Saturday, November 26
Houston, TX
6:30 PM
Tulsa
at
Houston
Photo by: BRETT ROJO, For the University o
GAME PREVIEW: TULSA CLOSES OUT SEASON AT HOUSTON
11/25/2022 7:00:00 AM | Football
HURRICANE – COUGARS CLASH FOR 46th TIME
TULSA, Okla. –– Tulsa closes out the regular season on Saturday night at TDECU Stadium against the Houston Cougars.
The game kicks off at 6:35 p.m. (CT) and will air on ESPNU.
Tulsa (4-7, 2-5 AAC) comes into the game following a 48-42 home victory over the South Florida Bulls last Friday night, while Houston (7-4, 5-2 AAC) is coming off a 42-3 win over East Carolina on Saturday.
The Cougars head into Saturday's match-up still with an opportunity to play in the American Athletic Conference's Championship game with a victory. The winner of Friday's Tulane-Cincinnati game will host next Saturday's championship game, while the losing team of that game, UCF and Houston will be the opponent.
Tulsa looks to end the regular season on a high note for the fifth straight season, as the Hurricane has closed out its regular season with wins in each of the past four seasons.
Let's look at the storylines …
LAST MEETING???
Among all American Athletic Conference teams, Tulsa and Houston have faced each other for the most meetings in their histories. The two teams will be meeting for the 46th time this Saturday, but it may be the last for some time as Houston will be moving to the Big 12 next season. The Cougars hold a 26-19 edge in the series, including a 15-9 home record.
THE COACHES
Houston's Dana Holgorsen has led the Cougars to two winning seasons after starting his Houston career with two losing campaigns. He has a 25-18 record with the Cougars and an overall 12-year head coaching record of 87-60. Holgorsen led the Cougars to a 12-2 record last season. Before coming to Houston, he spent eight years as the head coach at West Virginia, leading the Mountaineers to seven winning seasons.
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).
TWO OF THE NATION'S BEST RECEIVERS
Two of the nation's top receivers – Tulsa's Keylon Stokes and Houston's Nathaniel Dell – are ranked among the top-4 pass catchers in the league. Dell, one of the nation's fastest receivers, has caught 94 passes for 1,193 yards and 14 TDs as a junior. Stokes has hauled in 69 passes for 1,177 yards and seven TDs for a 107.0-yard average per catch and 17.1 average per catch Dell is second in FBS for both yards and yards per game, while Stokes ranks fourth in each category.
WHO WILL BE BEHIND CENTER?
We know that Houston senior Clayton Tune will be behind center for the Cougars, but there's still a question at quarterback for the Hurricane due to injury. Redshirt freshman Braylon Braxton received his second career start last week for Davis Brin. Since an injury in the fourth game of the season at Ole Miss, Brin has missed playing time six of the last seven games and of the last three games has missed two of them entirely. Braxton had a solid performance last week against South Florida, throwing for 302 yards and one touchdown on 20-of-27 passes and also rushed for two TDs. On the year, Tune has completed 290-of-422 passes for 3,459 yards and 35 touchdowns and had run for another 456 yards and five TDs.
RUN GAME NEEDS TO CONTINUE STRONG PERFORMANCE AT HOUSTON
When the Hurricane rushing attack has been in high gear, running for more than 200 yards, normally the Tulsa offense has had success. Tulsa ran for 271 yards on 46 carries last week or a 5.9 per rush average. The Hurricane also had 200+ performances in a 27-16 win over Temple with 299 yards and tallied 262 yards in an eight-point loss at #13-ranked Ole Miss. But, it won't be easy against a Cougar defense that allows its opponents only 147 yards on the ground. The Cougars are led up front by 290 nose guard Chidozie Nwankwo, while ends Nelson Ceaser and D'Anthony Jones have combined for 20.4 TFL for -83 yards.
DEFENSE FACES STIFF TEST AGAINST COUGARS' OFFENSE
The Tulsa defense will need to be at its best against a Houston offense that gains 459 yards per game and is one of the nation's top passing offenses. The Cougars have completed a league-best 68.7 percent of its passes for 315 yards and 35 TDs. The Hurricane pass defense had held the opposition to 190 yards passing per game with 19 touchdowns.
| GAME 12: TULSA (4-7, 2-5 American) vs. HOUSTON (7-4, 5-2 American) | |
|---|---|
| Date/Time: | Saturday, Nov. 26, 6:35 p.m. (CT) |
| Site: | Houston, Texas |
| Stadium: | TDECU Stadium (40,000) |
| Coaches: | TULSA – Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 8th year HOUSTON – Dana Holgorsen (Iowa Wesleyan '93), 4th year |
| TV: | ESPNU |
| Talent: | Beth Mowins (pxp), Kirk Morrison (analyst), Stormy Buonantony (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: | Houston leads 26-19 |
| Game Notes: | Tulsa | Houston | American Athletic Conference |
TULSA, Okla. –– Tulsa closes out the regular season on Saturday night at TDECU Stadium against the Houston Cougars.
The game kicks off at 6:35 p.m. (CT) and will air on ESPNU.
Tulsa (4-7, 2-5 AAC) comes into the game following a 48-42 home victory over the South Florida Bulls last Friday night, while Houston (7-4, 5-2 AAC) is coming off a 42-3 win over East Carolina on Saturday.
The Cougars head into Saturday's match-up still with an opportunity to play in the American Athletic Conference's Championship game with a victory. The winner of Friday's Tulane-Cincinnati game will host next Saturday's championship game, while the losing team of that game, UCF and Houston will be the opponent.
Tulsa looks to end the regular season on a high note for the fifth straight season, as the Hurricane has closed out its regular season with wins in each of the past four seasons.
Let's look at the storylines …
LAST MEETING???
Among all American Athletic Conference teams, Tulsa and Houston have faced each other for the most meetings in their histories. The two teams will be meeting for the 46th time this Saturday, but it may be the last for some time as Houston will be moving to the Big 12 next season. The Cougars hold a 26-19 edge in the series, including a 15-9 home record.
THE COACHES
Houston's Dana Holgorsen has led the Cougars to two winning seasons after starting his Houston career with two losing campaigns. He has a 25-18 record with the Cougars and an overall 12-year head coaching record of 87-60. Holgorsen led the Cougars to a 12-2 record last season. Before coming to Houston, he spent eight years as the head coach at West Virginia, leading the Mountaineers to seven winning seasons.
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).
TWO OF THE NATION'S BEST RECEIVERS
Two of the nation's top receivers – Tulsa's Keylon Stokes and Houston's Nathaniel Dell – are ranked among the top-4 pass catchers in the league. Dell, one of the nation's fastest receivers, has caught 94 passes for 1,193 yards and 14 TDs as a junior. Stokes has hauled in 69 passes for 1,177 yards and seven TDs for a 107.0-yard average per catch and 17.1 average per catch Dell is second in FBS for both yards and yards per game, while Stokes ranks fourth in each category.
WHO WILL BE BEHIND CENTER?
We know that Houston senior Clayton Tune will be behind center for the Cougars, but there's still a question at quarterback for the Hurricane due to injury. Redshirt freshman Braylon Braxton received his second career start last week for Davis Brin. Since an injury in the fourth game of the season at Ole Miss, Brin has missed playing time six of the last seven games and of the last three games has missed two of them entirely. Braxton had a solid performance last week against South Florida, throwing for 302 yards and one touchdown on 20-of-27 passes and also rushed for two TDs. On the year, Tune has completed 290-of-422 passes for 3,459 yards and 35 touchdowns and had run for another 456 yards and five TDs.
RUN GAME NEEDS TO CONTINUE STRONG PERFORMANCE AT HOUSTON
When the Hurricane rushing attack has been in high gear, running for more than 200 yards, normally the Tulsa offense has had success. Tulsa ran for 271 yards on 46 carries last week or a 5.9 per rush average. The Hurricane also had 200+ performances in a 27-16 win over Temple with 299 yards and tallied 262 yards in an eight-point loss at #13-ranked Ole Miss. But, it won't be easy against a Cougar defense that allows its opponents only 147 yards on the ground. The Cougars are led up front by 290 nose guard Chidozie Nwankwo, while ends Nelson Ceaser and D'Anthony Jones have combined for 20.4 TFL for -83 yards.
DEFENSE FACES STIFF TEST AGAINST COUGARS' OFFENSE
The Tulsa defense will need to be at its best against a Houston offense that gains 459 yards per game and is one of the nation's top passing offenses. The Cougars have completed a league-best 68.7 percent of its passes for 315 yards and 35 TDs. The Hurricane pass defense had held the opposition to 190 yards passing per game with 19 touchdowns.
Players Mentioned
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Wide Receiver
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