The Tulsa game versus Cincinnati scheduled here for Saturday has been canceled due to the coronavirus impact at Cincinnati.

The two teams are atop the American Athletic Conference and will play in the championship game on December 19 in Cincinnati.

Both schools have 6-0 league marks but the Bearcats get to host the title game due to their higher national ranking.

“It’s disappointing for our football team and fans that we will not have the opportunity to play the final home game of the season on Senior Day,” said Tulsa’s Director of Athletics Rick Dickson.

TU and Cincinnati were supposed to play on October 17 but that game was postponed.  (Tulsa has had four games postponed and three games cancelled this season due to the coronarvirus).

The Golden Hurricane had a third quarter touchdown and four Zack Long field goals for a 19-6 victory over the Navy Midshipmen Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

“The good Lord puts struggles in front of you sometimes to see how you are going to react and I think our guys showed great character, continued believing in what we were doing, believing in our program, believing in each other,” said TU coach Philip Montgomery.

“And obliviously I think the leadership we have in our locker, those guys that have been through those struggles, but continue to grind and work and continue to get better and now we are in a position now where we continue to make plays in those big moments. Different guys have stepped up each and every week and that is what we want out of our team and again I attribute it to the coaches and to our leadership in that locker room.”

TU moved to 6-1 overall and 6-0 in AAC play and won its sixth straight game, while Navy fell to 3-6 and 3-4 in league competition.

“This was a hard-fought game. Navy is an outstanding team that is well-coached and Ken does a great job with them.” Montgomery said. “I wish them well against Army. For us, I thought our guys just continued to keep battling. Our defense played lights out, especially in the first half, but really the whole game.

“I thought our defensive line was really crucial in all of that.”

The Hurricane defense, missing All-America candidate Zaven Collins most of the second half with an injury, totaled 12 TFLs for minus-49 yards and 5 sacks, as tackle Jaxon Player was a best with a career-high 12 tackles, 4.5 TFLs for -12 yards and 2 sacks.

Tulsa’s first touchdown came at the 1:33 mark of the 3rd quarter when Zach Smith connected with Josh Johnson on a 66-yard pass play to take a 13-6 lead into the 4th quarter.

“I think the biggest thing is that our receiving corps is starting to grow up and has grown up,” said Montgomery.

“Josh really worked his tail off during those quarantine times when weren’t on campus and came back bigger, stronger, locked in and focused and really worked on his hands, worked on his route running and stepped up in some big, big times throughout the year”

Cincinnati’s game with Temple on November 28 was cancelled. The last game they played was a 36-33 win over Central Florida on November 21. Cincinnati beat Tulsa last year, 24-13, in Cincinnati.

“I am excited for our players, for our coaches and for our university,” Montgomery said.

“We get an opportunity now to go play in the championship and play for the championship. That is what this goal was when we started, get bowl eligible, have an opportunity to play for a championship and we would love to do that right there in the city of Tulsa.”