2011 Prediction & Game Story
Week 11 - Marshall at Tulsa
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Nov. 12 at Tulsa 59 … Marshall 17
(AP) TULSA, Okla. -- G.J. Kinne threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns in less than three quarters as Tulsa remained unbeaten in Conference USA with a 59-17 rout of Marshall Saturday.
The Hurricane (7-3, 6-0) will host No. 11 Houston on Nov. 25 for the C-USA West title, regardless of how the teams fare next week.
Kinne moved past T.J. Rubley into second place for Tulsa career touchdown passes with his 74th, a 35-yard strike to Bryan Burnham, who had a career-high 10 catches for 146 yards. He also threw two touchdowns to Clay Sears and one to Willie Carter.
Tulsa also amassed 380 yards rushing as speed backs Ja'Terian Douglas ran for 194 yards on 10 carries and Trey Watts scampered for 144 yards, while Alex Singleton bulled in for three short touchdowns. The Hurricane had a season-high 680 yards offense.
Travon Van ran for 135 yards for Marshall (4-6, 3-3).
Marshall (4-5) at Tulsa (6-3) Nov. 12, 12:00, FSN
Here’s The Deal … Tulsa just continues to roll unimpeded, like, well, a Category 5 hurricane that’s picking up steam. Head coach Bill Blankenship’s Golden Hurricane won for the fifth straight time last Thursday night, beating UCF in Orlando to keep pace with Houston in the hotly-contested West Division. The program isn’t getting nearly as much publicity and recognition as the Cougars or Southern Miss, but then again, those programs didn’t spend the better part of September trying to run with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Boise State the way Tulsa did.
Marshall believes that it’s poised to make a run toward bowl eligibility over the final three games of the regular season. The Thundering Herd are finally getting a bye week in order to rest the troops, and destroyed UAB, 59-14, in its last outing before going on hiatus. The program has been riding a rollercoaster throughout the better part of the 2011 season, alternating a win with a loss in all but one of its nine games.
Why Marshall Might Win: The Herd has not shied away from better competition this season, handing Southern Miss its only loss of the year, and beating the Big East’s Louisville at Papa John’s Stadium on Oct. 1. With rare exceptions, the defense has been a cornerstone, holding five opponents to no more than 20 points. With ferocious DE Vinny Curry as the unrivaled leader of the charge, Marshall ranks among the nation’s leaders in stops behind the line of scrimmage. Plus, the offense has showed a lot more pop since A.J. Graham moved behind center in the middle of October, getting five touchdown passes from the precocious sophomore in the rout of UAB.
Why Tulsa Might Win: The beauty of Blankenship’s first team is that it does so many things well. The Golden Hurricane will beat you with the playmaking ability of QB G.J. Kinne, the eclectic ground game by committee or an underrated defense that’s improving as the season progresses. Tulsa should vex an inconsistent Marshall attack with different defensive looks and speed at each level. Against unranked opponents, the D has allowed just an average of 15 points over those six contests. The Herd will struggle to keep up with a balanced, 31-point-a-game Hurricane offense that has myriad unique weapons, such as RB Trey Watts, WR Bryan Burnham and H-back Willie Carter.
What To Watch Out For: If No. 32 in a blue jersey is followed this weekend, rest assured that the ball will rarely be off the screen. Senior Tulsa LB Curnelius Arnick continues to be the leader of the defense, amassing 113 tackles through the first nine games. In the win over UCF, he established a personal-best with 19 tackles, and is the single biggest reason that Marshall will continue to sputter on the ground at Chapman Stadium. The Herd comes in averaging 118 yards rushing a game, and 3.4 yards per carry.
What Will Happen: Blankenship and his staff will need to work overtime to keep their kids focused on what’s ahead rather than how much they’ve achieved since the beginning of October. The Hurricane has just two more winnable games before hosting Houston on Nov. 25 in a game that figures to decide one-half of the Conference USA title game docket. Tulsa will need time to shake Marshall, which can be a pesky bunch on defense. However, it won’t have nearly enough success on offense to keep pace with a Tulsa attack that’ll eventually pull away for good in the second half.
CFN Prediction: Tulsa 38 … Marshall 16
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