GAME PREVIEW: TULSA FACES OSU IN STILLWATER

Saturday, September 11

Stillwater, Okla.

11:00 am

Tulsa

Oklahoma State

Photo by: Brett Rojo

GAME PREVIEW: TULSA FACES OSU IN STILLWATER

9/10/2021 4:37:00 PM | Football

Hurricane, Cowboys Clash in Bank of Oklahoma Turnpike Classic

Tulsa-OSU Face-Off in Bank of Oklahoma Turnpike Classic

GAME 2: TULSA (0-1, 0-0 American) vs. OKLAHOMA STATE (1-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Date/Time:	Saturday, Sept. 11, 11:00 a.m. (CT)
Site:	Stillwater, Oklahoma
Stadium:	Boone Pickens Stadium (55,509)
Coaches:	TULSA – Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 7th year OKLAHOMA STATE – Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State '90), 17th year
TV:	FS1
Talent:	Cory Provus (pxp), Devin Gardner (analyst)
Tickets:	Contact OSU Ticket Office
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM or Online
Talent:	Bruce Howard (pxp), Rick Couri (analyst), Jeremie Poplin (sideline)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	OSU leads 42-27-5
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Oklahoma State (PDF) \| American Athletic Conference (PDF)

STILLWATER, Okla. –– For the second consecutive season the Tulsa Golden Hurricane travel the Cimarron Turnpike for the 2021 version of the Bank of Oklahoma Turnpike Classic against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Only 72.6 miles separate the two campuses as this marks the 75^th meeting in the series.

The No. 11-ranked Cowboys pulled out a 16-7 win at Boone Pickens Stadium in the delayed season opener for both schools a year ago.

This season, Tulsa comes into the contest after a disappointing performance in the season opener while the Cowboys pulled out a seven-point nail-biter.

The game kicks off at 11 a.m. in Stillwater.

OSU will have its leader back on offense this week as quarterback Spencer Sanders returns after sitting out last Saturday under Covid protocols. Sanders is coming off a season that saw him complete 62.8-percent of his passes for 2,007 yards and 14 TDs, while rushing for 269 yards and 21 TDs.

A trio of redshirt seniors – LD Brown, Jaylen Warren and Dezmon Jackson – will share the running duties. Brown averaged 6.8 yards per carry for 61 yards in last year's meeting against the Hurricane.

Tay Martin leads a talented receiving corps as the senior grabbed six catches for 107 yards and one touchdown in the season opener. Brennan Presley, Bryson Green and Braydon Johnson all have big-play ability.

All-Big 12 selection Josh Sills anchors a rather young offensive front for the Cowboys at the left guard position as the Pokes line measures in at 6'5", 308 pounds.

Trying to control the Cowboys offense will be a Tulsa defense that ranked among the FBS' top defensive units a year ago as well as the second-ranked defense in the American Athletic Conference. Tulsa's defense returned eight starters to a group that allowed just 333.6 yards per game to rank 19^th nationally a year ago

The defensive front features a solid two-deep led by tackle Jaxon Player, nose guard Tyarise Stevenson and end Cullen Wick in the starting rotation of Tulsa's 3-3-5 scheme. Anthony Goodlow, Everitt Rogers Deven Lamp and transfer Elijah Taylor will all see considerable playing time up front as well.

Tulsa's linebacking corps, although losing the nation's 2020 Defensive Player of the Year in Zaven Collins, has a bevy of talent on the field. Last week's starters included graduate transfer Jon-Michael Terry, 5^th year senior Robert Revels III and Yohance Burnett, returning from a ACL injury that sidelined him last year.

Terry had nine stops, Burnettt eight and Revels tallied six tackles in the opener.

Justin Wright, who missed last week, was Tulsa's second-leading tackler a season ago with 62 stops. He and fellow 2020 starter Treyvon Reeves, also missing last week's game, is joined by returnees Grant Sawyer, Dorian Hopkins and Mitchell Kulkin to round out the linebacker corps.

The secondary is led by safeties Kendarin Ray, Cristian Williams and TieNeal Martin. The 6'4" Ray, who was Tulsa's leading tackler year ago with 63 stops, had a game-high 14 tackles in the season opener. Williams, who is back for his seventh season after collecting 48 tackles last year, totaled three stops a week ago, while Martin missed the contest.

The corner slots are manned by senior Tyon Davis and graduate transfer Travon Fuller and are spelled by three quality guys in the likes of Tyree Carlisle, Reggie Ellis and Kenney Solomon. Fuller compiled three solo tackles and two pass break-ups in his Tulsa debut, while Davis totaled seven stops in just his second career start.

OSU's defense is stout. It's a big, physical, fast and veteran group that allowed only 16 points and 98 rushing yards in the season opener.

Up front, the Cowboys are led by three seniors and one junior. Brock Martin and Tyler Lacy are on the outside, while the interior is manned by 295-pounder Brendon Evers and 300-pounder Israel Antwine.

Malcolm Rodriguez is one of the nation's top linebackers. He is ranked No. 8 among all active FBS players with 294 career tackles, while fellow backer Devin Harper tallied nine tackles and 2.5 TFL last week. Rodrigues had 17 tackles in the opener to go along with two forced fumbles.

The Cowboys also lineup with five defensive backs and are led by safeties Tre Sterling and Kolby Harvell-Peel, two all-Big 12 selections a year ago. Jarrick Bernard-Converse and Christian Holmes bring good size and experience to the corner slots.

The Hurricane offense will have to cut down on its three turnovers and 12 penalties from a week ago to have any success against the Cowboy defense.

Davis Brin, who is in his first season as the starting quarterback, will need to be sharp for the Hurricane offense. He completed 15-of-28 passes for 201 yards last week but threw two interceptions.

The junior showed of his ability last year when he came off the bench and led the Hurricane back from a 14-point deficit to a 30-24 double overtime victory over Tulane. Brin's "Hail Mary" pass to JC Santana as time expired tied the score at 21 following the PAT. He ended the game by completing 18-of-28 passes for 266 yards and two TDs, while rushing for an 18-yard touchdown.

Tulsa running backs Deneric Prince and Shamari Brooks opened the 2021 season in a big way as the duo combined for 231 of Tulsa's 247 rushing yards. Prince had his second career 100-yard game with 151 yards and a 59-yard touchdown scamper. Brooks, who missed the 2020 season with an ACL injury, rushed for 80 yards on 10 carries against UC Davis a week ago. He ranks fifth in school history for rushing with 2,780 career yards and 12^th for rushing TDs with 23.

The backs will be running behind a veteran offensive front that has nine players who have started games and all five starters earned all-conference accolades a year ago, including first-teamer Tyler Smith, second-team Chris Paul and honorable mention selections Dylan Couch, Gerard Wheeler and Dante Bivens.

Sophomores X'Zauvea Gadlin and Bryce Bray, who both started last week, give the Hurricane solid depth on the offensive line. Tulsa tight ends Ethan Hall and James Palmer are also instrumental in Tulsa's run game.

Brin's receiving targets include four players who each caught passes that totaled more than 350 yards a year ago. Keylon Stokes had 644 yards on 46 receptions, Josh Johnson had 38 catches for 499 yards, JC Santana 34 catches for 544 yards and Sam Crawford Jr. hauled in 28 passes for 374 yards.

In the opener, Stokes caught four passes for 95 yards to lead the Hurricane.

Tulsa has experience returning in both the kicking and punting games. Senior Zack Long handled placements in the opener and pushed through a 41-yard field goal, while sophomore took over kickoffs in the first game and had two touchbacks on his four kicks. Sophomore Lachlan Wilson averaged 42.8 yards on five punts and placed four inside the 20-yard line.

Long snapper Adam Higuera starts his fifth season for the Hurricane, while Cannon Montgomery handles the holding duties for the fourth year.

The game will be aired on FS1 with Cory Provus and Devin Gardner calling the action.