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Preview: Tulsa faces big test at #11 Oklahoma State

Having experienced playmakers on offense gives Tulsa a legitimate chance against Oklahoma State in Stillwater at 11 a.m. Saturday.

The problem is, OSU has experienced playmakers on offense as well. And some really good ones.

In what likely could be an offensive shootout, Tulsa will try to break through and finally beat the Pokes in Stillwater for the first time since 1951.

In order for the Golden Hurricane to send Pistol Pete into depression, it all starts with quarterback Zach Smith. With a full year as a starter under his belt, not to mention the experience he gained as a starter for parts of two years at Baylor, Smith should be ready to have a really strong senior season.

If last year’s game against OSU is any indication, Smith could be in store for a big game. And that could mean Tulsa (4-8 in 2019) could be knocking on OSU’s door all afternoon.

In OSU’s 40-21 win over TU last season at H.A. Chapman Stadium, Tulsa dominated the middle part of the game, and Smith completed 17 of 30 passes for 228 yards. It would have been more yards, perhaps considerably more, if Smith hadn’t been knocked out of the last half of the fourth quarter.

TU quarterback Zach Smith (11) lines up the offense against Oklahoma State in 2019.
TU quarterback Zach Smith (11) lines up the offense against Oklahoma State in 2019. (Inside Tulsa Sports / MILES LACY)
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Under Smith’s leadership, Tulsa overcame a 17-0 deficit and took a 21-20 lead over OSU (8-5 in 2019) into halftime. TU held that lead more than 10 minutes into the third quarter until OSU quarterback Spencer Sanders put the Pokes ahead for good on a 27-yard run.

TU coach Philip Montgomery believes Smith has progressed significantly since transferring to Tulsa. If so, then the quarterback play should shine for the Golden Hurricane, and be an improvement over a season where Smith passed for 3,279 yards - the 7th highest single season total in TU’s storied passing history.

What Smith has to improve on is having a little more pocket awareness and when to get rid of the ball. Smith already has an NFL arm and size. He can laser passes into small openings with the best of them.

“With Zach, he has matured, and has a better flow of what we are doing and how we are doing it,” Montgomery said. "I think the ball, as the year went on, got out of his hands a little bit quicker. I think he has increased that as we went into the spring and have progressed into the fall camp.

“At times, we may have held it a little long, and at times, we may have needed to protect a little longer. That also involves our receivers, getting open, finding holes and trying to get into those spots a little quicker. It’s a collective process. I think we’ve made progress, but now you’ve got to go test it against a defense that basically didn’t lose anybody.“

Tulsa’s receivers are also a key for Tulsa winning for the first time in Stillwater since 1951. Tulsa has lost the last 21 times in Stillwater, but is 9-8-1 in the last 18 games against OSU in Tulsa since the 1951 game where TU won 35-7 in front of 28,000 fans at OSU.

Keylon Stokes and Sam Crawford are both real talents and can cause troubles for OSU’s experienced defense. Stokes caught seven passes for 109 yards last season, and Crawford caught three for 55 yards against the Cowboys in 2019. Stokes is a senior coming off a season where he caught 62 passes for 1,040 yards and six touchdowns, while Crawford is a junior who had 59 catches for 777 yards and five touchdowns.

TU’s running backs have the second most returning career rushing yards in the nation, with Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor gaining the bulk of those yards. T.K. Wilkerson is also very talented, as is freshman Chris Lovick, as well as transfers Deneric Prince from Texas A&M and Anthony Watkins from Missouri – both who are eligible to play this season.

Brooks, who finished with 1,046 yards rushing in 2019, rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns against OSU last season. However, he tore his ACL in practice this week and may be lost for the season. Taylor topped the 100-yard mark at OSU in 2017 and just got out of quarantine due to coronavirus.

Tulsa RB Shamari Brooks (3) runs the ball against OSU in 2019.
Tulsa RB Shamari Brooks (3) runs the ball against OSU in 2019. (Inside Tulsa Sports / MILES LACY)

As OSU may have trouble stopping TU, the Golden Hurricane will have its hands full trying to stop legitimate game changers in Chuba Hubbard and Tylan Wallace.

Both Hubbard and Wallace are nightmares.

Hubbard broke off a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage in Tulsa in 2019, and his 163 yards in the first quarter had him on pace to gain 652 yards in the game. Hubbard went on to finish with a whopping 2,094 yards rushing in 2019.

But after the first quarter, TU stuffed Hubbard until a late 33-yard touchdown run with 2:34 left. His 256 yard performance on 32 carries was incredible, but from the start of the second quarter until his final run, Hubbard was held to 60 yards on 17 carries (3.5 average).

“Obviously, Hubbard is fantastic. He’s so dynamic. He does so many things well,” Montgomery said. “He runs the ball like no other. He’s got speed, he’s strong, he runs through tackles, he’s got great vision.”

Wallace was held mostly in check by the Golden Hurricane in 2019 in great part to committing pass interference penalties against him on deep passes. When in doubt, yank him to the ground and take the 15-yard penalty.

That strategy worked until late in the third quarter when Wallace broke free on a 90-yard bomb that gave OSU a 12-point lead late in the third quarter. TU’s interference couldn’t even keep him from scoring on that one.

Wallace had five catches for 118 yards – only 28 yards outside of that back-breaking catch. He averaged 100 yards per game in nine games for OSU last season, and had 1,491 yards receiving in 2018.

Throwing to Wallace again is Spencer Sanders, who had 2,065 yards passing and 628 yards rushing as a freshman last season. He figures to improve on his performance against TU in 2019 when, if you take away the 90-yard bomb to Wallace, Sanders completed 11 of 21 passes for 79 yards and an interception, while rushing for 59 yards on nine carries.

The big play trio of Hubbard, Wallace and Sanders accounted for 255 yards on just five plays against TU – more than half of the 506 yards of OSU total offense for the game.

“We can’t allow those types of explosive plays, defensively,” Montgomery said. “We’ve got to make them earn yards.”

Lots of uncertainty abounds about two teams who are playing their season opener, including what the game day environment will be in front of a limited crowd.

Tulsa’s talented starting corners Allie Green and Akayleb Evans will be tested to the max, as will a group of safeties led by 6-foot-4 sophomore Kendarin Ray – a player that Montgomery has been talking about all of 2020, and by senior Cristian Williams.

How well will Tulsa’s defense withstand the losses of NFL draftees Reggie Robinson (4th round) at corner and Trevis Gipson (5th round) at defensive end?

How will Tulsa’s place-kicking game fare after a tumultuous 2019 campaign? Will true freshman Tyler Tipton or senior walk-on Zack Long handle the place-kicking?

Will receivers like Josh Johnson, J.C. Santana, and Josh Stewart perform as well as Montgomery expects, and will they take the pressure off of Stokes and Crawford?

Saturday’s game should show a lot about both TU and OSU in 2020.

FULL TULSA TEAM PREVIEW:

Quarterback

Running Back

Wide Receiver

Tight End

Offensive Line

Special Teams

Defensive Line

Linebacker

Cornerback

Safety

TU Roster Analysis

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