GAME NOTES: THE OLE MISS GAME

GAME #3
TULSA (2-1, 0-0 AAC) vs. OLE MISS (3-0, 0-0 SEC)
Saturday, Sept. 24, 3 pm (CT)
Stadium: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (64,038), Oxford, Miss.
TV: SEC Network
Radio: Big Country 99.5 FM

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TULSA 2-1, 0-0 The American
Head Coach: Philip Montgomery
                                (Tarleton State '95)
                                8th year at Tulsa
Career Record: 40-47 (7 years)
TU Record: same

OLE MISS 3-0, 0-0 SEC
Head Coach: Lane Kiffin
                                (Fresno State '98)
                                3^rd year at Ole Miss
Career Record: 79-42 (11 years)
UM Record: 18-8 (3 years)

THE STORYLINES . . .
•   Tulsa is in its 126th season of football in 2022.
•   Tulsa has the smallest FBS enrollment with a total enrollment of 3,705 students … Mississippi's enrollment is 21,676 students.
•    Both teams average 43.0 points per game through its first three contests.
•   Ole Miss averages nearly 500 yards per game at 496.7, while Tulsa has put up an average of 523.7 yards through its first three games.
•    Both teams have been solid in the red zone offensively as both have converted 16-of-17 for 94.1% … Ole Miss has scored TDs on its 16 makes, while Tulsa has scored 12 TDs and 4 FGs.

THE SERIES . . .
•   This is the fourth meeting between Tulsa and Ole Miss, but the first game in Oxford.
•   The two teams have not met on the football field in 58 years with the last meeting coming in the 1964 Bluebonnet Bowl.
•   Tulsa leads the overall series 3-0.
•   The first meeting came in the 1932 season finale with Tulsa capturing a 26-0 home win.
•   The next game came in Tulsa's Orange Bowl season of 1944 when the Hurricane posted a 47-0 victory in the fourth game of the year in Memphis, Tenn.
•   In the last meeting between the two schools, Tulsa claimed a 14-7 victory in the 1964 Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston, Texas.

BRIN 1, STOKES 3 IN FBS . . .
•   After three weeks, QB Davis Brin has thrown for an average of 402.0 yards to rank as the national leader for FBS passing yards per game.
•   Brin also ranks No. 1 nationally for passing yards with 1,206 yards, touchdown passes with 11 and total offense with an average of 397.0 yards per game.
•   Brin threw for a career-best 460 yards in opening weekend action at Wyoming, had 322 yards a week later and last week threw for 424 yards vs. Jacksonville State.
•   Tulsa WR Keylon Stokes has put up three straight 100-yard receiving games for a total of 457 yards in the first three games.
•   Stokes' 457 receiving yards and 152.3-yard average per game rank third nationally in both categories.

THE LAST TIME –– TULSA, OLE MISS IN 1964 . . .
•   The last time these two teams met were in the 1964 Bluebonnet Bowl. in Houston, Texas, on Dec. 19, 1964.
•   Ole Miss took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard Jim Weatherley run in the second quarter … Tulsa QB Jerry Rhome answered on 4th-and-1 with a touchdown with 6:15 remaining in the first half on a drive that covered 72 yards.
•   In the 3rd quarter, Rhome hit Eddie Fletcher on a 35-yard TD pass.
•    Rhome finished the game 22-of-36 for 252 yards and added 29 rushing yards and was named the most outstanding back.
•   Tulsa defensive lineman Willie Townes was named the game's most outstanding lineman.

FIRST & TEN . . .
•   Tulsa came into the season with 16 letterwinners and four starters on offense, while the defensive unit returned 21 lettermen and six starters.
•    A total of 13 players have made their first career starts this season in Tulsa's first three games … 10 players saw their first start in a Tulsa uniform in the season opener at Wyoming, including seven on offense and three on defense … three players made their first starts against NIU.
•   Tulsa has had a different starting offensive line in its first 3 games this season.
•   Tulsa has scored over 35 points in each of its first three games … the last time Tulsa tallied more than 35 points in its first three games of the season came in 2015 when the Hurricane scored 47, 40 and 38 points in its first three games under Philip Montgomery.
•   The Hurricane compiled over 600 yards total offense for the 11th time in the Montgomery era with 621 vs. Jacksonville State.
•   Tulsa is now 22-5 when scoring over 40 points in the Montgomery era.
*   The Hurricane held a 40-3 halftime lead against Jacksonville State last week, which was the most first-half points since scoring 48 points vs. North Carolina A&T in 2016… the 54 points is the most points scored since Sept. 9, 2017 against Louisiana.

AGAINST THE SEC . . .
•   In its history, Tulsa has played 10 of the current SEC members … the only SEC teams Tulsa has not faced on the gridiron is Auburn, Kentucky, LSU and Vanderbilt.
•   Tulsa has posted wins over Florida (1-4), Ole Miss (3-0), Arkansas (16-54), Texas A&M (2-6) and Missouri (1-1) … the wins over Texas A&M and Missouri were before those teams joined the SEC … five of Arkansas' wins came as members of the SEC.
•   The last SEC member Tulsa played was Mississippi State in the 2020 Armed Forces Bowl, as MSU pulled out a 28-26 win.

STOKES REACHES 3,000 YARDS; MOVES UP TO NO. 5 . . .
•   Keylon Stokes entered the season ranked ninth on the school's all-time receiving chart with 2,550 career yards.
•   With 457 yards in three games, Stokes has moved into fifth place with 3,007 yards to become just the fifth player to reach 3,000 career yards.
•   Stokes needs 65 yards to surpass Keyarris Garrett (2011-15) for fourth place on the career receiving chart … he is also 243 yards shy of tying his brother Keevan Lucas (2013-16) for third place (3,250 yards) on the all-time list.
•   He is now just 336 yards shy of all-time leader Howard Twilley's (1963-65) 3,343 yards.
•   Stokes also ranks 5th on the American Athletic Conference list for career receiving yards.

BRIN PUTTING UP NUMBERS . . .
•   Tulsa quarterback Davis Brin was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Week for Sept. 10 after connecting on back-to-back passes for 55 yards with under two minutes to set up the game-winning touchdown in Tulsa's 38-35 victory over NIU.
•   Brin finished the game with 322 yards and a career-high four TDs on 19-of-32 passing.
• A week earlier, Brin opened the season with his second 400+ yard career passing game when he passed for 460 yards at Wyoming, for the 6th-best passing performance in school history and most since David Johnson's 469 yards against New Mexico in 2008.
• Last week, Brin had his third career 400+ passing game with 424 yards vs. JAX State and tied his career-high with 4 TDs.
•   In three games, Brin has thrown for 1,206 yards and 11 TDs for an NCAA FBS high of 402.0-yard average per game with a pass efficiency rating of 177.8.

STOKES, SANTANA RANK AMONG TOP 10 . . .
•   Keylon Stokes is not the only Tulsa receiver ranked among the nation's top receivers.
•   Stokes is ranked third with an average of 152.3 yards, while JuanCarlos Santana has averaged 108.6 yards through three games.
•   Stokes has 457 yards and three TDs on 28 receptions, while Santana had 326 yards and team-high four TDs on 14 catches.
•   Stokes has three 100+ receiving games this year and Santana went over 100 yards against Wyoming and JAX State … in their careers, Stokes has 10 100+ yard games and Santana has five games of over 100 yards.

A NEW O-LINE . . .
•   Coming into the season opener, Tulsa's first game starting lineup had zero career starts among the offensive linemen with just 23 game appearances in a Tulsa uniform.
•   Only Tulsa and Virginia came into the season with no starters returning on the O-Line.
•   Through three games, Tulsa has not had the same complete starting lineup.
•   The opening game lineup featured LT Dillon Wade, LG Chester Baah, C Will Farniok and two FBS transfers – RG Darrell Simpson and RT Kai Leon Herbert.
•   Herbert suffered a first half injury and was replaced by Jaden Muskrat, who had 8 previous game appearances with one start, coming in the 2020 Bowl game against Mississippi State.
•   In the second game, the right side had two different starters, including RG Tai Marks and RT Jaden Muskrat … Simpson filled in for Baah at left guard vs. JAX State in the third game.
•   Between the seven players who have offensive line starting assignments – only Wade and Farniok – have started all three games … Marks, Simpson, Baah and Muskrat each have two starts.

GAME NOTES: THE OLE MISS GAME

Players Mentioned

Chester Baah

Davis Brin

Will Farniok

Tautai Lio Marks

Jaden Muskrat

JuanCarlos Santana

Darrell Simpson

Keylon Stokes

Dillon Wade