Opponent preview: Tulsa’s special teams

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State makes its 11th consecutive bowl appearance when the Bulldogs face No. 22 Tulsa in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT and will be televised by ESPN.

The Golden Hurricane enter the contest with a special teams group that ranks 49th among FBS programs in made field goals, 94th in net punting, 105th in kickoff returns and 104th in punt returns.

Tulsa senior kicker Zack Long has made 10 of 13 field goals and 23 of his 24 extra-point kicks. His season long is a 48-yard field goal. Long has also kicked off 40 times for 2,223 yards (55.6 average). Three of his kickoffs have resulted in a touchback.

Redshirt freshman punter Lachlan Wilson has punted the ball 39 times for 1,687 yards (43.3 average) with a net average of 36.6. Of his 39 punts, 13 have been downed inside the 20-yard line.

As a team, the Golden Hurricane have returned 13 kickoffs for 228 yards (17.5). Redshirt freshman running back Christian Lovick has returned five for 95 yards (19.0), while sophomore running back Deneric Prince has returned four for 68 yards (17.0).

Senior wide receiver Keylon Stokes serves as the Tulsa punt returner and has returned 12 punts for 48 yards (4.0).