Tulsa Football on the Road at Temple

Saturday, October 19

Philadelphia, PA

1:00 pm

Tulsa

Temple

Tulsa Football on the Road at Temple

10/18/2024 9:12:00 PM | Football

GAME #7
TULSA (2-4, 0-2 AAC) at TEMPLE (1-5, 0-2 AAC)
Saturday, Oct. 19, 1:00 p.m. (CT)
Stadium: Lincoln Financial Field (67,594)
Series: Tulsa leads 5-3
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Doug Sherman (pxp), Barrett Brooks (analyst)
Radio: Big Country 99.5 FM or Online
Talent: Bruce Howard (pxp), Rick Couri (analyst)
          Jeremie Poplin (Sidelines)

FOR FULL GAMES NOTES PACKAGE, CLICK HERE
WATCH COACH WILSON PRESS CONFERENCE HERE
LIVE STATS

TULSA 2-4, 0-2 The American
Head Coach: Kevin Wilson
                               (North Carolina '84)
                              2nd year at Tulsa
Career Record: 32-59 (8th year)
TU Record:           6-12 (2nd year)

TEMPLE 1-5, 0-2 The American
Head Coach: Stan Drayton
                          (Alleghany '93)
3rd year at Temple
Career Record: 7-23 (3rd year)
Temple Record: Same

THE STORYLINES . . .

• Tulsa and Temple are both coming off their BYE weeks

• The Golden Hurricane and Owls are both 0-2 in The American play and each of them are on two-game losing streaks … TU lost at North Texas and against Army, while Temple dropped its home
game with Army before fumbling a yard short of the goalline at UCONN.

• Tulsa is in its 128th season of football in 2024 and its 11th season in The American.

• The Hurricane has had a pretty balanced attack, averaging 209.5 yards and scoring eight touchdowns through the air, and 82.5 yards with eight touchdowns on the ground.

• Temple has been more effective through the air, passing for 1221 yards (203.5 per game) and 10 touchdowns … on the ground, the Owls have rushed for 542 yards (90.3 per game) and a pair of scores.

• The Owls have rotated a pair of quarterbacks in Forrest Brock and Evan Simon, who have each played three games … Simon has thrown for 680 yards and 9 TDs, while Brock has 541 and a touchdown … they both have rushing touchdowns.

THE SERIES . . .

• This Saturday is the 9th meeting between the two schools in a series Tulsa leads 5-3.

• The Hurricane is 2-2 on the road against the Owls.

• Tulsa won last season's matchup 48-26 to open The American play at H.A. Chapman Stadium … redshirt sophomore Cardell Williams had himself a day, completing 14-of-17 passes for 244 yards and three touchdowns.

• TU was the victor in the last matchup at Temple as well, taking down the Owls 27-16 in 2022 … Deneric Prince rushed for 231 yards and had a rushing and receiving touchdown in the win at Lincoln Financial Field.

FIRST & TEN . . .

• The Golden Hurricane is in its 11th season in the American Athletic Conference

• The Hurricane enters the weekend with a 2-4 record and is 0-2 in AAC play after falling 49-7 to Army in the conference home opener.

• Tulsa is coming in off its BYE week on the schedule.

• Graduate quarterback Cooper Legas scored Tulsa's lone touchdown in the loss to Army … he took a rush in for a 1-yard score after leading Tulsa's longest scoring drive, by play and time, of the season: 75 yards in 16 plays and 7:12.

• Legas finished the game as Tulsa's leading rusher with 81 yards on 17 carries with the touchdown.

• Sixth year TE Ethan Hall made his 34th career start and 54th appearance in Saturday's game against Army, both the highest on the team.

• Redshirt freshman QB Kirk Francis has thrown for 1064 yards and six touchdowns in the first six games this year … he passes his true freshman season for eighth on the freshman passing list at Tulsa … he sits 87th nationally in passing yards.

• Graduate WR Kamdyn Benjamin is 46th in the country for receiving yards (471) and second in The American … he is a common target on the Tulsa offense, pulling down 6.5 catches a game, which ranks 20th nationally.

KEVIN WILSON IN SECOND YEAR LEADING THE TULSA FOOTBALL PROGRAM . . .

• Kevin Wilson (North Carolina '84) is in his second season as the Tulsa head coach.

• He was introduced as The University of Tulsa's 34th head football coach on December 6, 2022.

• With Tulsa's season opening 62-8 win over NSU, Wilson's opening day record improved to 7-1 as a head coach.

• He finished his first season with a 4-8 overall record in a year that saw Tulsa take on three top-20 ranked foes.

• Wilson's career head coaching record is 32-59.

• He spent the previous six seasons as the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at Ohio State.

• In 2022, Wilson was selected as one the inaugural recipients of the GRAPHITE Award, which recognizes excellence in Offensive Play Calling Efficiency, presented by RII Sports Technology.

• His Play Calling Efficiency Rating (PCER) of 80.2% during the 2022 campaign was the highest in the Big 10 Conference and ranked in the 96th percentile among all FBS programs.

• Before his stint at Ohio State, Wilson spent six years as the Indiana head coach.

• He posted a 26-47 record at Indiana and led the Hoosiers to two straight bowl games.

• He also coached at Oklahoma, Northwestern, Miami (Ohio), North Carolina A&T, Winston Salem and his alma mater, North Carolina, as a graduate assistant.

• Wilson has been a part of 13 seasons with 10 or more victories and has coached in four national championship games, including three at Oklahoma and one with Ohio State.

FRANCIS TO BENJAMIN . . .

• Last season's road trip to Tulane led to a breakout game for now redshirt freshman quarterback Kirk Francis and graduate Kamdyn Benjamin ... Francis finished 22-of-34 for 345 yards and a touchdown pass ... Benjamin led the team with 157 yards and two touchdowns off eight receptions.

• Including that game, Francis and Benjamin connected through the air for a touchdown in each of the next five games, a streak that ended against OSU

• In that stretch of games, the pair connected 32 times for 585 yards and five touchdowns, breaking the 100-yard mark in three games ... Benjamin and Francis averaged 18.3 yards per reception together.

• In the streak-ending game, Benjamin and Francis still combined for six catches and 94 yards.

• This season, Benjamin has 39 receptions for 471 yards and two touchdowns … 35 receptions and 444 yards have come from Francis, making up nearly 42 percent of Francis' 1,064 yards this season.

THE BA BOYS . . .

• Graduate transfers Gavin Potter and Zach Marcheselli earned their first Golden Hurricane appearances in the season opener against Northwestern State … the two close friends played high school football together at Broken Arrow and have come back home for their final season.

• Potter played four seasons at Kansas and a year at Arkansas State, while Marcheselli spent all his previous five seasons at TCU.

• The two did not disappoint in their initial homecoming, sharing the team lead with five tackles apiece … Marcheselli had 2.5 TFL for -7 yards, while Potter had 1.5 TFL for -2 yards on top of a quarterback hurry.

• Through the first six games, Potter is second on the Tulsa defense with 35 tackles, while Marcheselli has 22 … Potter leads the team in TFL, recording six and sending opponents back -24 yards, while Marcheselli has five stops for losses and set opponents back -11 yards.

RUNNING BY COMMITTEE . . .

• This season, 14 different Hurricane have carried the ball whether at running back, quarterback or wide receiver.

• Five running backs got carries in the home opening win over Northwestern, sharing 31 carries amongst them.

• Leading rusher Lloyd Avant had 11 carries for 64 yards.

• Anthony Watkins racked up 40 yards on five carries, including a 33-yard TD run … Bill Jackson and Cam Crooks carried the ball for 53 and 47 yards, respectively, with the majority of Crooks' yards coming on a 41-yard scamper in the fourth … in addition to his special teams duties, Viron Ellison Jr. carried the ball five times for 26 yards.

• Running backs weren't the only one to help Tulsa on the ground in the win …quarterback Cardell Williams rushed for 35 yards and a touchdown, and Kirk Francis and Cooper Legas combined for 26 yards on the ground in four attempts …wide receivers Braylin Presley and Jacob Emmers each got a carry, with Emmers taking his attempt to the right for 15 yards and Presley finding the endzone with a 19-yard run early in the second half.

• Avant, Watkins and Jackson got the carries against Arkansas State, combining for 151 yards (5.03 ypc) and a Watkins touchdown ... Avant led the team with 62 yards on the ground ... Williams and Kirk Francis each had a rush from the QB position with Williams picking up his second TD of the young season.

• Nine different Hurricane got rushes against #13 Oklahoma State, paced by 40 yards from Watkins ... Stephen Kittleman got his first career rushing touchdown late in the game as Tulsa rushed for 116 yards as a team.

• The running back room was smaller at Louisiana Tech as Watkins found paydirt and rushed for 63 yards on 10 carries … Jackson added 36.

• Watkins has emerged as the team leader on the ground with 248 yards rushing and three touchdowns … he is the lone running back to find the endzone so far this season.

• QB Cooper Legas scored his fist rushing touchdown of the year against Army.

AIR BENJAMIN . . .

• Graduate wide receiver Kamdyn Benjamin has been one of the biggest all around threats in The American this season.

• Through the first five games, Benjamin is second in the league in receiving yards (471), third in receiving yards per game (78.5) and ninth in all purpose yards per game (101.3).

• He is 46th nationally in receiving yards, 32nd in receiving yards per game and 63rd in all purpose yards per game …he's also one of the best at getting the ball, ranking 20th nationally and second in the conference in receptions per game (6.5).

• Benjamin is one of 36 players to return a punt for a TD this season.

ELECTRIC KICK RETURNER . . .

• Lloyd Avant tallied 127 yards on two kickoff return against Northwestern State, including a 100-yard house call in the fourth quarter … he is one of six players to take a kickoff back for a touchdown this season.

TU FOOTBALL BREAKS COLOR BARRIER 60 YEARS AGO. . .

• On Sept. 26, 1964, Willie Townes, Richard Tyson, Charlie Brown, Randy Phillips and Jimmy Brown officially broke the color barrier for TU, suiting up for the Golden Hurricane at Arkansas …TU finished the season 9-2 with a Bluebonnet Bowl victory over Ole Miss.

• Townes would go on to be one of the best defensive lineman to ever suit up at Tulsa, earning an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America selection in 1964 and MVP of the Bluebonnet Bowl … he is a member of the 1986 TU Hall of Fame Class and had a seven-year NFL career.

• Charlie Brown would get drafted by the LA Rams in the 16th round of the 1965 draft.

WEARING DADS NUMBER . . .

• On Oct. 27, 2018, Tulsa All-American offensive lineman Jerry Ostroski had his jersey No. 55 retired.

• Amongst his family at the ceremony was son Owen Ostroski, who later would sign with the Golden Hurricane to follow his dad's playing career at Tulsa.

• A junior defensive end, Owen, has worn No. 48 in honor of another former TU player – the late New York Jets defensive end Dennis Byrd.

• This year, the number 55 will be put back in action as the younger Ostroski will be wearing his dad's number.

• Through the opening two games, Ostroski has caused havoc for opposing offensive linemen, getting seven tackles and 2.5 TFL for -8 yards.

THE GAME ON HIS FOOT . . .

• Graduate place kicker Seth Morgan played the hero in Tulsa's win at Louisiana Tech, connecting on a clutch 45-yard field goal to send the game to overtime and then hitting the game winner from 34 yards out.

• He finished the game 3-of-3 on field goals and knocked through his two extra points, making him responsible for 11 of TU's 23 points.

• He was named the Co-American Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts … Morgan joins graduate wide receiver/punt returner Kamdyn Benjamin in winning the weekly award this season.

• Morgan was also named a Lou Groza Award Star of the Week for Week 4, which highlights standout performances of three FBS Division I kickers each week.

A SPECIAL NIGHT FOR SPECIAL TEAMS . . .

• Part of Tulsa's 62-point outburst in its season opening win over NSU was a pair of special teams touchdowns.

• Midway through the first quarter, graduate wide receiver and punt returner Kamdyn Benjamin fielded a punt at the TU 34 and took it 66 yards for pay dirt … it was Tulsa's first punt return touchdown since Trey Watts returned a punt 54 yards against UCF in the Conference USA Championship Game on Dec. 1, 2012.

• Near the beginning of the fourth quarter Lloyd Avant received a kickoff in the endzone and took it straight downfield for a 100-yard touchdown return, the first kickoff return for a TD since Anthony Watkins went 97 yards against Navy in 2021, and first 100-yard return since Ashlan Davis against Boise State in 2004.