Tulsa has a 2-0 history with their first opponent, Central Arkansas, but it can be troublesome when you play an opponent with a new head coach.
The last time Tulsa played UCA was 2010 when the Golden Hurricane won 41-14 in Tulsa. In 2008, TU blasted Central Arkansas 62-34, also in Tulsa.
UCA coach Nathan Brown opens with a road trip to Tulsa (6 p.m. on ESPN3) and brings along a new offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator.
New UCA offensive coordinator Ken Collums was a former quarterback for the Bears and Max Thurmond is the new defensive coordinator. Brooks Hollingsworth, a former UCA assistant, is back as assistant head coach.
Actually, the new coaching staff has four former Bear quarterbacks – Brown, Collums, running back coach Taylor Reed and tight ends coach Ryan Howard.
Brown was the school’s offensive coordinator for the past four years before being promoted to head coach.
Last year, the Bears won the Southland Conference championship. They made it to the NCAA FCS Playoffs for the second year in a row. UCA went 10-2 in 2017, including a 19-55 loss at Kansas State.
The Bears have 11 returning starters, including three on offense, five on defense and three on special teams. UCA had 11 players on the preseason All-SLC teams (second best in the league), which includes first-teamers Carlos Blackman (running back), Chris Terrell (defensive end), Eric Jackson (defensive tackle) and Juan Jackson (safety). Second-team selections included tight end Josh Nix, offensive linemen Adrian Harris and Hunter Watts, defensive linemen Cardell Best and Nathan Grant, linebacker Raphael Garner and kick returner Cedric Battle.
The bad news for the Bears is that they have to replace 20 seniors, some of whom played key roles in their recent success.
Brown has put in a new offense, a new defense and made changes in special teams. And his team appears to be targeting Tulsa for an upset win.
Tulsa coach Phillip Montgomery did not pick a starting quarterback until late August.
“The quarterbacks had a good camp,” said Montgomery. “We got better each and every day, and there are still things we have to keep growing and learning from. The competition that we’ve had, the way that they’ve helped each other has been really good.”
Quarterbacks Chad President and Luke Skipper both started for Tulsa in 2017. President began the first six games, and Skipper started the next five games. President rushed for 429 yards, nine touchdowns and threw for another 921 yards and three TDs, while Skipper completed 56-percent of his passes for 1,141 yards and three TDs. Redshirt freshman Seth Boomer along with President and Skipper got the majority of snaps during the fall. Boomer quarterbacked at Collinsville High School and threw for over 2,000 yards as a prep senior in 2016. Junior Zach Smith is sitting out the season after transferring from Baylor.
Single-game tickets for the UCA game and the remaining five regular season contests are available for purchase. Season tickets for the six-game home schedule can still be purchased beginning at only $60 for General Admission seating.
Tulsa Athletics has a partnership with Experience to facilitate ticketing and other features using a mobile phone. For fans, TU is offering gameday parking and seat upgrades that include:
- Gameday VIP Package – This package includes 2 club seats, 1 Lorton parking spot (opens 4 hours before each game), and pregame sideline passes.
- Pregame Fan Tunnel Pass – The pregame fan tunnel pass grants never-before fan access to the squad as they are led by Montgomery into Chapman Stadium.
- Pregame Sideline Warmup Pass – The pregame sideline warmup pass grants exclusive sideline access as Montgomery and staff lead the players in preparation for the game.
- North Parking Lot Season Pass – The north parking lot located at the intersection of 4th Place and Harvard Avenue is available for advanced purchase.