TULSA - OKLAHOMA STATE GAME PREVIEW

Saturday, September 19

Stillwater, Okla.

11:00 am (CT)

Tulsa

#11-Ranked Oklahoma State

Keylon Stokes looks to get away from defenders

Photo by: Brett Rojo

TULSA - OKLAHOMA STATE GAME PREVIEW

9/18/2020 11:00:00 AM | Football

Tulsa Travels Down the Cimarron Turnpike to Face OSU in the Bank of Oklahoma
Turnpike Classic

GAME 1: TULSA (0-0, 0-0 American) vs. OKLAHOMA STATE (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Date/Time:	Saturday, Sept. 19, 11:00 a.m. (CT)
Site:	Stillwater, Oklahoma
Stadium:	Boone Pickens Stadium (55,509)
Coaches:	TULSA – Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 6th year OKLAHOMA STATE – Mike Gundy (OSU '90), 16th year
TV:	ESPN or WatchESPN
Talent:	Sean McDonough (pxp), Todd Blackledge (analyst), Todd McShay (analyst), Kris Budden (sidelines)
Tickets:	Contact OSU Ticket Office
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM or Online
Talent:	Bruce Howard (pxp), Rick Couri (analyst), Jeremie Poplin (sidelines)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Virtual Program:	Game Day Program
Series:	OSU leads 41-27-5
First Meeting:	Oct. 16, 1914 (OSU, 13, Tulsa 6), Stillwater, Okla.
Last Meeting:	Sept. 14, 2019 (OSU 40, Tulsa 21), Tulsa, Okla.
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Oklahoma State (PDF) \| American Athletic Conference (PDF)

The much-anticipated start to the 2020 football season is finally here for Tulsa and Oklahoma State. A week later than scheduled the two teams will kick-off at 11:02 am Saturday morning in what is expected to be a warm and sunny day at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

The game will be televised by ESPN with Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Todd McShay and Kris Budden on the call.

This is the 74th meeting between
turnpike rivals Tulsa and OSU.

This marks the 74^th meeting in the Bank of Oklahoma Turnpike Classic between the state rivals. The series has been relatively tight through the years, but OSU has held dominance in the recent past as the Cowboys are riding a series-high 7-game winning streak and has an overall 41-27-5 series advantage.

The Cowboys enter the 2020 campaign ranked 11^th nationally in the Associated Press poll and come into the season with one of the nation's most explosive offenses and perhaps the most dynamic player in college football. OSU put up 453.9 yards of total offense and scored 32.5 points a year ago.

Running back Chuba Hubbard is a leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy this year after putting up 2,094 yards for a 161.1 game average and 21 touchdowns last season.

Hubbard is not the only weapon returning for the Pokes. His backup LD Brown gained 5.5 yards per carry, while dual threat quarterback Spencer Sanders rushed for 628 yards and completed 63 percent of his passes for 2,065 yards and 16 TDs.

Sanders' top-4 receiving targets return to the lineup as well, led by Tylan Wallace and his 903 yards on 53 receptions. Dillon Stoner, who caught 52 passes for 599 yards, Braydon Johnson with 491 yards on 23 catches and Landon Wolf with 189 yards on 25 receptions all have 'big-play' capabilities.

The Cowboy offensive line is massive, coming in at 6-feet, 5-inches tall and weighing 318 pounds, not to mention the big tight end target, Jelani Woods, who stands 6'7", 275 pounds, adding to that front-line strength.

Tulsa's defense will need to be up to the task of slowing down that potent Pokes attack. Leading the way for the Hurricane is 6'4" junior linebacker Zaven Collins, a second-team all-conference selection last year. Collins leads a defensive unit that lost seven starters to graduation but a total of 11 players have started at least one career game for the Hurricane.

Zaven Collins playing football against Navy — Zaven Collins

Collins, who had 97 tackles, eight TFLs and two pass breakups last year, also leads a linebacking corps that loses two starters – Cooper Edmiston and Diamon Dannon – but returns plenty of experience and depth with a total of seven letterwinners.

Tulsa also lost two starters up front in the likes of Chicago Bears 5^th round draft choice Trevis Gipson and Shemarr Robinson. Upfront for Tulsa in its 3-3-5 defensive scheme this year is returning starter Jaxon Player and multiple game starter Tyarise Stevenson in the middle. The two combined for 52 tackles and eight TFLs a year ago.

Expect to see some young and new faces on the defensive front this season for the Hurricane in the likes of junior Deven Lamp, sophomore Anthony Goodlow and true freshmen Haydon Grant and Everitt Rogers among others.

Despite losing three of its five starters in the secondary, the Hurricane still returns solid experience with good depth. Nickel safety Cristian Williams returns for a 6^th season after returning last year when it was thought his career was over. He totaled 57 tackles, three pass breakups and one interception.

Safeties TieNeal Martin and Kendarin Ray move into starting roles in 2020. Martin missed most of last year with an injury but tallied 28 tackles in 12 games a season earlier. Ray totaled 40 tackles and three fumble recoveries as a red-shirt freshman last year. Tulsa has good size waiting in the wings at safety with a pair of 6'3" players, Lamar Mullins and LJ Wallace.

Tulsa lost another defender to the NFL as cornerback Reggie Robinson II was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 4^th round. However, the Hurricane still returns experience and depth on the corners with Allie Green IV and Akayleb Evans having multiple starts. Tyon Davis, Ryan Nixon and Reggie Ellis will all be in the rotation for Tulsa.

Whereas a year ago, the Tulsa defense returned nearly every starter, this year it's the Hurricane offense. The Hurricane returns 12 players who have started a game in their careers with six of those on the offensive front.

Tulsa's front-line averages 6-feet, 3-inches and 342 pounds and is charged with protecting senior signal-caller Zach Smith and pave the way for a running back corps that returns the second-most career rushing yards for an FBS team this year.

Smith passed for 3,279 yards, 19 TDs with a 131.9 pass efficiency and just nine picks last season. Smith ended the 2019 season with a 331-yard, 5-TD performance at East Carolina. The running game is deep for the Hurricane with seniors Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor II leading the way.

Zach Smith surveys the field — Zach Smith

Brooks and Taylor have combined for 4,190 yards and 45 TDs in their careers, while last year Brooks totaled 1,046 yards and Taylor had 461 and both scored six TDs. The backfield depth does not end there as T.K. Wilkerson had 220 yards a year ago, and freshman redshirt Christian Lovick portrayed glimpses of a bright future in his minimal game experience.

Tulsa also added Texas A&M transfer Deneric Prince and Missouri transfer Anthony Watkins to the running back stable.

Smith will have all but one of his targets returning from last year as the receiving corps is led by senior Keylon Stokes and junior Sam Crawford Jr. Stokes was Tulsa's first 1,000-yard receiver since the 2016 season with 1,040 yards and six TDs, while Crawford had 777 yards and five scores last year.

Josh Johnson with 44 receptions for 295 yards and JC Santana with 233 yards are back as well for the Hurricane. A young, but talented tight end position is led by James Palmer, Ethan Hall, Abe Anderson and newcomer Jacob Kainer.

The OSU defense returns 10 of 11 starters from last year's team that proved to be the best Cowboy defense in several seasons. The only starter lost is cornerback A.J. Green, but he was replaced by graduate transfer from Missouri Christian Holmes.

Linebackers Malcolm Rodriguez and Amen Ogbongbemiga, who both were among the top five tacklers in the Big 12 last season, are the foundation of the OSU defense. Calvin Bundage, an explosive pass rusher, returns to the linebacker corps after missing the 2019 campaign with an injury.

Rodriguez, from Wagoner, Okla., had a team-leading 103 stops a year ago, while Ogbongbemiga followed with 100 tackles and had a team-high 15.5 TFLs and five quarterback sacks.

Two 300-pounders – Israel Antwine and Cameron Murray – anchor the interior of the defensive line, while sophomores Trace Ford and Tyler Lacy turned in solid seasons in 2019 on the outside. Ford had 29 tackles and nine QB hurries, while Lacy added 20 stops.

The secondary is led by safety Kolby Harvell-Peel, who had 18 passes defended, including 13 break-ups and five interceptions, and added 71 tackles last year. Fellow safeties Tre Sterling and Tanner McAlister combined for 101 tackles and eight pass breakups. Rodarius Williams, who had 58 stops and six break-ups, is the returning starter at corner for the Cowboys.