TULSA FOOTBALL GAME NOTES: SOUTH FLORIDA GAMEGAME #7
TULSA (2-4, 1-1 AAC) vs. SOUTH FLORIDA (1-4, 0-1 AAC)
Saturday, Oct. 16 • 11:00 am (CT) / 12 pm (ET)
Stadium: Raymond James Stadium (65,857), Tampa, Fla.
TV: ESPNU
Radio: Big Country 99.5 FM
TULSA 2-4, 1-1 The American
Head Coach: Philip Montgomery
(Tarleton State ’95)
7th year at Tulsa
Career Record: 33-44 (7 years)
TU Record: same
SOUTH FLORIDA 1-4, 0-1 The American
Head Coach: Jeff Scott
(Clemson ’03)
2nd year at USF
Career Record: 2-12 (2 years)
USF Record: same
THE STORYLINES . . .
• Tulsa is in its 125th season of Tulsa football.
• Tulsa has the smallest FBS enrollment with 2,929 undergraduate students (based off 2020-21 statistics) … Tulsa’s overall enrollment is 3,961 … South Florida’s enrollment is 50,830 students.
• Tulsa evened its AAC record last week at 1-1 with a home win over Memphis, while South Florida had a bye week.
• The Hurricane ranks third in the AAC for total offense with 428.3 yards per game … the Bulls allow 495.4 total yards per game to rank 10th in the league.
THE SERIES . . .
• This is the fifth meeting between Tulsa and South Florida.
• The Bulls lead the series 3-1 after winning the first three meetings.
• Tulsa claimed its first win in the series last year in Tampa by a score of 42-13.
• USF has a +5.3 margin in its three wins, while Tulsa’s win margin is 29 points.
QUICK HITS . . .
• On his third carry against Memphis, Shamari Brooks surpassed 3,000 career rushing yards.
• Tulsa has five players who have played in 50 career games – Robert Revels III (53), Cristian Williams (51), Adam Higuera (51), Tiller Bucktrot (50), Tyarise Stevenson (50).
• Justin Wright had a career-high 14 tackles against Memphis, while Tyon Davis tied his career-high with 11 stops.
• Tulsa scored a touchdown on its opening drive for the first time in 2021 against Memphis
• Josh Johnson has had 100 or more receiving yards in three of the last four games.
100 . . .
• Tulsa has had three different runners rush for 100+ yards this season for a total of four 100+ rushing games.
• In addition, two Hurricane receivers have combined for five 100+ receiving games.
• On the ground, Shamari Brooks has two 100-yard rushing games (155 vs. Arkansas State and 126 vs. Memphis) … Deneric Prince opened the season with 151 yards against UC Davis … Anthony Watkins had 115 yards against Arkansas State.
• Thru the airways, Josh Johnson has had over 100 yards in three of Tulsa’s last four games –– 149 vs. Ohio State, 127 vs. Arkansas State and 140 vs. Memphis.
• Sam Crawford had back-to-back receiving games with 105 vs. Arkansas State and 101 vs. Houston.
IN THE AMERICAN . . .
• DE Cullen Wick’s 7.5 TFL leads the league in tackles for loss yards.
• Sophomore punter Lachlan Wilson leads the AAC in punting with a 47.0 average.
• WR Josh Johnson is second in the AAC for receiving yards per game (84.6 ypg).
• PK Zack Long is one of three place-kickers tied for the league’s lead for field goal percentage.
• CB Travon Fuller has a team-highs of seven pass breakups and two interceptions to ranks third in the AAC for passes defended with nine.
• RBs Shamari Brooks (6th) and Deneric Prince (9tt) are ranked among the AAC’s top- 10 for rushing.
• QB Davis Brin is third in the league for average passing yards (274.8).
BROOKS SURPASSES 3,000 YARDS . . .
• Running back Shamari Brooks, who missed the 2020 season with an ACL injury, became just the fifth player in school history to surpass 3,000 career rushing yards …
• He reached the 3,000-yard mark on his third carry against Memphis (10/9).
• Brooks has now totaled 3,116 yards on 661 career attempts in 38 career games.
• The senior from Tulsa’s Union High School came into the 2021 season ranked 5th on the school’s career rushing list with 2,700 yards.
• Brooks had his 14th career 100+ rushing game with 126 yards on 26 carries against Memphis … earlier this year, he had 155 yards on 22 carries against Arkansas State.
• He has scored three rushing TDs this season to give him 26 career touchdowns … he is now tied for 5th place on the school’s career list for rushing TDs.
• Brooks is now 421 yards shy of moving into a 4th place tie with Trey Watts (2010-13 –– 3,515 yards) on the school’s all-time rushing chart.
FULLER, THE DEFENDER . . .
• Texas A&M transfer Travon Fuller is in his first season at Tulsa and has started the first six games at cornerback.
• Thru six games, Fuller has 15 tackles, including 11 solos, and team-highs of seven pass breakups and two interceptions.
• He ranks third in the AAC and fifth nationally for passes defended with nine.
• Against Memphis, Fuller had a 44-yard interception return and three pass breakups, while adding four tackles.
THE WRIGHT CHOICE . . .
• Junior linebacker Justin Wright ranks fourth on the team in tackles with 30, despite missing the season opener.
• Against Memphis, Wright had a career-high 14 tackles, while adding two TFL for eight yards, one sack for -7 yards and one forced fumble.
• Wright has been in the starting lineup since last year for 14 games and has tallied 92 tackles in those starts … he has also totaled 11 TFL for -31 yards in those 14 starts and earlier this year had his first career interception, a 55-yard TD return against Oklahoma State.
