Tulsa Starts The American Play at North Texas

Saturday, September 28

Denton, TX

6 p.m.

Tulsa

North Texas

Photo by: Josh McDaniel

Tulsa Starts The American Play at North Texas

9/26/2024 11:01:00 PM | Football

GAME #5
TULSA (2-2, 0-0 AAC) at NORTH TEXAS (3-1, 0-0 AAC)
Saturday, Sept. 28, 6:00 p.m. (CT)
Stadium: DATCU Stadium (30,100)
Series: Tulsa leads 17-8
TV: ESPN+
Talent: James Westling (pxp), Leger Douzable (analyst)
          Smacker Miles (Sideline)
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 2-2, 0-0 The American
Head Coach: Kevin Wilson
                               (North Carolina '84)
                              2nd year at Tulsa
Career Record: 32-57 (8th year)
TU Record:           6-10 (2nd year)

NORTH TEXAS 3-1, 0-0 The American
Head Coach: Eric Morris
                          (Texas Tech '08)
2nd year at North Texas
Career Record: 32-26 (6th year)
UNT Record:      8-8 (2nd year)

THE STORYLINES . . .

• The two teams open American Athletic Conference play after ending their respective nonconference schedules with wins.

• Tulsa is coming off a 23-20 overtime win at Louisiana Tech,while North Texas handled Wyoming 44-17 in its nonconference finale.

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

• The Hurricane has had a pretty balanced attack with 240.5 yards and six touchdowns through the air, and 176.8 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.

• The Mean Green passing attack leads the offense, averaging 326.0 yards per game, while North Texas rushes for 159.3 yards per contest.

THE SERIES . . .

• Saturday marks the 26th meeting in a series the Golden Hurricane leads 17-8 all-time.

• North Texas is looking to win its third straight in the series after defeating Tulsa last season and then in the previous meeting in 2013 … prior to UNT's current streak, Tulsa had won 10 straight over the Mean Green.

• TU came away with a 56-26 win in 2008, the last time the teams met in Denton … the 56 points was the most scored by either team in the series.

• Tulsa's last win in the series was in 2011, a 41-24 win at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

FIRST & TEN . . .

• The Golden Hurricane begins its 11th season in the American Athletic Conference … Tulsa is 4-6 in conference openers as league members in The American.

• Tulsa opened last conference season with a 48-26 win over Temple at home.

• The Hurricane enters the weekend with a 2-2 record after taking down Louisiana Tech 23-20 in overtime of the nonconference finale.

• Senior JACK Myles Jackson got an overtime strip sack and junior DL Owen Ostroski nearly got a scoop and score to stop Louisiana Tech on its first possession of the overtime period.

• After a 17-yard dash from junior RB Bill Jackson got Tulsa comfortably in field goal range, graduate place kicker Seth Morgan connected from 34 yards out to send Tulsa home with a big road win.

• Morgan played a large role in the win, going 3-for-3 on field goals, including a season-long 45-yarder with 32 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.

• The Memphis transfer earned The American Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in the win.

• Redshirt freshman QB Kirk Francis threw for 228 yards and a TD, eclipsing 200 yards for the second time this season … he has thrown for 879 yards through the first four games.

• Sophomore CB NuNu Campbell grabbed his first interception of the season …Senior S Malachai Jones recovered the first fumble of his career in the 1st Qtr.

• Graduate RB Anthony Watkins scored his third rushing TD of the season on a 30-yard run to open the scoring.

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 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.

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.

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 Oklahoma State.

• 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.

• Benjamin has 25 receptions for 359 yards and two touchdowns, nearly 41 percent of Francis' 879 passing 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 four games, Potter leads the Tulsa defense with 26 tackles, while Marcheselli has 17 … The pair share the team lead for TFL, with Potter sending teams backward -21 yards and Marcheselli recording -11 yards in net loss … Potter's TFL includes a seven-yard sack.

RUNNING BY COMMITTEE . . .

• This season, 13 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 186 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 four games, Benjamin leads the league in receiving yards (359), receiving yards per game (89.75) and all purpose yards (484).

• He is 14th nationally in receiving yards, 21st in receiving yards per game, and is 121 all purpose yards per game ranks second in the conference and 30th nationally.

• Benjamin is one of 28 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 averages 32.8 yards per return this season, which is fifth 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.

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.

MAKING THE MOVE TO DEFENSE . . .

• After spending his first four seasons at Tulsa as a receiver, senior Malachai Jones made the move to safety in spring drills.

• The secondary position is not foreign to Jones, as he played receiver, safety and cornerback at Houston Westfield HS.

• Jones earned the start in the season opener against Northwestern State and finished with a tackle in the win.

• Against Arkansas State, he tallied six stops and had a pass breakup.

• After redshirting in 2020, Jones has played in 34 career games and has caught 49 passes for 630 yards and 4 TDs.

TULSA RANKS SIXTH AMONG ALL FBS SCHOOLS FOR CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS …

• Tulsa has won the sixth-most conference championships among FBS schools with a total of 35 league titles.

• Oklahoma (50), Nebraska (46), Michigan (45), Ohio State (39) and Southern Cal (37) are the only schools with more than Tulsa (35). Alabama (34), Texas (31), Fresno State (29) and Utah (28) round out the top 10 teams.

• Tulsa has played in the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference (1914-28; 5 titles), Big Four Conference (1929-32; 3 titles), Missouri Valley Conference (1935-85; 25 titles), Western Athletic Conference (1996-2004; 0 titles), Conference USA (2005-13; 2 titles) and the American Athletic Conference (2014-present; 0 titles).

NEW FACES . . .

• Tulsa's 2024 squad consists of 57 total newcomers, making up 46 percent of the roster.

• Among the new faces, 27 are scholarship freshmen, 13 are four-year scholarship transfers, two JUCO scholarship transfers and 15 walk-ons.