Thursday, October 19
H.A. Chapman Stadium
6:00 PM (CT)
Tulsa
vs
Rice
Tulsa Hosts Rice Thursday Night
10/18/2023 10:53:00 PM | Football
GOLDEN HURRICANE RENEWS RIVALRY WITH OLD LEAGUE MEMBER RICE IN AN AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CONTEST
| GAME 7: TULSA (3-3, 1-1 American) vs. RICE (3-3, 0-1 AMERICAN) | |
|---|---|
| Date/Time: | Thursday, October 19, 6:00 p.m. (CT) |
| Site: | Tulsa, Okla. |
| Stadium: | H.A. Chapman Stadium (30,000) |
| Coaches: | TULSA – Kevin Wilson (North Carolina '84), 1st year RICE – Mike Bloomgren (Florida State '99), 6th year |
| TV: | ESPN2 |
| Talent: | Jay Alter (pxp), Rene Ingoglia (analyst), Lericia Harris (sidelines) |
| Tickets: | CLICK HERE or Call 918-631-GoTU |
| Radio: | Big Country 99.5 FM or Online |
| Talent: | Bruce Howard (pxp), Rick Couri (analyst), Jeremie Poplin (sideline) |
| Live Stats: | Live Stats |
| Series: | Tulsa leads 10-8-1 |
| Game Notes: | Tulsa | Rice | American Athletic Conference |
TULSA, Okla. –– Tulsa and Rice enter Thursday's game with identical 3-3 records and 1-1 marks in the American Athletic Conference. The Hurricane and Owls haven't met since the 2013 season when the two schools were members of Conference USA. Rice enters its first year in The American, while Tulsa is in its 10th season as an AAC member.
Tulsa leads the series 10-8-1 as the two teams hold the advantage on the others' home field. Tice has a 5-4 mark in Tulsa, while the Hurricane holds a 6-3-1 record in Houston.
The contest kicks off at 6:05 p.m. (CT) in front of an ESPN2 national television audience at Tulsa's H.A. Chapman Stadium. The game can also be heard on the Golden Hurricane Sports Network, including in the Tulsa area on Big Country 99.5 FM Radio.
Both squads are coming off an open week after each suffered tough losses a week earlier. Tulsa dropped a 20-17 contest at league foe FAU, while Rice fell at home to non-conference foe UConn.
Offensively, Tulsa brings in a balanced attack with 193.5 yards through the air and 192.0 yards on the ground. Rice's offense has been strikingly different with a league-leading 316.2 passing yards, while rushing for 79.5 yards.
The Owls are led by former USC and Georgia quarterback JT Daniels, who completed 64% of his passes for 1,831 yards and 15 touchdowns and has already had two 400+ passing games twice this season.
Daniel's favorite target has been Luke McCaffrey, brother of San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey. The younger McCaffrey has a team-leading 514 yards and six TDs on 30 carries, but he's not the only target for Daniels. Rawson MacNeill, Boden Groen and Braylen Walker have combined for 625 yards and four scores.
Leading ballcarrier Dean Connors has gained 180 rushing yards and a 4.4 average per carry, and has been effective in the passing game with 306 yards and two TDs on 24 receptions.
Tulsa's front seven will look to get pressure in the passing game and control the Owls run game. The combination of Ben Kopenski, Owen Ostroski, Vontroy Malone, Joe Anderson, Jayden Simon, Everitt Rogers and Zaid Hamdan hold down the front line, while the linebacking duties will mostly be shared by Julien Simon, Mitchell Kulkin, Coleton Smith and Dorian Hopkins.
Kopenski leads Tulsa with 5.5 TFL with -26 yards, including 4.5 sacks while totaling 22 tackles. Rogers has 18 stops, Malone 16, Ostroski 13 and Hamdan 11. The quartet has combined to tally 10. 5 TFL on the year.
Safety Kendarin Ray leads the Tulsa secondary and has an American Athletic Conference leading 56 tackles. Fellow safety Jaise Oliver is coming off a career-best 11-tackle game, while also totaling two pass breakups, one TFL and one interception at FAU. The Hurricane has used its depth in the secondary with eight players seeing considerable playing time.
On offense, injuries have affected the quarterback position for the Hurricane. The season's starter Braylon Braxton was injured in the first half of the season opener and after an impressive performance by Cardell Williams, Williams was injured in the Washington game in his first start. Roman Fuller started the Oklahoma game a week later, while Williams managed to come in and play most of the second quarter and the entire second half.
Williams led Tulsa to wins over NIU and Temple as the starter. After accounting for 334 yards, including 244 passing and 90 rushing, and four touchdowns in the victory over Temple, Williams was named the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week award.
After missing the previous four games, Braxton returned late in the fourth quarter in Tulsa's last outing at FAU and led the Hurricane on an 80-yard, 7-play drive while gaining 56 rushing yards and throwing a 20-yard TD on the drive to cut Tulsa's deficit to three points late in the contest.
In the run game, Tulsa uses a quartet of running backs – Anthony Watkins, Tahj Gary, Jordan Ford, and Bill Jackson – to pound out its 190+ yards per game. Watkins leads the way with 367 rushing yards, followed by Ford with 240, Jackson at 196 and Gary with 187 yards.
The offensive line has helped pave the way for Tulsa ranking second in The American for rushing yards as it's been the identical starting lineup for the last five games.
A young receiving corps, who's having to replace three starters that combined for 2,512 yards and 20 touchdowns a year ago, have shown positive strides. Sophomore Marquis Shoulders, who missed the last contest with injury, and freshman Devan Williams have caught the bulk of balls for the Hurricane, combining for 557 yards and seven TDs on 35 receptions.
Senior Kamdyn Benjamin has come on strong in the last three games and has 13 receptions for 222 yards this year. The tight end group has also been targets of Tulsa quarterbacks, catching 13 passes for 116 yards and three TDs.
Like Tulsa, Rice's defense has held the opposition to just under 400 yards per game, allowing 138.8 on the ground and 260 yards passing. Safety Plae Wyatt leads the Owls with 43 tackles, while fellow defensive backs Gabriel Taylor and Sean Fresch share the team-lead with five pass breakups
Linebackers Chris Conti and Myron Morrison have each totaled 38 stops to rank second on the team for tackles. The defensive front is big in the middle with 315-pound nose tackle Izeya Floyd and 290 tackle De'Braylon Carroll.
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