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The Golden Hurricane Hosts Army West Point
10/4/2024 2:26:00 PM | Football
TULSA (2-3, 0-1 AAC) vs. ARMY WEST POINT (4-0, 3-0 AAC)
Saturday, Oct. 5, 11:00 a.m. (CT)
Stadium: H.A. Chapman Stadium (30,000)
Series: Tulsa leads 1-0
TV: ESPNU
Talent: Courtney Lyle (pxp), Rene Ingoglia (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 2-3, 0-1 The American
Head Coach: Kevin Wilson
(North Carolina '84)
2nd year at Tulsa
Career Record: 32-58 (8th year)
TU Record: 6-11 (2nd year)
ARMY 4-0, 3-0 The American
Head Coach: Jeff Monken
(Milikin '89)
11th year at Army
Career Record: 110-71 (15th year)
Army Record: 74-55 (11th year)
THE STORYLINES . . .
• Tulsa hosts its first The American game of the season while Army has already played three conference games and is ready for number four.
• Tulsa is coming off a 52-20 loss at North Texas in its AAC opener, while Army blew by Temple 42-14 on the road last weekend.
• 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 229.6 yards and scoring eight touchdowns through the air, and 187.2 yards with seven touchdowns on the ground.
• Army's ground attack wears out opponents, with the Black Knights averaging 371.3 yards on the ground this season … Army can still be dangerous through the air, tossing for 73.25 yards per contest and at least one TD pass in three of its four games.
THE SERIES . . .
• Saturday marks just the second meeting between the Golden Hurricane and Black Knights.
• This is the first time Army West Point has visited H.A. Chapman Stadium.
• The Hurricane defeated Army 49-39 in the lone meeting in West Point on Nov. 17, 2007.
FIRST & TEN . . .
• The Golden Hurricane is in its 11th season in the American Athletic Conference … Tulsa is 4-6 in conference home openers as league members in The American.
• The Hurricane enters the weekend with a 2-3 record and is 0-1 in AAC play after falling 52-20 at North Texas in the conference opener.
• Graduate place kicker Seth Morgan connected on both field goal attempts last Saturday, giving him seven makes on the season and six consecutive makes … Morgan is 3-of-4 from 40+ with two makes of 45.
• Graduate quarterback Cooper Legas threw his first TU touchdown late in the fourth quarter for Tulsa's first of the game … He has 33 career touchdowns and threw 32 in his three seasons at Utah State.
• Senior wide receiver Jack Wright scored his first Golden Hurricane touchdown on Legas' 18-yard pass in the fourth quarter … the North Dakota transfer caught three TDs in 35 appearances for the Fighting Hawks.
• True freshman QB Tim Carpenter threw his first career touchdown with six seconds remaining in Saturday's game, finding Connor Vaughn from 5 yards.
• Redshirt freshman QB Kirk Francis has thrown for 980 yards and six touchdowns in the first five games this year … he passes his true freshman season for eighth on the freshman passing list at Tulsa … he sits 54th nationally in passing yards.
• Graduate WR Kamdyn Benjamin is 20th in the country for receiving yards (472) and second in The American … he is a common target on the Tulsa offense, pulling down 6.2 catches a game, which ranks 22nd nationally.
• Graduate RB Anthony Watkins leads the Tulsa running backs both in yards (218) and touchdowns (3).
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 headcoach.
• 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 31-56.
• 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 32 receptions for 427 yards and two touchdowns … 30 receptions and 397 yards have come from Francis, making up nearly 41 percent of Francis' 980 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 five games, Potter is second on the Tulsa defense with 29 tackles, while Marcheselli has 20 … 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 228 yards rushing and three touchdowns … he is the lone running back to find the endzone so far this season.
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 (427), third in receiving yards per game (85.4) and fifth in all purpose yards per game (112.8).
• He is 20th nationally in receiving yards, 32nd in receiving yards per game and 43rd in all purpose yards per game.
• Benjamin is one of 30 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.
• He averages 29.9 yards per return this season, which is sixth best in the NCAA.
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.
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.
