GAME NOTES: Tulsa at #20 Tulane

TULSA TRAVELS TO NEW ORLEANS TO TAKE ON 20^TH-RANKED TULANE

GAME #10
TULSA (3-6, 1-4 AAC) vs. TULANE (8-1, 5-0 AAC)
Saturday, Nov. 4 • 11 am (CT)
Stadium: Yulman Stadium (30,000)
TV: ESPN2
Radio: Big Country 99.5 FM

FOR FULL GAMES NOTES PACKAGE, CLICK HERE

TULSA 3-6, 1-4 The American
Head Coach:          Kevin Wilson
                                  (North Carolina '84)
                                  1^st year at Tulsa
Career Record:        29-53 (7 years)
TU Record:               3-6 (1 year)

TULANE 8-1, 5-0 The American
Head Coach:          Willie Fritz
                                  (Pittsburg State '83)
                                 8^th year at Tulane
Career Record:       205-115 (27 years)
TLN Record:    51-46 (8 years)

THE STORYLINES . . .
•     Tulsa will be looking for its second American Athletic Conference victory of the season, while Tulane looks to remain
undefeated in league play.
•     The Hurricane is 1-4 in conference action and Tulane is 5-0.
•     Tulsa has lost four straight contests, while Tulane is on a 6-game winning streak.
•     Tulsa is in its 127th season of football … Tulsa's first football season was 1895 (TU did not field a team in 1907). … Tulane began
its football season two years earlier in 1893.
•     Tulsa has the smallest FBS enrollment with 3,777 students, while Tulane has a student enrollment of 13,581.

THE SERIES . . .
•     This is the 20th meeting between Tulsa and Tulane.
•     Tulsa leads the series 13-6 … after losing the first game of the series, Tulsa then won 8 straight contests
•     Tulane won last year's meeting when the 19th-ranked Green Wave claimed a 27-13 win in Tulsa.
•     The last time the two teams met in New Orleans was on Nov. 13, 2021, as Tulsa grabbed a 20-13 overtime victory.
•     The Hurricane has a 5-4 mark in the series in New Orleans, 7-2 at home and 1-0 at a neutral site (Monroe, La.).

QUICK HITTERS . . .
•     Tulane will be the third top-25 team Tulsa will have faced this year … the Hurricane already faced No. 8 Washington and No. 19 Oklahoma in non-conference action … the Green Wave enters this week's game ranked 20th in both the AP and Coaches polls.
•     Tulsa faced three FBS non-conference opponents who currently sport a combined 20-7 record, including two of the nation's top-20 teams Washington and Oklahoma.
•     Tulsa has been efficient in the red zone this season, converting 29-of-33 attempts (87.9%), with 20 of those going for touchdowns.
•     Three Tulsa quarterbacks have started at least one game this year due to injuries … Braylon Braxton started the opener and vs. Rice, Cardell Williams vs. #8 Washington, NIU, Temple and FAU and Roman Fuller against #19 Oklahoma.

TULSA DEFENDERS AMONG AAC LEADERS . . .
•     Safety Kendarin Ray leads the American Athletic Conference in total tackles for yet another week … the super senior has tallied 89 tackles for a 9.9 average per game.
•     Sophomore end Owen Ostroski ranks third in the league with 9.5 TFL for -47 yards.
•     Graduate Ben Kopenski is fourth in The American for quarterback sacks with 5.5 for -26 yards.
•     Senior safety Jaise Oliver ranks third in the AAC for interceptions (3) and seventh for pass breakups (8).

RUN GAME PUTS UP ANOTHER 200 YARDS . . .
•     For the third time this year, Tulsa's offense gained over 200 yards on the ground.
•     The Hurricane rushed 50 times for 273 yards, an average of 5.5 yards per carry, against Charlotte.
•     Tulsa also had 260 yards in the opener vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff and a season-high 289 yards against Temple.

K-RAY OVER 300 CAREER TACKLES . . .
•     Sixth-year senior safety Kendarin Ray has been the leader of the Tulsa defense this season.
•     He entered the 2023 season with 222 career tackles and now has 311 career stops in 48 games and 35 starting assignments … Ray is now 25 stops shy of Don Blackmon (1976, '77-80) for 10th place on Tulsa's career tackles list.
•     This year, Ray has a team-high 89 tackles thru nine games to lead the Hurricane defense and all the American Athletic Conference defenders.
•     Ray was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Northern Illinois game (Sept. 23).
•     Ray had a team-high 10 tackles and came up with a game-clinching interception to lead Tulsa to a 22-14 win at NIU … he made a pivotal tackle on a 4th-and-1 play from the NIU 28-yard line that allowed Tulsa to get a key field goal, while his pickoff came at the Tulsa 21 with 26 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
•     Ray has 5 double-digit tackle games this year and 12 for his career … he has led or shared the lead for tackles in 7 of 9 games this season.
•     In the season opener, Ray had 10 stops, 5 solos and 5 assists … he totaled 11 stops against #19 Oklahoma and tallied 10 tackles at both NIU and FAU.
•     In his career, Ray has added 13 pass breakups, 10 TFL for -21 yards, four forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and two interceptions.

WATKINS GOES FOR CAREER-HIGH . . .
•     RB Anthony Watkins had his third career 100+ rushing game and his first this year against the Charlotte 49ers.
•     He rushed for a career-high 146 yards and added a one-yard touchdown run.
•     Watkins' previous 10+ games came in the 2021 season with 115 yards on seven carries vs. Arkansas State and 105 yards on 15 carries against No. 2-ranked Cincinnati.
•     Watkins now has 1,247 career rushing yards and seven TDs at Tulsa with a team-high this season of 592 yards and three TDs.

HURRICANE PLAYER WATCH . . .
•     With his 89 tackles and 9.9 average per game, Kendarin Ray ranks 15th in the NCAA for total tackles and ranks 23rd for solo tackles (45).
•     Sophomore PK Chase Meyer made 10 straight field goals before his first miss against Charlotte … he now has converted 11-of-12 field goals in his first season at Tulsa … Meyer has also converted 23-of-23 PATs.
•     RB Anthony Watkins had a career-high 146 rushing yards vs. Charlotte for his third career 100+ rushing game.
•     After missing three games with an injury, DE Owen Ostroski has had five TFL for -29 yards in his three games back … he has a team-high 9.5 TFL for -47 yards … 38% of his total tackles on the season have been tackles for loss.
•     Walk-on SAF Dayne Hodge has gotten the start at safety in each of the last six games and has responded with 38 tackles, one TFL, one interception and caused one fumble … he had two stops and one INT in his first start at NIU and tallied a team-highs of nine tackles against Temple and SMU.
•     JACK Ben Kopenski has 8.5 TFL for -33 yards and a team-high 5.5 sacks for -26 yards this season after transferring from Oklahoma State.
•     SAF Jaise Oliver has a team-high three interceptions and five pass breakups this year … he has five pickoffs and 13 pass breakups in his career.
•     Oliver recorded 11 stops, one TFL for -3 yards, two PBUs and one INT against FAU … nine of his tackles, the TFL, INT and PBUs came in the first half.
•     True freshman TE Luke McGary has caught six passes for 70 yards with two of those going for TDs, covering 35 yards.
•     Another true freshman, QB Kirk Francis received his first career playing time in the Charlotte game., where he completed
•     In the last seven games, WR Kamdyn Benjamin has totaled 327 yards and two TDs on 22 catches after having just five career receptions for 25 yards in his previous 26 games played.
•     LB Julien Simon, after transferring from USC, had a career-high 10 tackles at FAU … in the last six games, Simon has 35 stops, 2.5 TFL, one PBU and one fumble recovery … in nine games, he has totaled 43 tackles to rank second on the team.

WILLIAMS & BRAXTON . . .
•     A year after Braylon Braxton moved up on the freshman passing charts in his redshirt freshman season, another redshirt freshman quarterback Cardell Williams has done the same .
•     Williams is now tied with Braxton for the most TDs responsible for by a freshman with 15 each.
•     Williams surpassed Braxton's 10 TD passes from last year with 12 this season to tie T.J. Rubley (1987) for first place on the freshman list.
•     Williams is fifth on the all-time freshman total offense list with 1,343, while Braxton is ranked seventh (1,278) … he is also fifth on the freshman passing chart with 1,149 yards, while Braxton is seventh (1,133).

BEN & OWEN ON THE OUTSIDE . . .
•     The duo of Ben Kopenski and Owen Ostroski have led the Hurriane in tackles for loss and sacks this year.
•     They have combined for 63 tackles, 18 TFL for -80 yards, nine sacks for -61 yards and six QB hurries, despite Ostroski missing two game – Temple and FAU.
•     On the year, Kopenski leads the team for sacks (5.5/-26), while Ostroski leads in TFL (9.5/-47).
•     In the opener, the pair combined for 16 tackles and 5.5 TFL for -29 yards, including 3.5 for-25 yards coming on QB sacks, against UAPB.
•     Against UAPB, Kopenski shared the team-lead with 10 tackles, and among those were 2.5 TFL for -13 yards, including two sacks for -12 yards … the 10 stops is the OSU transfers career-high … Ostroski tallied a career-best six tackles, as well as a career-high three TFL for -16 yards, including 1.5 sacks for -13 yards.
•     Kopenski added a career-best three TFL for -7 yards against Charlotte.

GAME NOTES: Tulsa at #20 Tulane

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Players Mentioned

Kamdyn Benjamin

Braylon Braxton

Kirk Francis

Roman Fuller

Dayne Hodge

Ben Kopenski

Luke McGary

Chase Meyer

Jaise Oliver

Owen Ostroski

Kendarin Ray

Julien Simon

Anthony Watkins

Cardell Williams

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