GAME PREVIEW: #22 TULSA - NAVY

Saturday, December 5

Annapolis, Md.

2:30 PM (CT)

Tulsa

Navy

Photo by: Brett Rojo

GAME PREVIEW: #22 TULSA - NAVY

12/5/2020 6:00:00 AM | Football

KEY AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MATCH-UP PITS TULSA AGAINST NAVY IN ANNAPOLIS

GAME 7: TULSA (5-1, 5-0 AAC) vs. NAVY (3-5, 3-3 AAC)
Date/Time:	Saturday, December 5, 2:30 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Annapolis, Md.
Stadium:	Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000)
Coaches:	TULSA – Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 6th year NAVY – Ken Niumatalolo (Hawaii '89), 13th year
TV:	ESPN or WatchESPN
Talent:	Anish Shroff (pxp), Tom Luginbill (analyst), Alex Chappell (sideline)
Tickets:	Not Available
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM or Online
Talent:	Bruce Howard (pxp), Rick Couri (analyst)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Virtual Program:	Game Day Program
Series:	Navy leads 6-1
First Meeting:	Sept. 18, 2004 (Navy 29, Tulsa 0), Tulsa, Okla.
Last Meeting:	Oct. 12, 2019 (Navy 45, Tulsa 17), Tulsa, Okla.
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Navy (PDF) \| American Athletic Conference (PDF)

Tulsa comes into Saturday afternoon's road contest with a lot on the line as a victory on Navy's Senior Day clinches a spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game for the Golden Hurricane.

The Navy-Tulsa game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. (CT) from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.

The Hurricane, ranked 22^nd in this week's Associated Press and USA Today Amway Coaches polls, bring in an overall 5-1 record and a 5-0 mark in AAC play, while the idle Cincinnati Bearcats, Tulsa's opponent next week, is one-up in the win column with a 6-0 AAC mark.
Tulsa runout

Tulsa has not had the best of success against Navy as the Midshipmen hold a 6-1 series lead. The lone Tulsa win in the series came in Annapolis with a 24-23 overtime victory in the 2006 season.

The Navy offense causes fits for most opposing teams and has been a thorn in Tulsa's side in previous seasons. Although not as potent as it has been in recent history, the Midshipmen still grind it out in taking time off the clock while adding more of a passing game dimension to the offense this year.

Navy averages 192.8 yards on the ground with 15 rushing touchdowns and has 117.2 yards passing with 6 TDs.

Tulsa could see 3 different quarterbacks at the helm of the Navy offense, but the odds-on favorite to start the game is junior Tiger Goslin, who has passed for 333 yards and run for another 31 yards. Senior Dalen Morris has seen the most playing time in 7 games and has passed for 570 yards, while freshman Xavier Airline, who has played in 3 games, may be the future star to continue the legacy of great Navy quarterbacks.

Senior fullback Nelson Smith leads the ground attack with 589 yards and a 5.6 average per carry with 8 TDs, while fellow fullback Jamale Carothers has gained 347 yards and 2 touchdowns. Slotbacks Myles Fells and CJ Williams average 6.5 and 6.7 yards per carry for the Midshipmen.

Navy's offense line that paves the way for the run game is a veteran group with three seniors leading the way, including guards Billy Honaker and Peter Nestrowitz who have combined for 45 career starts.

The Navy passing game has had 52 completions for an impressive 18.0 yard per catch average, while receivers Mychal Cooper with 199 yards, Ryan Mitchell with 156 and Mark Walker with 137 yards lead the way. The slotback Fells and fullback Carothers have also been involved in the passing game to give Navy a total of 5 players grabbing passes for over 100 yards.

The Hurricane defense is second in the American Athletic Conference for total defense allowing 359.7 yards per game and scoring by holding opponents to 22.2 points per game. Tulsa ranks third in the league against the pass (209.5) and fourth against the run (150.2) this season.

Tulsa's four-time AAC defensive player of the week and candidate for National Defensive Player of the Year, linebacker Zaven Collins, leads the Tulsa defense.

In Tulsa's last two outings, the 6'4" junior stopped potential game-winning drives with interceptions. Against #19-ranked SMU, Collins had an interception with less than 1:30 on the clock to seal the game, and in Tulsa's last contest he took a pick-off 96 yards in the 2^nd overtime for the game-winning touchdown over Tulane.

Collins has totaled 48 tackles, 10 TFLs for -45 yards, 4 sacks for -25 yards, 4 interceptions for 152 return yards, 2 pass breakups, one forced fumble and one safety on the year.

Collins is not the only linebacker making an impact on the defensive side of the ball for the Hurricane. Fellow starters Justin Wright and Treyvon Reeves have combined for 66 tackles, 7.5 TFLs and 2 pass breakups. Grant Sawyer, Robert Revels III and Dorian Hopkins have also seen consistent playing time at linebacker.

Zaven Collins stares down the QB — Zaven Collins

Upfront for Tulsa in its 3-3-5 defensive scheme are two players with multiple starting assignments –– junior Jaxon Player and senior Tyarise Stevenson. The duo has been solid upfront this season but will have their hands full this week with Navy's option attack. The tandem has combined for 29 tackles and 5.5 TFLs for -15 yards.

Anthony Goodlow has started the last four games, while fellow end Cullen Wick returned to the lineup against SMU after missing two games with an injury. Goodlow has 25 tackles, 4.5 TFLs for -18 yards and 3 sacks for -16 yards, while gaining a ton of experience in Wick's absence. True freshmen Everitt Rogers at nose tackle and Haydon Grant at end as well as redshirt freshmen RaQuan Thompson and Cooper Laake are young players that have filled in on the front line.

The secondary, led by corners Allie Green IV and Akayleb Evans, have been up to the challenge each week, showcasing why they're considered one of the top pair of corners in the AAC. They will have to help contain the Navy run game this week, while preventing a sneaky passing game that has seen the Midshipmen total 117.2 yards and score 6 TDs this year.

Navy's scoring tosses have gone for 73, 62, 60, 32, 14 and 5 yards, so Tulsa defenders will have to be aware of the quick strike.

Green and Evans are big, tall corners that possess good speed and skills to handle opposing receivers. The duo has combined for 36 tackles, while Green had his first career interception earlier this season. The pair has multiple starts over the last 4 years for the Hurricane, while Tyon Davis and Ryan Nixon have done more than an admirable job filling in for the two starters.

The safety position has also been solid for the Hurricane in 2020. Strong safety Kendarin Ray has 46 tackles and 5 pass breakups, while senior TieNeal Martin, who missed 2 games, has totaled 19 tackles and a team-high 6 breakups in just 4 games from his free safety spot. Lamar Mullins and Jaise Oliver provide solid production in backup roles.

Allie Green and Cristian Williamas — Cristian Williams and Allie Green IV

The nickel safety position is manned by Cristian Williams, Bryson Powers and Daiquain Jackson. The starter, Williams, has 27 total tackles, while Powers and Jackson have combined for 20 tackles.

Offensively, it's been well documented that the Hurricane has not come out of the gate very strong in starting games. Tulsa will need to get off to a fast start against a Navy team that doesn't give opposing offenses many opportunities to touch the ball with their style of offense.

Tulsa has scored just 10 offensive points in the first quarter but has totaled 96 points in the middle two periods. On the year, Tulsa averages 29.2 points and 430.3 yards per game, while putting up 265 yards through the air and 164.7 rushing yards.

Senior quarterback Zach Smith will return to the lineup after missing all but the first quarter of the Tulane game when he was knocked out with an injury.

In his absence, Davis Brin, spelled Seth Boomer who also left the contest with an injury, and ended the game leading Tulsa back from a 14-point deficit in the 4^th quarter. Brin, seeing the most playing time of his career, completed 18-of-28 passes for 266 yads and 2 TDs, including a 'Hail Mary' pass to tie the game at the end of regulation.

On the year, Smith has completed 60.5-percent of his passes for 1,266 yards, an average of 211.0 yards per game and 10 TDs.

The Hurricane front-line, averaging 6-feet, 3-inches and 323 pounds and led by tackles Chris Paul on the right side and Tyler Smith on the left, is charged with protecting Smith and paving the way for the Hurricane run game.

Ever since the school's 5^th-leading rusher Shamari Brooks went down with a season-ending knee injury prior to the opener, Tulsa's run game has been by committee.

Tulsa has a trio of running backs that have shared the load for the Hurricane this season. Senior Corey Taylor II is coming off of a 132-yard performance on 19 carries in Tulsa's last outing against Tulane. He has totaled 260 yards, a 5.9 average and 2 touchdowns in limited time due to injury this season. In his career, Taylor has 1,750 yards and is ranked 10^th in school history for rushing TDs with 24.

Corey Taylor runs at UCF — Corey Taylor II

Texas A&M transfer Deneric Prince leads the way for the Hurricane runners with 356 yards, a 5.0 average and 2 TDs in 6 games, while power back T.K. Wilkerson has gained 300 yards and 4 TDs in 5 games.

Freshman redshirt Christian Lovick and Missouri transfer Anthony Watkins have been waiting in the wings and are ready for their opportunity at the running back slot.

A quartet of Tulsa receivers has been the main targets for Tulsa quarterbacks this year, led by senior Keylon Stokes with 446 yards and two TDs on 31 receptions, followed by junior Josh Johnson with 408 yards and a team-best 5 TDs on a team-high 32 catches. Fellow juniors Sam Crawford Jr. and JC Santana have combined for 602 yards and 4 TDs on 43 receptions. Santana had his first career 100-yard game with 138 yards and the game-tying 'Hail Mary' touchdown catch in Tulsa's last outing.

A young, but talented tight end position is led by James Palmer, Ethan Hall and Abe Anderson.

Like Tulsa, Navy's defensive unit is one of the tops in The American, ranking 4^th in total defense giving up 424.6 yards per game. Navy is stingy in the passing game only allowing an AAC second-best 201.5 yards a game and 10 TDs.

The Midshipmen are led defensively by one of the AAC's top linebackers Diego Fagot. The junior has team-highs of 61 tackles, 9 TFLs and 3 sacks in 7 games, while fellow linebackers John Marshall and Tama Tuitele, both sophomores, have been active as well from the linebacking corps.

Marshall had 45 stops and 4.5 TFLs, while recovering one fumble, intercepting one pass and breaking up 3 passes. Tuitele has totaled 44 tackles and has forced a team-high 3 fumbles.

Safety Kevin Brennan is one of three secondary defenders with 5 pass breakups and is also second on the team with 56 tackles. Corners Michael McMorris and Cameron Kinley are the other two with 5 pass breakups, while combining for 59 tackles.

The front 3 for the Midshipmen is young in the middle with freshman nose guard Donald Berniard Jr., but has experience at end with seniors Jackson Perkins and Tobe Okafor. Perkins leads the way with 21 tackles, while Okafor has 11 stops.

The game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2 with Anish Shroff, Tom Luginbill and Alex Chappell on the call.