Stokes close to receiving record as TU travels to Temple

It is fitting that Keylon Stokes enters this potentially historic week as one of the top receivers in the nation.

After all, when toppling an epic record, it is important to show he is worthy.

And although Howard Twilley's 57-year old career mark will never be forgotten because of the magnitude of what he did, Stokes is definitely worthy of carrying on the mantle as Tulsa's all-time record holder in receiving yards.

Stokes, who is second in the nation in receiving yards per game (127.5), third in receiving yards (765), and sixth in reception per game (7.3), needs just 28 yards to tie Twilley's mark of 3,343 yards.

The record breaking yards will likely come this Friday night in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field when Tulsa plays at Temple.

"The records around here from a passing standpoint, Twilley in that era and Jerry Rhome and all of them, I mean just some unbelievable type numbers," said TU coach Philip Montgomery. "And so, for Keylon to really have an opportunity to take hold of that is going to be a special moment for him but also for the history of TU football."

Also, if Stokes keeps up with his current pace, he would have 95 catches this year to tie Twilley's career receptions mark of 261 if TU goes to a bowl game and plays 13 games.

Of course, Twilley, who was second in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1965 a year after quarterback Jerry Rhome was second in the Heisman voting in 1964, did things that will never be matched in college football.

It took 30 years to break Twilley' single season NCAA mark of 1,779 yards. And he did that in 10 game seasons. College football players only had three years of eligibility then, so Twilley's records came in 30 career games.

Twilley's terrific long NFL career with the Miami Dolphins, including being a starter on the 1972 team that is the only NFL team to go undefeated and win the Super Bowl, would be a great goal to shoot for as well.

But one of the great things about breaking records is the chance to reflect back and bring attention to the great accomplishments of the past. And also to bring attention to terrific current achievements.

Last week, Stokes passed Keyarris Garrett, his brother Keevan Lucas, and current Director of Player Personnel and Development Dan Bitson to move into second place in receiving yards.

Tulsa (2-4, 0-2 AAC) is focusing on getting back on track after a horrible 53-21 loss at Navy in its last game almost two weeks ago.

The Navy game is likely an aberration in many ways. Hopefully in its result. But having to defend Navy's triple option ground control offense is something teams usually face only once per year.

Tulsa can get back to playing normal football after a much-needed bye week.

And for Stokes, the 5-10, 202-pound sixth-year senior from Manvel, Texas is focused on something more pressing this week than setting a record.

"The great part about Keylon is I can promise you right now if he was in this room, he says I will take the win more than I'll take the 28 yards," Montgomery said of Stokes. "For him, this will be more of a team thing, in my opinion, more than it will be about him."

The good news is that Temple (2-4, 0-2), although sporting the exact same record as Tulsa, is not a very good team. The Owls are coming off a really bad 3-9 season where Tulsa spanked them 44-10 at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

True freshman Temple quarterback E.J. Warner (6-0, 190) has a champion bloodline, as he is the son of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner. But the younger Warner isn't quite at the Canton level yet, averaging 208 yards, having completed 56.2 percent of his passes with 6 TD's and 6 INT's.

While Warner's numbers are neither impressive or awful, Temple's running game is flat out dreadful. Thus, the Owls' offense, quite frankly, stinks. Temple's averages per game are 79.7 yards rushing and 14.7 points.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Warner's stats is that he gets his passes off without getting sacked. But also, he is not a threat to run. In college statistics, where sacks are counted in rushing totals, Warner has 4 carries for 2 yards, with a long of 5 yards. He has 6 total yards in losses.

Defensively, Temple isn't usually bad, giving up only 25.7 points per game, even after giving up 70 last week. And being seventh in the nation in quarterback sacks is a worry for Tulsa quarterback Davis Brin, who has been hobbled by an injured ankle.

First-year Temple coach Stan Drayton, 51, most recently was an assistant at Texas from 2017-2021, where he was the assistant head coach. Drayton has presided over a Temple team this year that has shown no significant improvement from 2021.

Temple is coming off a 70-13 thrashing at UCF (5-1, 2-0) last Thursday night after a bye week.

The Owls lost 24-3 at Memphis (4-3, 2-2) in their previous game. Temple's only wins have come at home against FCS Lafayette (2-4) 30-14, and against independent UMass (1-6) 28-0. The Owls' other losses were at Duke (4-3) 30-0, and at home against Rutgers (3-3) 16-14.

"I think both of us were kind of in a situation with our last game kind of getting away from us and not really playing the style of how we really wanted to play," Montgomery said. "And so, I think both teams are going to be pretty motivated in this particular instance, on a Friday night."

The bye week should definitely help Brin's ankle. A healthier Brin will help Tulsa's offense get back to where it was before Brin's ankle injury, where he was leading the nation in passing yards per game (402) after three games.

It's not like Brin has been terrible the last two games after his ankle injury. But his lack of mobility hasn't helped. Also not helping is that Tulsa abandoned its running game after getting down to Navy early last week.

"We've got to do a better job in our run game to balance things out," Montgomery said. The Golden Hurricane had only 25 yards on 18 carries against Navy, and is averaging only 109.2 yards rushing per game.

Brin did have a 12 yard gain rushing last week, and had 10 yards on 3 carries, showing that his mobility had improved over the previous game against Cincinnati where he was sacked 9 times. He also completed 20 of 31 passes for 284 yards and 2 TD's, but his 2 interceptions were costly.

"I think Davis is doing better. I think he's improved. I think he gets better day to day," Montgomery said of Brin's ankle. "Obviously, the week off from the standpoint of not having a game has allowed him to get healthier than he has been.

"I think he has a chance to get back to 100 percent before the season is out. He's not there yet. But he's a lot closer than what he's been."

A healthier Brin means better chances for Tulsa's talented top 4 receivers of Stokes, JuanCarlos Santana, Isaiah Epps and Malachai Jones to make plays. Stokes is coming off a 7 catch, 152-yard day at Navy.

But whether it be on offense or defense, Tulsa has to be able to limit mistakes and come through in crunch time.

"We've got to make plays when the crucial times come," Montgomery said.

If Tulsa makes plays, it should be able to get back on the winning track and get the season back on course.