Does anyone in America have a tougher schedule than Tulsa?

After almost upsetting No. 10 Oklahoma State and then upsetting then-No. 11 Central Florida, Tulsa must now battle No. 8 Cincinnati.

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane Homecoming game against the 11th-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats has been scheduled for a start time of 11 a.m. on October 17.

Although it’s Homecoming for the Hurricane, the contest is also the home opener, and is the latest home opener for the Hurricane in 51 years. 

The game will be aired on ESPN2.

Cincinnati (3-0, 1-0 in the American Athletic Conference) has beaten Austin Peay (55-20), Army (24-10) and South Florida (28-7).

Cincinnati is averaging 35.7 points per game and allowing 12.3.

Stars of the Week

Tulsa quarterback Zach Smith was named to The Manning Award “Stars of the Week” and The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award’s Great 8 List for week five last week following the stunning upset of then No. 11 Central Florida.

The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl has named eight quarterbacks as its “Stars of the Week.” 

College football fans can now go to the Allstate Sugar Bowl Facebook page to vote for what they think was the best performance from this past weekend. When voting closes on Thursday at 11 a.m. (Central), the top vote-getter will be announced as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week.  

The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award’s Great 8 quarterbacks list for week five was revealed by Davey O’Brien Foundation. Smith has also been added to the Davey O’Brien Award’s Midseason Watch List, as any quarterback named to a Great 8 list during the season who was previously not named to the Preseason Watch List is added to the Midseason Watch List.

Smith is now eligible to be voted a semifinalist for Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Year Award.

Smith helped the Golden Hurricane erase an 18-point first-half deficit against the Knights, connecting on the go-ahead TD pass in the fourth quarter and setting up the game-clinching field goal with 1:30 to go against the Knights.

The senior completed 17-of-29 passing for 273 yards and three touchdowns, covering 48, 34 and 13 yards.

AAC players of the week

Tulsa linebacker Zaven Collins was named the Defensive Player of the Week and punter Lachlan Wilson earned the Special Teams Player of the Week, and quarterback Zach Smith was named to the AAC’s Honor Roll after the UCF win last week. TU was off Saturday.

The trio of players played major roles Saturday as Tulsa handed the No. 11-ranked UCF Knights a 34-26 loss in an American Athletic Conference road game.

Collins, a junior from Hominy led a Tulsa defense that held the Knights to 24 points under their season average and to 191 yards under their nation-leading offensive average.

Collins had a team-leading 10 tackles (7 solos, 3 assists), 3.5 TFLs for -11 yards, one interception for a 13-yard return, two pass break-ups and one QB hurry. His second-quarter tackle for loss gave Tulsa a safety for its first two points of the game in an 18-point comeback victory.

In two games this year Collins averages 8.0 tackles, 3.75 TFLs and 1.5 sacks.

Special teams played a huge role in Tulsa’s victory and Wilson was a big part of that performance.  Wilson pinned UCF inside the 10-yard line on four occasions and ended the game with 7 punts for a 45.1-yard average, including a long of 67 yards.

Wilson, a freshman from Eaglemont, Victoria, Australia, had a 48-yard punt to the UCF 9-yard line that eventually led to a safety and Tulsa’s first 2 points of the game late in the 1st quarter. In the 2nd quarter, he punted his career-long 67-yarder to the UCF 4. In the 3rd quarter with Tulsa trailing 26-25, Wilson had a 36-yard punt downed at the UCF 4-yard line

With Tulsa leading 31-26 and 8:19 left on the game clock, Wilson had a pivotal 43-yard punt downed at the UCF 1-yard line.

Smith helped the Golden Hurricane erase an 18-point first-half deficit, connecting on the go-ahead TD pass in the fourth quarter and setting up the game-clinching field goal with 1:30 remaining in the game.

Ray Guy award

The Ray Guy Award announced that The University of Tulsa punter Lachlan Wilson has been added to the watch list for the award.

Wilson pinned UCF inside the 10-yard line on four occasions and ended the game with 7 punts for a 45.1-yard average, including a long of 67 yards.

Team of the Week

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane was named the FWAA/Reveal Suits National Team of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America.

Tulsa erased an 18-point first-half deficit en route to a 34-26 victory over the nation’s No. 11-ranked UCF in Orlando, Fla.

It’s the first time in the 19-year history of the award that Tulsa has been recognized as the FWAA/Reveal Suits Team of the Week.

The win snapped a 21-game home winning streak for the Knights. The last team to defeat UCF on its home field was the 2016 Tulsa team on Nov. 19, 2016 by a score of 35-20.

The victory was also Tulsa’s first against a ranked opponent since handing #24 Hawaii a 62-35 loss in the 2010 Hawaii Bowl, and it’s the first win over a top-15 team since a 35-34 home win over No. 15 Texas A&M in September 1996. Before that, it was 1971 that Tulsa defeated a higher ranked team with a 21-20 win over #7 Arkansas.