Tulsa Football: On the bright side
After a deflating 62-28 loss, it can be tough to focus on positives. However, there were definitely a few bright spots for Tulsa on Saturday.
Down 21-0 and struggling to earn first downs, redshirt freshman quarterback Luke Skipper earned his first chance to lead the Hurricane offense since getting two series of downs in the first half of the season-opening loss at Oklahoma State.
It didn’t take long for Skipper to make his presence felt. He completed a 1-yard pass on his first play and then followed that up with a 59-yard touchdown throw to Justin Hobbs on his second play.
Skipper completed 10-of-14 passes for 256 yards and one touchdown, while also scoring a rushing touchdown from one yard out. His passing stats would have been even more impressive had Nigel Carter not dropped a wide open deep pass that would have been a sure touchdown.
Skipper is now 12-of-17 (70.6 percent) for 266 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions this season. He needs to protect the ball better when scrambling, but he certainly showed promise and the ability to take advantage of a defense that was focused on stopping the run.
Tulsa came into the game with just two passes for more than 40 yards this season, but Skipper quickly changed that by adding three pass plays of over 50 yards each. The first was the 59-yard touchdown to Hobbs. Then there was a 74-yard toss to Keenen Johnson, and later, a 52-yard bomb to freshman Keylon Stokes in the third quarter.
Speaking of Stokes, he was another bright spot on a dreary day. The younger brother of former Tulsa standout receiver Keevan Lucas had a stellar day and jumped on the opportunity for increased playing time.
On the aforementioned 52-yard pass play, he almost took it an additional 13 yards for a touchdown but barely stepped out of bounds when pushed by a Tulane defender. He also caught a short pass that he turned into an 18-yard gain, showing off moves and speed reminiscent of his older brother.
Stokes also got the chance to return kickoffs, averaging 22.8 yards per return with a long of 27. He finished the day with 184 all-purpose yards on just seven touches.
In the ground game, Tulsa was held below its season average with the Tulane defense keying on the run. However, standout freshman running back Shamari Brooks provided another bright spot for the Hurricane.
Brooks averaged 8.7 yards per carry by gaining 104 yards and two touchdowns on 12 attempts, accounting for 75 percent of Tulsa’s rushing yards in the game.
Brooks is Tulsa’s second-leading rusher this season behind senior D’Angelo Brewer. He has 393 yards and six touchdowns on 64 carries, while averaging 6.1 yards per carry.
Tulsa's third scoring drive of the game featured all three of the young players mentioned above. Brooks had a 19-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage, and he also had a 4-yard run. Then Skipper hit Stokes on the 52-yard pass play down to the Tulane 13-yard line. Brooks took it the final 13 yards for a score.
Sitting at 1-5, Tulsa has a lot of work to do to have a chance to salvage the second half of the season. Its defense is struggling due to injuries, and the offense had become stagnant without consistency in the passing game.
However, Skipper’s emergence could jumpstart the TU offense and allow the Hurricane to once again stretch defenses and push the tempo. Stokes provides another exciting option to join Hobbs and Johnson in the receiving corps, and Brooks has been dynamic in the ground game.
The defense saw the return of starters Jesse Brubaker (defensive end) and Kerwin Thomas (cornerback) to the line-up, but leading tackler Manny Bunch (safety) went down in the first series against Tulane and didn’t return. Starting defensive tackle Kolton Shindelar was out for the second game and starting safety Jordan Mitchell is already lost for the season.
TU has an extremely difficult task this coming weekend, hosting 4-1 Houston at H.A. Chapman Stadium for Homecoming. It will be a definite gut-check game for the Hurricane.