Tulsa hopes to keep momentum going against UConn

Was the beginning of the Luke Skipper era the reason for Tulsa’s amazing turnaround last week against Houston? Or was it just a coincidence?

Whether Tulsa’s sudden success had much to do with Skipper or not is unknown, but the Golden Hurricane is looking to ride the momentum off of the Houston game when it plays at UConn at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Skipper’s first career start seemed to revitalize what had been a struggling Tulsa team on both sides of the ball in last week’s shocking 45-17 win over Houston. Although not outstanding by any means, he was competent and kept the Cougar defense honest.

It is amazing how quarterback changes sometimes can have a mysterious effect on a team.

Skipper didn’t throw much, completing 9 of 18 passes for 128 yards with a touchdown and an interception. And more than half of his yards came on Keenen Johnson’s spectacular touchdown where he broke what looked to be a sure tackle off of a short pass before scampering 70 yards for a key fourth-quarter touchdown.

Perhaps Chad President is the perfect complement for Skipper, as President, who started the first six games, came in on some short yardage situations and scored two touchdowns and gained 32 yards on five carries. President was doing what he does best – running.

Against Houston’s strong defense that was averaging giving up 16.1 points coming into the game, Tulsa finally got its offense going in the second half, with both D’Angelo Brewer and Shamari Brooks topping the 100-yard mark with 140 and 111 yards, respectively.

It is likely that Houston (4-2, 2-1 AAC), in seeing Skipper’s performance against Tulane where he completed 10 of 14 passes for 256 yards, respected Tulsa’s ability to pass more with Skipper in the game. That fact could have opened things up for the running game.

Against UConn (2-4, 1-3), Tulsa (2-5, 1-2) will be playing a poor defense that is averaging giving up 44.4 points per game against D-1 teams this year. The Huskies have the worst rated pass defense in D-1, giving up almost 400 yards per game through the air.

So it will be imperative that Skipper has a strong game against a defense that is ripe to be had.

But Tulsa can’t get into the trap Houston fell into last week in playing the nation’s worst run defense coming into the game. Giving up 347.8 yards per game and 6.8 yards per carry on the ground coming into the game, Tulsa held Houston to 146 yards on 47 carries, which is an incredibly strong defense of 3.1 yards per carry.

So what was the secret behind Tulsa’s sudden transformation, and will it last against a UConn offense that averages 28.6 points against D-1 competition?

First of all, the intensity was there from the start against the Cougars, as Golden Hurricane defenders were very active and clearly fired up.

“Flying around, did a great job of stopping the run, eliminated big plays,” TU coach Philip Montgomery said of his defense’s performance after the Houston game. “They were all over the field and really kept us in the ball game.”

The defense created the two key turnovers, both tipped interceptions by McKinley Whitfield and Keidrien Wadley, that got Tulsa back in the game. Down 10-0 before Whitfield’s interception, if Houston had driven for another touchdown and a 17-0 lead, it may have been too much for Tulsa to overcome.

The turnovers provided momentum, which is what Tulsa needs for its season to avoid a losing record and become bowl eligible. Another win would boost Tulsa to 3-5, and all of a sudden the Golden Hurricane will be rolling and have a lot more confidence for the rest of the year.

“I talk about momentum all the time. It was a huge factor in this game,” Montgomery said.

Some personnel changes also seemed to help Tulsa’s defense. One change that most probably didn’t notice was Myles Mouton’s insertion into the starting lineup at defensive tackle. Mouton has previously spent most of his playing time at defensive end, including three starts at the end of last season, and had five tackles all season after registering 11 tackles as a freshman.

The 6-foot-2, 257-pound Mouton seems to be much better suited for defensive tackle despite a size that would make him more likely to be a defensive end. Mouton had four tackles against Houston. He came into the game with two tackles this season.

Mouton had looked really good playing defensive tackle in the 2016 spring game, but has spent most of his time at defensive end since then. Hopefully he has finally found his home.

Also, defensive tackle Kolton Shindelar was back rushing the passer after missing the last three games. The 6-6, 280-pound senior has a wealth of ability and has done well in the past as a pass rusher.

Shindelar was counted on to be a starter this season, but hasn’t had a lot of productivity in the first three games. He was active in his playing time against Houston. He has eight tackles, including a sack, this season.

Converted tight end Payton Prince also showed promise at defensive tackle. The 6-3, 271-pound junior has been getting playing time the last few games, and looked good against Houston, swatting down a pass in the second half.

Also, Tyarise Stevenson, a mammoth 6-3, 350-pound redshirt freshman defensive tackle, has played significantly this year, recording four tackles against Houston, and 17 for the season. At defensive end, sophomore Trevis Gipson (6-4, 239) had two tackles last week.

At Star linebacker, Diamon Cannon’s tip that caused the second half interception by Wadley was huge. It was terrific coverage by Cannon, who looked like a good defensive back with perfect coverage down the right sideline before tipping the pass to Wadley, as seen below.

At corner, two true freshmen defensive backs, Akayleb Evans (6-2, 180) and Allie Green (6-3, 195), have received extensive playing time, and both did well against Houston, with both being credited with a pass break up.

Senior defensive end Jeremy Smith seems to finally be fulfilling his promise. Coaches have raved about Smith (6-5, 265) and his ability for years, and he has played well.

Against Houston, Smith had three tackles for loss, including two sacks, and he has five sacks for the season. He may be on the verge of having some monster games.

Smith and his teammates will need to focus against quarterback Bryant Shirreffs, who runs a similar type of short passing game that the Cougars ran. Both teams feature high percentage passing throwing dinks, as Shirreffs completes nearly 67 percent of his passes for only a 9.3 average per catch.

Tulsa seemed more comfortable facing Houston’s short passing game than facing teams that threw deep often. So that could play well into facing the Huskies this week. Also, the Huskies only average 142.5 yards per game on the ground at 3.8 yards per carry.

UConn broke a four-game losing streak last week by winning at Temple 28-24 a week after getting pounded 70-31 at Memphis. The Temple win was the first D-1 win of the season by UConn.

Playing UConn is the type of game that Tulsa has to win in order to reach any of its goals. A loss would be devastating, while a win could provide the Golden Hurricane a spark that could give Tulsa the momentum it needs for the rest of the season.