Game Notes: Tulsa Looks To Keep Rolling Against East Carolina

GAME 8:
TULSA (6-2, 3-1 The American) vs. EAST CAROLINA (3-5, 1-3 The American)
Saturday, November 5, 2016 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
H.A. Chapman Stadium (30,000)  • Tulsa, Okla.
TV: ESPNews
Radio: Big Country 99.5 FM

THE COACHES
TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE
Head Coach:         Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State '95), 2nd year
Career Record:     12-9 (2 years)
TU Record:            same
 
MEMPHIS TIGERS
Head Coach:          Scottie Montgomery (Duke '00), 1st year
Career Record:      3-5 (1 year)
ECU Record:          same
 
THE STORYLINES . . .
•     This is the 14th meeting between Tulsa and East Carolina.
•     Tulsa has the smallest FBS enrollment with 3,473 students, while East Carolina has an enrollment of 27,000 students.
•     Both teams are coming off big wins last week, as East Carolina defeated UConn at home 41-3, and Tulsa went on the road and claimed a 59-30 win at Memphis.
•     Statistically speaking . . .  ECU averages 503.2 yards per game, while Tulsa averages 499.1 yards  to rank 1-2 in The American. . . ECU throws for 355.6 yards, while Tulsa is nearly 100 yards less at 256.9 yards . . . however, Tulsa rushes for 242.2 yards and East Carolina is nearly 100 less at 147.6.
•     Tulsa's 6-2 record is the best since starting 7-1 in the 2012 season.
•     With a 3-1 league mark, Tulsa sits even with Navy in the loss column for the top spot in the AAC West Division . . . Navy has a 4-1 record league play.
 
QUICK HITS . . .
•     Tulsa became Bowl eligible in the eighth game this year with a 59-30 win over Memphis to move to 6-2 on the season . . . last year, it took Tulsa to the final regular season game at Tulane to become Bowl eligible.
•     Tulsa running backs D'Angelo Brewer (252 vs. Fresno State) and James Flanders (249 vs. Memphis) have two of the top-6 rushing games in school history this year.
•     A total of 19 freshmen have seen action in at least one game this year, including 12 red-shirt freshmen and seven true freshmen . . . two transfers have also made playing debuts this year.
•     In 21 games under Philip Montgomery, Tulsa has scored over 40 points 13 times and has posted an 11-2 record when doing so.
•     Tulsa has had 23 scoring drives in regulation under two minutes this season.
•     Tulsa has gone over 600 yards of total offense four times in the last two years under Montgomery, and over 500 yards of total offense in 11 games.
 
THE SERIES . . .
•    This is the 14th meeting between Tulsa and East Carolina.
•    East Carolina leads the series 8-5-0.
•    The Pirates have won the last six games in the series, including three in Tulsa.
•    Tulsa won the first three games in the series, and five of the first seven contests.
•    ECU has a 4-2 advantage in the series in Tulsa, and a 4-3 series edge at home.
•    Tulsa has won its five games in the series by 20.2 points, while East Carolina's win margin in eight games is 14.9 points.
 
TULSA GOES FOR 50 IN BACK-TO-BACK GAMES . . .
•    Tulsa has scored 109 points over the last two games for an average of 54.5 points per game.
•    Tulsa scored a 50-27 win over Tulane on Oct. 22, and a week later posted a 59-30 win at Memphis . . . it was the first time Tulsa scored 50+ points in a road game since the 2011 season when the Hurricane claimed a 57-28 win at UTEP.
•    The Hurricane now has three 50+ scoring games on the year, the most since four 50+ scoring games in the 2010 season.
 
FLANDERS' CAREER DAY . . .
•    Against Memphis, Tulsa was without seven-game starter D'Angelo Brewer at the running back position.
•    Senior James Flanders received his first start of the year and fifth of his career.
•    Flanders responded with a career game as he rushed for a career-high 249 yards and a school record 5 TDs.
•    It was the 22nd time in school history that a runner gained 200+ rushing yards, and with 249 yards now has the sixth-best rushing performance in school history.
•    Flanders' five rushing touchdowns is a new school record, breaking the mark of four rushing TDs set by Ron Jackson in the 1991 Freedom Bowl.
•    Flanders was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.
•    In the last two games, Flanders has rushed for 439 yards, a 219.5 average per game, and seven touchdowns.
 
ONE-TWO IN THE AMERICAN . . .
•    Tulsa has a dynamic 2-player punch at the running back position with junior D'Angelo Brewer and senior John Flanders.
•    The duo is ranked one-two in the American Athletic Conference for rushing as Brewer has an average of 114.7 yards per game and Flanders averages 112.4 yards per game.
•    Flanders has rushed for 899 yards, 6.6 yards per game and 12 TDs in eight games, while Brewer has 803 rushing yards, four TDs and a 4.9 average per rush.
 
THAT DEFENSE COMES UP BIG AT MEMPHIS . . .
•    Against Memphis, the Hurricane defense came up big against an offense that ranked among the top-5 in the American Athletic Conference for scoring (4th), passing (4th) and total offense (5th).
•    Tulsa forced four turnovers, and three of those takeaways amounted to 21 points for the Hurricane.
•    Tulsa's defense had eight TFLs, three QB sacks, six pass breakups, five QB hurries, two forced and recovered fumbles and two interceptions.
•    Trent Martin's 25-yard interception return to the Memphis 3-yard line led to a 28-14 Tulsa lead in the second quarter.
•    Back-to-back fumble recoveries in the fourth quarter led to Tulsa touchdowns . . . the first was recovered by Petera Wilson and returned 44 yards to the Memphis 10, and the second was recovered by Matt Linscott at Tulsa's own 11-yard line.