Photo by: David Dermer
TULSA GAME NOTES: TULANE GAME
11/9/2021 7:00:00 AM | Football
TULSA GOES TO THE BAYOU TO FACE TULANE
GAME #10
TULSA (3-6, 2-3 AAC) vs. TULANE (1-8, 0-5 AAC)
Saturday, Nov. 13, 3:00 pm (CT)
Stadium: Yulman Stadium (30,000), New Orleans, La.
TV: ESPNU
Radio: Big Country 99.5 FM
CLICK HERE: GAME NOTES
TULSA 3-6, 2-3 The American
Head Coach: Philip Montgomery
(Tarleton State '95)
7th year at Tulsa
Career Record: 34-46 (7 years)
TU Record: same
TULANE 1-8, 0-5 The American
Head Coach: Willie Fritz
(Pittsburg State '83)
5th year at Tulane
Career Record: 184-110 (25 years)
TLN Record: 30-41 (5 years)
THE STORYLINES . . .
• Tulsa is in its 125th season of Tulsa football.
• Tulsa has the smallest FBS enrollment with 2,929 undergraduate students (based off 2020-21 statistics) … Tulsa's overall enrollment is 3,961 … Tulane's enrollment is 13,581.
• Both teams are looking to snap losing streaks … Tulsa has lost two straight, while Tulane has dropped the last seven contests.
THE SERIES . . .
• This is the 18th meeting between Tulsa and Tulane.
• Tulsa leads the series 12-5 … the Hurricane has a 7-1 mark at home, while the series is tied in New Orleans 4-4.
• Tulane won the first meeting in 1968, then Tulsa went on to win the next eight games.
• The Green Wave has won three of the last four meetings in New Orleans … Tulsa's last in in New Orleans came in 2015 by a score of 45-34.
• Tulsa won last year's meeting at home after Tulane had won three straight games.
TULSA TAKES NO. 2 CINCINNATI TO THE WIRE . . .
• Last week, Tulsa took the nation's second-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats down to the wire in a matchup of last year's American Athletic Conference Championship participants.
• The Bearcats jumped out to the early 14-0 lead … Tulsa dominated the second quarter to make the halftime score 14-12.
• UC scored on its first two second-half possessions for a 28-12 lead.
• At the 8:10 mark of the fourth quarter, Tulsa made the score 28-20 on a 21-yard pass from Brin to JuanCarlos Santana and two-point conversion.
• From there, the Hurricane defense forced a Cincinnati punt and the offense took possession at their own 23-yard line with 5:28 on the clock. Tulsa marched to the UC 6-yard line and a 4th-and-5 pass fell one yard short of the first down.
• However, Tulsa had one more chance as Cincinnati fumbled the snap from their own 2-yard line on the first play with 1:11 to play. Tulsa took over from the UC 3-yard line but on 4th-and-1 the ball was fumbled into the end zone and recovered by the Bearcats to end the game.
QUICK HITS . . .
• Tulsa has five players who have played in 50 career games – Robert Revels III (56), Adam Higuera (54), Tyarise Stevenson (52), Cristian Williams (52), Tiller Bucktrot (51).
• Tulsa has five 200+ rushing games this year, including a 297-yard performance against the nation's No. 9-ranked defense, Cincinnati, last week.
• Tulsa has had five plays for scrimmage of 60 yards or more –– 88, 78, 75, 63 and 61 –– including three that went for touchdowns.
• Anthony Watkins had Tulsa's first special teams score since the 2012 season when he had 97-yard kickoff return against Navy … in 2012, Tulsa had a punt and kickoff return for a TD.
• Davis Brin is the 15th different quarterback in school history to reach 2,000+ passing yards in a single season.
• Shamari Brooks is 95 yards shy of moving into fourth place on the school's career rushing chart … he now has 3,420 career yards and 28 career TDs.
TULSA-TULANE LAST YEAR . . .
• Tulsa had its fourth comeback win of the 2020 season last year in a home game against Tulane.
• Tulsa scored 30 points in the final period and 2 overtimes to claim a 30-24 win over the Tulane Green Wave in a Thursday night at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
• After being shutout through three quarters and trailing, 14-0, Tulsa scored 21 points in the 4th quarter and 9 more in overtime for the win that moved 25th-ranked Tulsa to 5-1 overall and 5-0 in American Athletic Conference play.
• In overtime, each team scored on field goals in the first OT period and then on Tulane's possession in the second overtime, Tulsa All-American Zaven Collins intercepted a 3rd-and-goal pass and went 96 yards for the game-winning score.
• In sending the game to overtime, it took a spectacular 4th quarter offensive performance led by third-string quarterback Davis Brin.
• The sophomore rushed for one touchdown and threw for 2 more in the fourth quarter comeback that put the game into overtime tied at 21.
• Tulane took a 21-14 lead with less than two minutes left in regulation.
• Starting from their own 25-yard line, Tulsa took possession with 1:38 left on the game clock. Brin marched the Hurricane down the field by completing 5-of-8 passes to reach the Tulane 37-yard line with just 0:06 remaining on the clock.
• Brin took the snap on 3rd-and-7, avoided a tackler and launched a 'Hail Mary' pass to the right corner of the end zone to a waiting JuanCarlos Santana, who went up and brought in the 37-yarder for the touchdown and after the PAT a 21-21 tie with no time remaining.
100 . . .
• Tulsa has had three different runners rush for 100+ yards this season for a total of eight 100+ rushing games.
• In addition, three Hurricane receivers have combined for six 100+ receiving games.
• On the ground, Shamari Brooks has four 100-yard rushing games (155 vs. Arkansas State, 126 vs. Memphis, 145 at South Florida and 132 at No. 2 Cincinnati) … Deneric Prince had 151 yards against UC Davis and 110 vs. South Florida … Anthony Watkins had 115 yards against Arkansas State and 105 at No. 6 Cincinnati.
• There have been three games with two Tulsa running backs each totaling over 100 yards – Arkansas State, USF and No. 2 Cincinnati.
• Thru the airways, Josh Johnson has had over 100 yards in three games –– 149 vs. Ohio State, 127 vs. Arkansas State and 140 vs. Memphis.
• Sam Crawford had back-to-back receiving games with 105 vs. Arkansas State and 101 vs. Houston, while JC Santana had his first 100+ receiving game of the season with 109 yards against Navy.
IN THE AMERICAN . . .
• RB Shamari Brooks is ranked fourth in the AAC for rushing (80.0 ypg)
• Sophomore punter Lachlan Wilson is ranked second in the AAC for punting with a 46.5 average, trailing Tulane's Ryan Wright's 47.7 average.
• WR Josh Johnson is fourth in the AAC for receiving yards per game (73.8 ypg) … Johnson is fourth for receptions per game with a 5.78 average.
• SAF TieNeal Martin is ranked fifth in the league for interceptions with 2 (0.25 pg).
• PK Zack Long is ranked second for field goals (12-of-13) for a 1.33 average.
• CB Travon Fuller has team-highs of eight pass breakups and two interceptions to rank fifth in the AAC for passes defended per game with 10 (1.11 pg)
• QB Davis Brin is third in the league for average passing yards per game (250.5) … Brin is also ranked fifth for total offense (253.5).
BROOKS SURPASSES 3,000 YARDS; NEARING NO. 4 . . .
• Running back Shamari Brooks, who missed the 2020 season with an ACL injury, became just the fifth player in school history to surpass 3,000 career rushing yards …
• He reached the 3,000-yard mark on his third carry against Memphis (10/9) and now has totaled 3,420 yards on 719 career attempts in 41 career games.
• Brooks is now 95 yards shy of moving into a 4th place tie with Trey Watts (2010-13 –– 3,515 yards) on the school's all-time rushing chart.
• The senior from Tulsa's Union High School came into the 2021 season ranked 5th on the school's career rushing list with 2,700 yards.
• Brooks had his 16th career 100+ rushing game with 132 yards on 25 carries at Cincinnati. … he also added 145 yards on 23 carries at South Florida, 126 yards on 26 carries against Memphis and 155 yards on 22 carries against Arkansas State.
• He has scored five rushing TDs this season to give him 28 career touchdowns … he is now in 5th place on the school's career list for rushing TDs.
WATKINS BUSTS OUT . . .
• Tulsa runners have 12 runs for 20+ yards this season, while Anthony Watkins has four of those, including the two longest runs from scrimmage.
• Watkins had a 75-yard TD run against Arkansas State and a 78-yard run against Navy.
• He also added the longest kickoff return since 2012 when he took a kickoff against Navy back 97 yards for a touchdown.
• On the year, Watkins averages 8.4 yards on 55 rushing attempts and a 24.4 return average on seven kickoff returns.
• He is second on the team in rushing with 463 yards and has two 100+ rushing games.
THE WRIGHT CHOICE . . .
• Junior linebacker Justin Wright ranks third on the team in tackles with 51, despite missing the season opener.
* Over the last 4 games, Wright has totaled 35 tackles, 4.5 TFL for -17 yards, 3.5 sacks for -16 yards, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one QB hurry.
• In a 32-31 win at South Florida, Wright had a team-high 7 tackles, 2.5 TFL for -9 yards and one QB hurry … he was named the AAC's Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.
• Against Memphis, Wright had a career-high 14 tackles, while adding two TFL for eight yards, one sack for -7 yards and one forced fumble.
• Wright has been in the starting lineup since last year for 18 games and has tallied 113 tackles in those starts … he has also totaled 13.5 TFL for -40 yards in those 18 starts.
• Earlier this year, Wright had his first career interception, a 55-yard TD return against Oklahoma State.
DAVIS LEADING THE WAY
• Senior cornerback Tyon Davis has taken over the team lead for tackles with a total of 59 stops, including 46 solos.
• He had a career-high 11 tackles twice this year – Arkansas State and Memphis … Davis had nine solos and two assists vs. ASU and 10 solos and one assist vs. Memphis.
• He also has seven pass breakups, which ranks second on the team … Davis had a career-high three PBUs against South Florida.
FULLER, THE DEFENDER . . .
• Texas A&M transfer Travon Fuller is in his first season at Tulsa and has started all nine games at cornerback.
• Thru nine games, Fuller has 27 tackles, including 16 solos, and team-highs of eight pass breakups and two interceptions.
• He ranks fifth in the AAC for passes defended with 10.
• Against Memphis, Fuller had a 44-yard interception return and four pass breakups, while adding four tackles.
JAXON'S A PLAYER . . .
• Senior defensive tackle Jaxon Player has been a solid force for the Tulsa defense since his true freshman season of 2018.
• Player has totaled 115 career tackles, 24 TFL for -57 yards, 4.5 sacks for -15 yards, two fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and one PBU in 37 career games.
• He has totaled 32 tackles, 7 TFL for -18 yards, 1.5 sacks for -9 sacks, five QB hurries, one PBU, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery this season.
• Against South Florida with the Bulls leading 31-26 and 3rd-and-1 from their own 42-yard line he and teammate Treyvon Reeves shut down Jaren Mangham for no gain … on the next play, 4th-and-1 from the same spot, Player made the stop on Mangham again for no gain … Tulsa took possession at the USF 42 and scored the game-winning TD in a nine-play drive.
• Player was a first-team all-AAC performer last year.
• He was named to the watch lists for the 2021 Chuck Bednarik Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, going to college football's top defender.
Players Mentioned
Quarterback
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Running Back
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Offensive Line
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Linebacker
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Cornerback
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Cornerback
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Deep Snapper
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Wide Receiver
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Place-Kicker
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Safety
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Defensive Line
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Running Back
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Linebacker
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Linebacker
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Wide Receiver
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Defensive Line
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Running Back
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Safety
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Punter
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Linebacker
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