon mans the STAR position as the starter for a second straight year with 9 tackles.

Reserves Yohance Burnett, Treyvon Reeves and Robert Revels III have each seen significant playing time in their careers at linebacker.

Tulsa's secondary is long and athletic and experienced with eight players – corners Reggie Robinson II, Akayleb Evans and Allie Green, safeties Manny Bunch and Brandon Johnson as well as nickel safeties Bryson Powers, TieNeal Martin and Cristian Williams – having started at least one game.

Johnson leads the way in tackles with 20 and has 2 pass-break-ups, while Bunch has 19 stops and one fumble recovery. The corners – Evans, Green and Robinson – have combined for 27 tackles and 7 pass break-ups

Tulsa's young offense has made positive strides in the past two weeks, averaging 260 yards receiving and 207 yards on the ground.

Shamari Brooks has had over 100 yards in each of the last two games, going for 140 yards at San Jose State and 107 yards against Oklahoma State. Corey Taylor II has been slowed by injury in the first 3 games, but red-shirt freshman TK Wilkerson has gained 117 yards for a 6.2 average per game.

Zach Smith is settling into the role of starting quarterback. Smith has combined to complete 66-percent of his passes for 511 yards and 2 TDs over the past two games.

His two main targets have each had a 100-yard receiving game over the past two contests. Sophomore Sam Crawford, Jr. has a team-leading 241 yards, while junior Keylon Stokes has caught 15 passes for 209 yards. Stokes led the Hurricane in receiving yards with 575 yards on 41 receptions in 2018, while senior Keenen Johnson totaled 438 yards a year ago.

Tulsa's young offensive front came into the season with just 27 career starts after losing three players who started 128 games. The front line has made significant progress in each of the last two games. The line is led by senior left tackle Chris Ivy, Jr. and sophomore left guard Chris Paul, who has combined for 26 of the entire starting offensive linemen's 33 starts. Center Gerard Wheeler and right guard Dante Bivens made their first career starts in the second week of the season, while right tackle X'Zauvea Gadlin has started all 3 contests this year.

The Cowboys defense has been among the nation's best against the run, allowing its opponents only 85.7 yards per game. It all starts upfront for the Cowboys, as Wyoming's front four – Garrett Crall, Javaree Jackson, Mario Mora and Josiah Hall – has combined for 10 TFLs for -68 and 7.5 sacks for -61 yards .

As a whole, Wyoming has 22 TFLs and 11 sacks in its first 3 games. Linebacker Logan Wilson leads the Cowboys with 35 tackles, while Keyon Blankenbaker has a team-best 5 pass break-ups.

The secondary, which has been a part of an NCAA-high 324 passing yards allowed per game, is led by safety Alijah Halliburton, who has totaled 26 tackles and a 79-yard fumble recovery, while the Cowboy corners – C.J. Coldon and Tyler Hall – have combined for 23 tackles, 4 pass break-ups and one of Wyoming's 3 touchdowns.

The game kicks off at 2:32p.m. and can be seen on CBS Sports Network. Tickets are still available for the game. Fans can call 918.631.GoTU (4688) or go online at TulsaHurriane.com. The TU ticket office also opens Saturday morning from 9-12 pm and will reopen at 1:00 p.m. as will the stadium gates and ticket booths.