Photo by: David Dermer
TULSA FOOTBALL NOTES: LOCKHEED MARTIN ARMED FORCES BOWL vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE
12/27/2020 7:29:00 PM | Football
Tulsa Faces SEC's Mississippi State in Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
GAME #9
#22/25 TULSA (6-2, 6-0 AAC) vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE (3-7, 3-7 SEC)
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 • 11:00 am (CT)
Amon G. Carter Stadium (46,000), Fort Worth, Texas
TV: ESPN
Radio: Big Country 99.5 FM
FOR FULL GAME NOTES PACKAGE, CLICK HERE
TULSA 6-2, 6-0 The American
Head Coach: Philip Montgomery
(Tarleton State '95)
6th year at Tulsa
Career Record: 31-39 (6 years)
TU Record: same
MISSISSIPPI STATE 3-7, 3-7 SEC
Head Coach: Mike Leach
(BYU '83)
1st year at Mississippi State
Career Record: 142-97 (19 years)
MSU Record: 3-7 (1 year)
THE STORYLINES . . .
• Tulsa is in its 121st season of football.
• Tulsa has the smallest FBS enrollment with 3,269 undergraduate students … Mississippi State has an enrollment of 22,986.
• This is the first meeting between Tulsa and Mississippi State.
• Mississippi State is the 6th SEC opponent for Tulsa in a bowl game … Tulsa played Tennessee twice and Georgia, Florida and Mississippi once each in bowl games.
• Tulsa's 6-0 AAC record marked the best league start in its 7 years as an AAC member … it was also the best conference record for a Tulsa team since Tulsa started 7-0 in Conference USA in 2012.
• Tulsa had a 6-game winning streak after a season-opening loss … it was the longest winning streak for Tulsa since 7 straight wins in the 2012 season.
• Tulsa is 8-3 in its last 11 games dating back to 2 wins in its final 3 games of 201 … among those 2 losses is a loss against #11-ranked Oklahoma State and #6 Cincinnati.
IN BOWL GAMES . . .
• Tulsa is making its 22nd bowl game appearance … the Hurricane has a 10-11 bowl record.
• Tulsa was the first school to ever play in 5 straight New Year's Day bowl games, starting with the Sun Bowl on Jan. 1, 1942, followed by two Sugar Bowls, an Orange Bowl and the Oil Bowl.
• This is the third bowl game in Philip Montgomery's 7th season as the Tulsa head coach … Tulsa is 1-1 under Montgomery in bowl games.
• Tulsa won its last bowl game appearance, a 55-10 win over Central Michigan in the 2016 Miami Beach Bowl.
• This is the third time Tulsa is playing in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl … the Hurricane played in the 2006 game, dropping a 25-13 decision to Utah and the 2011 game, losing 24-21, to BYU in a game played at SMU's Ford Stadium.
TULSA RANKED IN ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL FOR SIX STRAIGHT WEEKS . . .
• Tulsa has been ranked in the Associated Press poll for the last 6 weeks, the most weeks ranked and the most consecutively for Tulsa since 1945 when Tulsa was ranked for 8 weeks, and 5 consecutively.
• Following the AAC Championship game, Tulsa was ranked 22nd in the AP poll and 23rd in the USA Today Amway Coaches poll.
• Tulsa has been ranked this year as high as No. 18 in the Associated Press poll and 19th in the USA Today Amway Coaches poll the week of Dec. 6
• Tulsa moved into the AP's top-25 on Nov. 15 with at No. 25 following a 28-24 win over No. 19 SMU … Tulsa jumped to No. 24 a week later after a win over Tulane.
• Tulsa debuted in the USA Today Amway Coaches poll at No. 25 on Nov. 22.
• The AP ranking this year is the first time Tulsa has been ranked in the AP poll since ending the 2010 season ranked 24th nationally … before that, Tulsa was ranked in the AP poll for three weeks during 2008.
• The last time Tulsa was in the USA Today Coaches poll was at the conclusion of the 2012 season when the Hurricane was ranked No. 25.
• Tulsa has received votes in both AP and Coaches polls since the Oct. 4 rankings.
• In the College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, Tulsa began at No. 25, and has moved to its' highest ranking of 23rd on Dec. 13.
FACING THE SEC . . .
• Of the current SEC membership, Mississippi State is the 10th SEC member that Tulsa will face in its football history … others are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
• This is the 100th meeting against a current SEC team for Tulsa … the most meetings is 70 games against Arkansas … Tulsa has 23 wins against SEC teams.
• Tulsa has faced 5 SEC teams in bowl games – Tennessee (1943 Sugar Bowl), Georgia (1946 Oil Bowl), Florida (1953 Gator Bowl), Ole Miss (1964 Bluebonnet Bowl) and Tennessee (1965 Bluebonnet Bowl).
FROM PRESEASON NO. 9 RANKING TO THE AAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME . . .
• Tulsa was picked to finish in 9th place in the 2020 American Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll.
• In its first AAC game, Tulsa faced the preseason first-place team UCF on Oct. 3 and came away with an 18-point comeback win (34-26) over the #11-ranked Knights.
• Tulsa went on to defeat the preseason-picked No. 4 (SMU), No. 5 (Navy) and No. 6 (Tulane) teams.
• In the AAC Championship Game, Tulsa faced preseason No. 2 and the nation's 6th-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats, falling 27-24 on a field goal as time expired.
BEST SINCE 2016 . . .
• In the COVID-shortened season, Tulsa turned in a 6-2 record … it is the best record since a 10-3 mark in 2016.
• Tulsa had a 6-1 regular season record and was the best start since starting 7-1 in 2012.
• The last time Tulsa only lost one game in the regular season was in 1981 when Tulsa played 11 games and finished 10-1.
• Tulsa's two losses came against ranked opponents, one in the regular season at #11 Oklahoma State, and one in the AAC Championship game vs. #6 Cincinnati.
COLLINS WINS BRONKO NAGURSKI TROPHY . . .
• Tulsa linebacker Zaven Collins was named the winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, one of two national defensive player of the year awards.
• He is also one of 3 finalists for the Chuck Bednarik Defensive Player of the Year Award.
• Collins was also named the runner-up for the Butkus Award, given to the nation's top linebacker … he was the lone non-Power 5 selection chosen to the Butkus list.
• Collins was a three-time winner of the National Defensive Player of the Week Award, coming in different weeks this year – the Bednarik, the Bronko Nagurski and the Walter Camp Foundation.
• Collins was unanimously chosen as the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in league history to earn unanimous player-of-the-year honors.
• He was named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week 4 times (#11 UCF, USF, #19 SMU and Tulane).
• Collins has declared for the NFL draft and will not play in the Armed Forces Bowl.
13 TULSA PLAYERS EARN AMERICAN HIONORS . . .
• Tulsa had a total of 13 players earn American Athletic Conference all-conference honors … 3 players were named first team, 5 to the second team and another 5 players earned honorable mention accolades.
• Tulsa's first-team all-AAC selections are Zaven Collins, defensive lineman Jaxon Player and offensive tackle Tyler Smith … unanimous selection, Collins is a two-time all-league performer after earning second team honors a year ago, while Player and Smith are first-year selections.
• The 5 second-team selections include wide receiver Keylon Stokes and offensive tackle Chris Paul, safety Cristian Williams, linebacker Justin Wright and place-kicker Zack Long.
• Tulsa's honorable mention selections include 3 offensive linemen –– Dante Bivens, Dylan Couch and Gerard Wheeler – giving league honors to all 5 Hurricane players on the offensive front … on defense, senior cornerback Allie Green IV and sophomore safety Kendarin Ray also earned honorable mention merits.
TYLER SMITH NAMED FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN BY THE ATHLETIC; ON FWAA FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA LIST . . .
• Tulsa red-shirt freshman left tackle Tyler Smith was named to The Athletic's Freshman All-America first team.
• He was also named to the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) Freshman All-America Watch List.
• A 6'5", 322-pounder from Fort Worth, Texas, red-shirted in 2019, but did play in four games, including starting assignments in Tulsa's wins against UCF and East Carolina.
• He has started all 8 games this year and played every offensive snap in 6 games this year, including against No. 11-ranked teams Oklahoma State and UCF and No. 6 Cincinnati.
• Smith left the USF game late in the first half with an injury, but returned the next week and played the entire game against East Carolina … he missed one play in the SMU game.
DEFENSE AMONG TOP UNITS IN NATION . . .
• Tulsa's defense has had strong performances so far this season – holding the opposition to 20.8 points, 147.2 rushing yards, 194.1 passing yards and 341.4 total yards per game.
• Tulsa ranks among the top-30 for many of the main NCAA defensive categories … Tulsa is 7th for fumble recoveries, 10th for TFLs, 14th for 3rd down conversions defense, 15th for red zone defense, 20th for defensive TDs, 21st for passing yards, 23rd for pass efficiency defense, 23rd for scoring defense and 26th for total defense.
• In 8 games, the Hurricane has forced 16 turnovers, totaled 64 TFLs for -216 yards, 19 sacks for -101 yards and 28 pass break-ups.
• Last year in 12 games, Tulsa forced just 18 turnovers and totaled 61 TFLs and 14 sacks.
• Tulsa has held the opponent scoreless in 12 of 32 quarters this year (not including OT), including holding #11 UCF, USF, #19 SMU and Navy scoreless in the 4th quarter.
GREEN IV NAMED SEMIFINALIST THORPE AWARD AS THE NATION'S TOP DEFENSIVE BACK . . .
• Tulsa cornerback Allie Green IV was named a semifinalist for the 2020 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation's top defensive back.
• Green IV was one of three players representing the American Athletic Conference on the Thorpe Award list tying the SEC for the most semifinalists of any conference.
• The 6'3" senior has totaled 28 tackles, including 24 solos, one interception, one pass breakup and one fumble recovery.
• Green IV did not make the list of 3 finalists for the Thorpe Award.
PHILIP MONTGOMERY IN SIXTH YEAR LEADING TULSA FOOTBALL PROGRAM . . .
• Philip Montgomery is in his 6th season as the Golden Hurricane head coach and has an overall 31-39 head coaching record.
• Montgomery grabbed his first coaching win against a ranked opponent in his 14th game against a top-25 team with a 34-26 win over #11 UCF earlier this season … he became the first TU coach to defeat two top-25 ranked teams in the same season when Tulsa defeated #19 SMU.
• Montgomery was named The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week, as named by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation after Tulsa's 21-point comeback over SMU.
• He ranks 8th on the school's all-time head coaching wins list with 31 victories.
• Montgomery completed his second season in 2016 leading the Tulsa football program to a 10-3 record and a win in the Miami Beach Bowl.
• He became the 29th head coach in school history on Dec. 11, 2014.
• Montgomery claimed his first career head coaching victory in the 2015 season opener with a 47-44 overtime win over FAU.
• In his first year, he led Tulsa to 6 wins and to the 2015 Camping World Independence Bowl.
• Before coming to Tulsa, he spent seven years at Baylor, where he spent the final three seasons as the offensive coordinator/QB coach.
PLAYER STEPS UP IN DOMINANT DEFENSIVE EFFORT . . .
• Junior defensive tackle Jaxon Player has been a steady force all season long for the Hurricane, but in the regular season finale at Navy he was in another zone.
• A 6'0' junior from Waco, Texas, Player led a Tulsa defense that was dominant in a 19-6 road win at Navy.
• The Hurricane defense held the Midshipmen to 6 points, zero touchdowns and only 153 yards of total offense … for most of the 2nd half Tulsa was without All-America linebacker Zaven Collins due to injury.
• Player was the catalyst behind the defensive effort, as he tallied a career-best 12 tackles, including 10 solos, and had a team season-best of 4.5 TFLs for -12 yards and added 2 sacks for -3 yards.
Players Mentioned
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