GAME PREVIEW: TULSA PLAYS AT TEMPLE FRIDAY NIGHT

TULSA TAKES ON TEMPLE OWLS FRIDAY NIGHT AS KEYLON STOKES LOOKS TO BECOME THE SCHOOL'S ALL-TIME RECEIVING LEADER

GAME 7: TULSA (2-4, 0-2 American) vs. TEMPLE (2-4, 0-2 American)
Date/Time:	Friday, Oct. 21, 6:30 pm (CT) / 7:30 pm (ET)
Site:	Philadelphia, Pa.
Stadium:	Lincoln Financial Field (69,596)
Coaches:	TULSA – Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 8th year TEMPLE – Stan Drayton (Allegheny '93), 1st year
TV:	ESPN2
Talent:	Roy Philpott (pxp), Andre Ware (analyst), Paul Carcaterra (sideline)
Tickets:	Click HERE
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM or Online
Talent:	Bruce Howard (pxp), Rick Couri (analyst), Jeremie Poplin (sideline)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Series tied 3-3
Game Notes:	TULSA \| TEMPLE \| AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. –– After a bye week, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane will return to the field for a Friday night game against the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Friday night ESPN2 matchup features two teams looking for a win in American Athletic Conference play. Tulsa has dropped its last three games and Temple is coming off two losses.

A victory is what's at the forefront for the Hurricane but a historical feat is on the brink for a Hurricane star. Receiver Keylon Stokes enters the game needing just 29 yards to break a nearly 60-year record to become the school's all-time receiving leader. Stokes has 3,315 career yards and trails Howard Twilley's (1963-65) 3,343 yards.

As a team, Tulsa hopes to be more balanced against the Owls. The Hurricane has thrown for over 325 yards per game but only manages an average of 109.5 yards. Temple has used the same approach offensively throwing or 205 yards passing, while gaining only 79.7 yards on the ground.

The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on the east coast and 6:30 p.m. in Tulsa on ESPN2.

Let's look at the storylines …

BREAKING THE TIE
Tulsa and Temple will be playing for the seventh time as the series is tied at 3-3 with each team holding a 2-1 edge on their home turf. Tulsa evened the series with a 44-10 home win last year, while the last meeting in Philadelphia resulted in a 31-17 Temple victory in 2018. Tulsa won the first two meetings in 1987 and 1988, with Temple winning the next three (2014, 2017, 2018) after not playing for 26 years.

NO COMMON OPPONENTS
Through six games, the two American Athletic Conference teams have not faced any of the same opponents. Each played four difference non-conference opponents while league games for Temple came at Memphis and UCF. Tulsa's conference games were against Cincinnati and Navy.

28 YARDS AWAY
Only 28 yards separate Keylon Stokes from tying Tulsa All-American and Heisman Trophy runner-up Howard Twilley for the most receiving yards in school history. Stokes enters the Temple game with 3,315 yards while Twilley ended his career in 1965 with a school record of 3,343 yards. On the year, Stokes is statistically one of the nation's best receivers. He has 765 receiving yards for a 129.2-yard average in six games to rank second nationally for yards per game and third for total yards.

THE COACHES
Temple's Stan Drayton is in his first season as head coach for the Temple Owls after 29 years as an assistant coach with stops in professional and college football. His NFL coaching stints were with the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. Drayton has coached collegiately at his alma mater Allegheny, Eastern Michigan, Penn, Villanova, Bowling Green, Mississippi State, Florida, Tennessee, Syracuse and Ohio State before his latest stop was Texas.

Tulsa's Philip Montgomery is in his eighth year guiding the Hurricane program, his first head coaching position. He has led Tulsa to the second-most bowl games in school history with four and the first Tulsa coach to defeat two top-20 teams in the same season and the first coach to have two No. 1 NFL Draft selections, and that came in back-to-back years (2021, 2022).

BLOODLINES
Temple's first-year quarterback EJ Warner is the son of former NFL Super Bowl winning quarterback Kurt Warner. Although only a freshman, all signs point to a fantastic career for the 6'0" signal-caller. Through five games, Warner has led the Owls to two wins while throwing for 1,040 yards and six TDs. His numbers are similar to another former Owl after five games, all-time Temple passing leader PJ Walker, who threw for 891 yards and nine TDs in his first five career games.

For Tulsa, Keylon Stokes' brother, Keevan Lucas, was a top Golden Hurricane receiver as he now ranks fourth on the school's career receiving chart after being surpassed by his younger brother a game ago.

TULSA'S O-LINE WILL BE TESTED
The Hurricane offense will be tested once again from a defense that ranks sixth nationally for tackles for loss with 50 for -197 yards and quarterback sacks with 21 for -128 yards. Temple also ranks among the top-50 for total defense, holding opposing offenses to 356 yards per game. Whereas Tulsa's offense has allowed 38 TFL and 23 sacks on the year. The Hurricane will need to have a balanced attack to help offset Temple's pressure and protect quarterback Davis Brin.

TEMPLE'S OFFENSE vs. TULSA'S DEFENSE
The Temple offense averages 284.5 yards per game with 205 coming through the air and just 79.7 yards on the ground. Tulsa's defense has held its own against opposing passing games to rank sixth national for fewest passing yards allowed at 159.5 per game. A key to the game will be what side of the ball establishes themselves in the run game where Temple gains under 100 yards and Tulsa has allowed 239 yards. The Owls have gained over 100 yards in just two games, while Tulsa given up over 300 yards on the ground in two games, coming against two of the nation's top run teams, Ole Miss and Navy.

TAKEAWAYS COULD PLAY KEY ROLE
In any game, turnovers can be a key factor in the outcome of the game, and often times that comes true. That's no difference this week in which defense can get the upper-hand in takeaways. This year, Temple has turned over the ball 13 times on six interceptions and seven fumbles. Tulsa has had 11 turnovers, seven interceptions and four fumbles lost. Two of those Hurricane turnovers resulted in a fumble recovery and interception returned for TDs, which were key scores in a three-point overtime loss at Wyoming and a 10-point loss to Cincinnati.

Defensively, Temple has had three takeaways through the first six games, while Tulsa's defense has picked off three passes and recovered five fumbles.

UP NEXT FOR TULSA
Tulsa hosts the SMU Mustangs on Homecoming next Saturday at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Game time will be announced by ESPN Sunday.

GAME PREVIEW: TULSA PLAYS AT TEMPLE FRIDAY NIGHT

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Players Mentioned

Davis Brin

Keylon Stokes

GAME PREVIEW: TULSA PLAYS AT TEMPLE FRIDAY NIGHT

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Davis Brin

Keylon Stokes

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