Tulsa, SMU Kickoff at 11 AM Saturday

Saturday, October 28

Dallas, Texas

11:00 a.m.

Tulsa

SMU

Photo by: BRETT ROJO, For the University o

Tulsa, SMU Kickoff at 11 AM Saturday

10/27/2023 9:30:00 PM | Football

TULSA TAKES ON AAC LEAGUE-LEADING SMU MUSTANGS IN DALLAS

GAME 8: TULSA (3-4, 1-2 American) vs. SMU (5-2, 3-0 American)
Date/Time:	Saturday, October 28, 11:00 a.m. (CT)
Site:	Dallas, Texas
Stadium:	Gerald J. Ford Stadium (32,000)
Coaches:	TULSA – Kevin Wilson (North Carolina '84), 1st year SMU – Rhett Lashlee (Arkansas '06), 2nd year
TV:	ESPNU
Talent:	Jon Schriffen (pxp), Rocky Boiman (analyst), Dawn Davenport (sidelines)
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:	SMU leads 16-13
Game Notes:	Tulsa \| SMU \| American Athletic Conference

DALLAS, Texas –– Tulsa travels to take on American Athletic Conference leading SMU Mustangs Saturday. SMU comes into the game with an overall 5-2 mark and a 3-0 league record, while Tulsa will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak as the Golden Hurricane record stands at 3-4 overall and 1-2 in AAC play.

The contest kicks off at 11 a.m. (CT) in front of an ESPNU national television audience at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. The game can also be heard on the Golden Hurricane Sports Network, including in the Tulsa area on Big Country 99.5 FM Radio.

SMU enters the game with one of the nation's top defenses and offenses. The Mustangs rank among the top-15 for both scoring defense and offense, ranking ninth on defense by giving up just 14.6 points while tallying 36.4 points offensively to rank 15^th in the nation.

The Hurricane will need to utilize a balanced offense and score more than its 23 points per game to keep up with the SMU offense, while cutting down its 2.4 per game turnover average. Tulsa totals 188.7 rushing yards and 184.2 yards through the air.

On offense, injuries have affected the quarterback, running back and receiver positions for the Hurricane. The season's starter at quarterback Braylon Braxton was injured in the first half of the season opener and missed the next four games, returning to the starting position a week ago

Fellow signal-caller Cardell 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.

In the run game, Tulsa has used a quartet of running backs – Anthony Watkins, Jordan Ford, Bill Jackson and Tahj Gary – to pound out its 185+ yards per game. Watkins leads the way with 396 rushing yards, followed by Jordan Ford with 246 yards and Bill Jackson II with 215 yards, while Gary has been sidelined with an injury.

The offensive line has helped pave the way for Tulsa ranking third in The American for rushing yards.

A young receiving corps is led by redshirt freshman Devan Williams, who has caught 22 passes for 315 yards, while sophomore Marquis Shoulders, who has 283 yards and a team-high five TDs, has missed the last two games with an injury.

Senior Kamdyn Benjamin has come on strong in the last four games and has 16 receptions for 270 yards this year. The tight end group has also been targets of Tulsa quarterbacks, catching 13 passes for 116 yards and three TDs.

SMU sports the top defense in The American, allowing just 285.5 yards per game to rank first in the league and 13^th in the nation. The Mustangs also rank among the top-15 nationally for fewest TDs allowed, passing yards, red zone defense, sacks and scoring.

The Mustang defense has totaled 48 TFL, 22 sacks, 31 pass breakups and 18 QB hurries. It's been quite the team effort defensively for the Mustangs as 23 different players have tackles for lost yardage and 15 with a pass breakup.

Linebacker Kobe Wilson leads the SMU defense with 39 tackles, while safety Isaiah Nwokobia has 36 stops. Linemen Elijah Chatman and Elijah Roberts have combined for 10 TFL and 6.5 sacks.

SMU's offense is led Preston Stone behind center with 1,767 passing yards and another 118 yards on the ground, while totaling 18 touchdowns, including 16 passing TDs. Stone has targeted 20 receivers on the year with five of those going for over 200 yards each.

A big and veteran offensive line has protected Stone and paved the way for 164 rushing yards per game. Jaylan Knighton has a team-leading 422 yards on the ground with three TDs to pace the Mustangs runs game.

For Tulsa, the defensive front seven will look to get pressure in the passing game and control the SMU 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.

Ostroski leads Tulsa with seven TFL for -33 yards among his 18 tackles, while Kopenski has added 5.5 TFL with -26 yards, including 4.5 sacks while totaling 25 tackles. Rogers has 22 stops, Malone 18 and Hamdan 13.

Safety Kendarin Ray leads the Tulsa secondary and has an American Athletic Conference leading 71 tackles. Fellow safety Jaise Oliver has added 33 tackles and team-leading five pass breakups and three interceptions. The Hurricane has used its depth in the secondary with eight players seeing considerable playing time.