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Tulsa Post-Game Notes versus Utah in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl

• Tulsa's captains were Bobby Blackshire, Nick Bunting, Donnie Johnson and Paul Smith.

• Tulsa seniors, linebacker Nick Bunting and offensive tackle Jeff Perrett, started their 48th consecutive game, dating back to Sept. 30, 2003 at home against Arkansas State.

• This marks Tulsa's 14th bowl appearance, and their third in the last four years. This also marks Tulsa's first consecutive bowl appearance since the 1984 and 1965 Bluebonnet Bowls.

• Paul Smith moved into second place on Tulsa's career total offense leaders list with his first completion of the game (17 yards to Idris Moss), surpassing John Fitzgerald's (1994-98) career total of 6,258. Smith finished the game with 6,418 yards of total offense in his career.

• Utah broke a Tulsa three-game streak of scoring first in a game when it took an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter.

• This marks the first time Tulsa has been held scoreless in the first quarter since September 23 against Navy. This also marks the first time TU has been behind at the end of the first quarter since they trailed 7-0 to BYU on September 9.

• This is the third straight bowl game Tulsa has been held scoreless in the first quarter.

• When Tulsa took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter, it had held a lead in every contest this season.

• Brandon Jones' fumble recovery was the first turnover Tulsa has forced since the Houston game on November 4, a span of three games.

• After falling behind 9-7 at halftime, Tulsa has now trailed at the half in five games this season (vs. BYU, UTEP, Houston, Rice and Utah). Tulsa is 1-4 in those games.

• Seven first-half points is the lowest for TU since scoring six in the first half against UTEP (October 27). TU also had a seven-point first half against Rice (November 11).

• Chris Kindred's 50-yard punt in the third quarter was his season-long. His previous long was 48 yards against UTEP.

• Paul Smith's 17-yard completion to Courtney Tennial moved Smith into second place on Tulsa's career passing list, passing John Fitzgerald's (1994-98) total of 5,822. Smith finished the game with 5,871 passing yards in his career.

• Four field goals are the most allowed by Tulsa this season.

• Bobby Blackshire's fourth-quarter interception was his fourth of the season and the eighth of his career.

• Blackshire's interception was the first Tulsa interception since Chris Chamberlain picked off a pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown against UTEP.

• Jarod Tracy's missed PAT was his second of the season. He had hit 28 straight dating back to the Southern Miss contest, including his final try in that game.

• Tulsa falls to 5-9 in bowl games and 0-5 when trailing at the half in bowl games.

• Tulsa is now 2-2 all-time versus Utah.

• Tulsa is 2-3 in bowl games in the state of Texas, with wins against Texas Tech in the 1942 Sun Bowl (6-0) and Mississippi in the 1964 Bluebonnet Bowl (14-7). Their losses have come to Georgia in the 1946 Oil Bowl (20-6), Tennessee in the 1965 Bluebonnet Bowl (27-6) and Utah in the 2006 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (25-13).

• Paul Smith was named the Tulsa MVP for the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. This is the second year he has earned an MVP honor in a bowl game after being named the MVP of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in 2005.