QUARTERBACKS
C.J. Stroud has completed 63 percent of his passes and has thrown for 778 yards and seven touchdowns with only one interception in Ohio State’s first two games. He fell on his throwing shoulder on a late hit out of bounds against Oregon but didn’t miss a snap.
Davis Brin has passed for 425 yards in the first two games for Tulsa (0-2) but did not throw a touchdown pass in a 19-17 loss to California-Davis and a 28-23 loss to Oklahoma State.
Advantage: Ohio State
RUNNING BACKS
Miyan Williams (14 carries, 77 yards) and TreVeyon Henderson (12 carries, 54 yards) were the only running backs who played for OSU in last week’s 35-28 loss to Oregon.
Deneric Prince is Tulsa’s leading rusher with 180 yards this season and Shamari Brooks has 106 yards.
Advantage: Ohio State
RECEIVERS
Sophomore wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a breakout game last week against Oregon when he caught seven passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Chris Olave leads Ohio State with 16 catches for 243 yards. Garrett Wilson has 13 catches for 197 yards. Seven of OSU’s nine offensive touchdowns have come on passes.
Josh Johnson and Keylon Stokes lead Tulsa’s receivers with six catches.
Advantage: Ohio State
OFFENSIVE LINE
It sounds strange to say but Ohio State gained 612 yards of total offense against Oregon and the offensive line did not have a dominant performance. Too many drives in the first half and late in the fourth quarter did not produce points. OSU converted only 6 of 15 third-down attempts and 2 of 5 on fourth downs.
Tulsa has five returning offensive line starters from last year’s team, which was runner-up to Cincinnati in the All-American Athletic Conference.
Advantage: Ohio State
DEFENSIVE LINE
Ohio State has only two sacks and is allowing an average of 236 yards a game rushing. Its front four has been disappointing. Could this mean more playing time for 5-star freshmen J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer? Or does it mean the front four needs more help from the back seven?
Jaxon Player, with 2.5 tackles for losses and two pass break-ups, has been the standout on Tulsa’s defensive line.
Advantage: Ohio State
LINEBACKERS
Teradja Mitchell and Cody Simon seem to have established themselves as two linebackers who should play. USC transfer Palaie Gaoteote finally got clearance to play from the NCAA and made a brief appearance last week.
Yohance Burnett, who missed last season with a knee injury, has 16 tackles in Tulsa’s first two games.
Advantage: Ohio State
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Safety Josh Proctor is out for the season with a broken leg. One of Ohio State’s injured starting cornerbacks, Cameron Brown, returned against Oregon but Sevyn Banks was out for a second straight game.
Safety Kendarin Ray leads Tulsa with 19 tackles. Tulsa lost two possible starters at cornerback when they transferred to Missouri.
Advantage: Ohio State
SPECIAL TEAMS
Five-star freshman receiver Emeka Egbuka returned kickoffs for OSU against Oregon.
Tulsa allowed a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma State last week in a turning point in the game.
Advantage: Ohio State
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