TULSA FOOTBALL NOTES: #8 CINCINNATI GAME

Tulsa Opens Home Season with Homecoming Game against #8-Ranked Cincinnati

GAME #3
TULSA (1-1, 1-0 AAC) vs. #8 CINCINNATI (3-0, 1-0 AAC)
Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020 • 11:00 a.m. (CT)
H.A. Chapman Stadium (30,000), Tulsa, Okla.
TV: ESPN2
Radio: Big Country 99.5 FM

FOR FULL GAME NOTES PACKAGE, CLICK HERE

FOR HOMECOMING INFORMATION, CLICK HERE

TULSA 1-1, 1-0 The American
Head Coach: Philip Montgomery
                         (Tarleton State '95)
                         6th year at Tulsa
Career Record: 26-38 (6 years)
TU Record: same

CINCINNATI  3-0, 1-0 The American
Head Coach: Luke Fickell
                         (Ohio State '97)
4^th year at CIncinnati
Career Record: 35-20 (5 years)
UC Record: 29-13 (4 years)

THE STORYLINES . . .
•   Tulsa is in its 121st season of football.
•   This is the third straight game that Tulsa will play an AP top-15 team … Cincinnati comes into the game ranked 8th in the AP poll and 10th in the Coaches poll … the last time Tulsa faced an AP top-10 team at home was #4 Oklahoma in 2014.
• Both teams are coming off of an open week after capturing wins in their first AAC games on Oct. 3.
•   Tulsa has the smallest FBS enrollment with 3,269 undergraduate students … Tulsa's overall enrollment is 4,380, while Cincinnati's
enrollment is 46,388.
•   Tulsa had 3 of its non-conference games cancelled or postponed this year, including Toledo (Sept. 5), Northwestern State (Sept. 19) and Arkansas State (Sept. 26).

THE SERIES . . .
•   This is the 35th meeting in the series as Tulsa leads 17-15-2.
• The first meeting came in 1946 as Tulsa claimed a 20-0 victory.
•   Cincinnati has won 6 of the last 7 games, including a 24-13 victory at home last year as the nation's 21st-ranked team.
•   This is only the fourth meeting for the two teams as members of the American Athletic Conference … Cincinnati has a 2-1 record.
•   The last win for Tulsa was a 40-37 overtime victory in the 2016 season in Tulsa.

TAKING DOWN A TOP-15 TEAM . . .
•   Tulsa's 34-26 win over #11 UCF was the first for the Hurricane against a ranked opponent since handing #24 Hawaii a 62-35 loss in the 2010 Hawaii Bowl.
•   It was the first win over a top-15 opponent since Tulsa defeated No. 15 Texas A&M 35-34 in Sept. 1991.
•   Before that, it was 1971 that Tulsa defeated a higher ranked team with a 21-20 win over #7 Arkansas.
•   The win also snapped a 21-game home winning streak for the Knights … the last team to defeat UCF on its home field was the 2016 Tulsa team on Nov. 19, 2016 by a score of 35-20.

FWAA NATIONAL TEAM OF THE WEEK . . .
•   For its 34-26 win at #11-ranked UCF, Tulsa was named the FWAA/Reveal Suits National Team of the Week.
•   Trailing 16-0 and 23-5, Tulsa came back from that 18-point deficit and outscored the UCF Knights 29-3 over the final 30:53 of the game.
•   Tulsa scored on a 48-yard pass play at the 0:53 of the 2nd quarter, going 88 yards in 4 plays and taking 0:41 off the clock.
•   The Hurricane added a 34-yard TD toss in the first 0:11 of the 3rd quarter on a one-play 34-yard drive in just 0:06.
•   Tulsa took its first lead, 31-26, at the 12:56 mark of the 4th period.

TULSA ON HOMECOMING . . .
•   Tulsa has posted an overall 52-39-3 record on Homecoming.
•   Tulsa's first Homecoming game was in 1926 as Tulsa beat Arkansas, 14-7.
•   Tulsa has won 3 of its last 4 Homecoming games … Tulsa defeated UConn in 2018 by a score of 49-19, Houston 45-17 in 2017 and Tulane 50-27 in 2016 … the loss came last year, 42-41, against #25 Memphis.
•   Tulsa has won 12 of its last 18 Homecoming games dating back to 2002.

AWARD WEEK . . .
•   Not only was Tulsa named the FWAA National Team of the Week last week for its win over #11 UCF, but Tulsa players were recognized as well for their individual performances in the win.
•   Linebacker Zaven Collins was named the American Athletic Conference's Defensive Player of the Week.
•   Punter Lachlan Wilson was named the co-Special Teams Player of the Week in the AAC.
•   Quarterback Zach Smith was named to the AAC's weekly honor roll.
•   Smith was also named to the Davey' O'Brien's Great 8 quarterbacks and one of the Manning Award's Stars of the Week for quarterbacks.
•   Smith also earned mention on the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Player of the Week Award.

THREE STRAIGHT RANKED OPPONENTS FOR FIRST TIME IN SCHOOL HISTORY . . .
•   Tulsa's first three opponents – Oklahoma State, UCF and Cincinnati – have all been ranked among the nation's top 15 teams.
•   It is the first time in school history that Tulsa has played a ranked opponent in 3 straight games … the closest was 3-of-4 ranked teams last year (#24 SMU, Navy, #21 Cincinnati and #25 Memphis).
•   Tulsa also opened the 2012 season with 3 of its first 4 opponents ranked nationally, including #1 Oklahoma, Tulane, #7 Oklahoma State and #4 Boise State.
•   OSU was ranked #11 when Tulsa dropped a 16-7 decision to the Cowboys in the season opener for both schools.
•   In its American Athletic Conference opener, Tulsa defeated #11-ranked UCF 34-26 in Orlando on Oct. 3.
•   Cincinnati comes into this week's game ranked 8^th in the AP poll.
•   In Coach Montgomery's six years, this is the fourth season that the Hurricane has faced at least 3 top-25 opponents.

TULSA OPENS HOME SEASON AS H.A. CHAPMAN STADIUM CELEBRATING ITS 90th ANNIVERSARY IN 2020 . . .
• H.A. Chapman Stadium celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.
• Oil man and longtime friend of The University of Tulsa, William Skelly, gave $125,000 to the Stadium Fund Drive in the spring of 1930.
•   The remaining $175,000 was raised by Tulsa businessmen who organized the Stadium Corporation of Tulsa.
•   Ground-breaking ceremonies for Skelly Field were held on May 11, 1930.
•   The inaugural game came on October 4, 1930, as Tulsa hosted Arkansas on that date and posted a 26-6 victory.
•   On the opening kickoff, Arkansas fumbled and Johnny Potts recovered for Tulsa.
•   Billy Boehm scored on the very next play for the first touchdown in the north end of the stadium … Chet Benefield scored the first TD in the south end zone.
•   The Golden Hurricane won its first six games at the new stadium that year.
•   Skelly Field became known as Skelly Stadium in 1964 when the stadium was enlarged to 40,235 seats.
•   It was announced in 2007, that Skelly Stadium would have a new name – H.A. Chapman Stadium and in 2008 the stadium went through a complete renovation.
•   The renovated stadium opened on September 20, 2008 with a 56-14 victory over New Mexico.

DEFENSE STEPS UP . . .
•   In Tulsa's first two games, the Hurricane defense has had strong performances – holding the opposition to 21.0 points, 138.0 rushing yards and 372.0 total yards per game, while forcing 5 turnovers, totaling 24 TFLs for -79 yards and 10 pass break-ups.
•   In the season opener, Tulsa faced one of the nation's top returning offenses with the nation's leading returning rusher Chuba Hubbard … OSU averaged 453.9 yards last year and returned all of its skill position players in 2020.
•   Tulsa limited the OSU offense to 289 yards, including 151 on the ground and 138 passing yards.
•   The Hurricane had 14 TFLs for -56 yards and 6 sacks for -24 yards, while also forcing one fumble and intercepting one pass.
•   In the next game, Tulsa faced UCF's nation-leading offense that came into the game averaging 50.0 points, 646.0 total yards and 233.5 rushing yards.
•      Tulsa held UCF to 24 points, 191 total yards and 108.5 rushing yards less than their season average.

LATEST HOME OPENER SINCE 1969 . . .
•   Tulsa opens the home season on October 17 when the Hurricane hosts the Cincinnati Bearcats.
•   It's the latest home opener in 51 years since October 18, 1969 when Tulsa fell to Florida State 38-20 at Skelly Stadium.
•   Tulsa was scheduled to open the season at home on Sept. 5 against Toledo … along with the Toledo game, the Northwestern State (Sept. 19) was cancelled, while the Arkansas State (Sept. 26) games has been postponed.

COMEBACKS . . .
•   Tulsa's 18-point comeback win over UCF is the 13th come-from-behind win for the Hurricane under Coach Montgomery since his arrival in 2015.
•   The 18 points is the second largest comeback in that time span, behind overcoming a 31-0 deficit against Fresno State in 2016 for a 48-41 win.
•   Tulsa had two comeback wins last year, including an 11-point comeback against UCF.

THE LAST TIME OUT . . .
•   Tulsa scored the final 15 points to overcome an 18-point deficit and down the nation's 11th-ranked UCF Knights 34-26 on the road on Oct. 3.
•   The win snapped a 21-game home winning streak for the Knights … the last team to defeat UCF on its home field was the 2016 Tulsa team on Nov. 19, 2016 by a score of 35-20.
•   The Tulsa defense and special teams kept the Hurricane in the contest in the first two quarters until the offense pushed itself into high gear on the final drive of the first 30 minutes.
•   Tulsa's special teams forced and recovered 2 fumbles, while the defense intercepted one pass, had 10 tackles for -23 yards and 9 pass break-ups.
•   Trailing by 11 points at halftime, the Hurricane special teams got Tulsa off to a solid start in the second half … Bryson Powers caused and recovered the fumble in one motion, taking the ball away from returner Jaylon Richardson.
•   Zach Smith wasted little time in finding Sam Crawford Jr. in the end zone for a 34-yard scoring strike on the first play from scrimmage, cutting the Knights lead to 4 points, 23-19.
•   Tulsa took its first lead of the game at 31-26 with 12:56 remaining in the 4th quarter as Smith hit Keylon Stokes in the back of the end zone, capping a 5-play, 61-yard drive in taking just 2:22 off the clock. The two-point pass attempt fell short of receiver Josh Johnson to keep Tulsa 5 points ahead.
•   Tulsa milked the clock as much as possible in the final 5:35 minutes as the Hurricane took an 8-point lead on a Zack Long 34-yard field goal … Tulsa's defense held off UCF's final try for the win on final throw to the end zone.

THE LAST MEETING . . .
•   Tulsa and Cincinnati met last year in Cincinnati on October 19 as the #21 Bearcats held off the Hurricane 24-13.
•   Five turnovers handicapped Tulsa's chances for a victory as the Bearcats converted two of those takeaways into 10 points.
•   The Tulsa defense came up with a big stop with under 5 minutes to play when the Hurricane stopped the Bearcats on 4th-and-3 at the Tulsa 12-yard line to keep the 4-point differential.
•   Trailing 17-13, Tulsa took possession with 4:11 left needing to go 90 yards for the lead, but a Cincinnati interception ended Tulsa's hope for the come-from behind victory … on the first play, the Bearcats' Gerrid Doaks scored his third TD of the game with a 27-yard run for the final score.
• For the game, Tulsa held a 377 to 317-yard edge, including passing for 243 yards and rushing for another 134 yards.

LINEBACKER ZAVEN COLLINS GETS OFF TO ALL-AMERICA START . . .
• If his performance in Tulsa's first two games is any indication, then junior LB Zaven Collins should be in the conversation for All-America honors as well as consideration for some of the nation's top defensive player awards.
• He has already been named the Bednarik National Defensive Player of the Week and the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
• Against two 11th-ranked opponents, Oklahoma State and UCF, Collins has registered 16 tackles, including 13 solos, 7.5 TFLs for -35 yards, 3 sacks for -16 yards, 2 pass breakups, one INT and one safety.
• In the UCF game, Collins totaled 10 tackles, 3.5 TFLs for -11 yards, 2 PBUs, one INT and one safety.
• For his performance in that UCF game, Collins was named the AAC's Defensive Player of the Week.
• Against OSU, Collins totaled 6 tackles, all solos, with 4 of those for a loss of 24 yards, including 3 TFLs for -16 yards, and that came in just a little over 2 quarters of the game since he left in the 3rd period with an injury.
• For his OSU performance, Collins was named the Chuck Bednarik National Defensive Player of the Week, while also being named to the AAC's weekly honor roll.
• Collins earned preseason fourth-team All-America honors by Phil Steele's magazine.
• He was also named to the preseason watch list for the Bednarik Award which is presented to the nation's top defensive player.
• The linebacker was left off of the Dick Butkus preseason watch list for the nation's top LB.
• Last year, Collins had the second-most team tackles with 97 stops, has 8 TFLs for -27 yards, 2 sacks for -14 yards, 3 pass breakups, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick.
• As a redshirt freshman in 2018, Collins was named to the USA Today and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) Freshman All-America Teams.
• He became the 9th Tulsa player to earn Freshman All-America honors, all coming since the 2003 season.
• In 2018, Collins moved into the starting WILL linebacker spot in the 3rd game vs. Arkansas State due to a Robert Revels III injury moving over from his backup role at the MIKE position.

THE FINAL THREE QUARTERS . . .
•   In two games this year, Tulsa's offense has gotten off to a slow first quarter, totaling only 98 yards for a 2.5 average on 39 attempts and scoring only 2 points.
•   In the final three quarters, the Hurricane has totaled 617 yards on 93 attempts for a 6.6 average per play and scored 39 points.
•   Against OSU, Tulsa totaled 46 yards on 16 plays and zero points in the first quarter … over the last 3 quarters Tulsa gained 231 yards on 43 plays and scored 7 points.
•   In the first quarter at UCF, Tulsa gained only 52 yards on 23 plays and had a 2-point defensive safety … over the final 3 quarters, Tulsa had 386 yards on 50 plays and tallied 32 points.

TULSA FOOTBALL NOTES: #8 CINCINNATI GAME

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Players Mentioned

Zaven Collins

Sam Crawford Jr.

Josh Johnson

Zack Long

Bryson Powers

Robert Revels III

Zach Smith

Keylon Stokes

Lachlan Wilson

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