2008 Tulsa Golden Hurricane - Rec. Class

Tulsa Golden Hurricane 2008 Head Coach: Todd Graham

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

2008 Recruiting Class

Star of the Class

Jacob Bower QB 6-3 233 So. Meridian, Idaho/Bakersfield CC
Was the starting quarterback for 12-1 Bakersfield Junior College in 2007 . . . led his team to an 8-0 record in the Western State Conference and advanced to the So Cal Championship, losing 47-42 against Mt. Sac . . . completed 61-percent of his passes for 3,034 yards and 35 touchdowns in 13 games . . . also rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns in 2007 . . . was rated as a 4-star prospect by JCFootball.com . . . junior college coach was Jeff Chudy . . . originally signed with BYU and sat out the 2006 season following a two-year mission . . was a first-team all-state selection as senior at Mountain View High School . . . was recognized as a SuperPrep and PrepStar All-American as a prep senior . . . entered his senior season with 4,300 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2003.

Potential Instant Impact Players

DeAundre Brown DB 5-11 180 Fr. Arlington, Texas/Seguin
Was a three-year letterwinner and starter at Seguin High School . . . started at receiver for three years, and at free safety his senior season  . . caught 40 passes for 450 yards and had 30 kick returns for 600 yards and one TD as a senior . . . tallied 35 solo tackles and caused two fumbles in three games as a senior.

Kevin Fitzpatrick P/PK 6-2 175 Fr. Jensen Beach, Fla./Jensen Beach
Was a two-year letterwinner and starter at Jensen Beach High School . . . handled the kicking chores . . . connected on 8-of-11 field goals his senior season . . . had a season-long 49-yard field goal . . . was named to the Outback Bowl All-Star Game . . . converted 6-of-8 field goals his junior campaign.

Rest of the Class
Chris Adkins RB 5-8 187 Fr. Tulsa, Okla./Jenks
Clint Anderson OL 6-2 253 Fr. Allen, Texas/Allen
Matt Best OL 6-0 255 Fr. Montgomery, Texas/Montgomery
Bryan Burnham DB 6-2 185 Fr. Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown
Willie Carter RB 6-2 200 Fr. Crockett, Texas/Crockett
Alan Dock LB 5-10 210 Fr. Giddings, Texas/Giddings
Cory Dorris OL 6-4 241 Fr. Jenks, Okla./Jenks
John Flanders CB 5-10 163 Fr. Midwest City, Okla./Midwest City
Jared Grigg OL 6-4 258 Fr. Hindsville, Ark./Har-Ber
Derrick Jackson DL 6-2 285 Fr. Del City, Okla./Del City
Damaris Johnson WR 5-8 170 Fr. Norco, La./Destrehan
Cody Lambert DB 6-0 168 Fr. Warren, Ark/Warren
Ade’ Manga DB 6-2 220 Jr. Winfield, Kan./Coffeyville JC
Brian Moore LB 6-0 184 Fr. Spring, Texas/Klein
Gabe Moyer OL 6-2 325 Fr. Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness
Kaipo Sarkissian LB 6-1 235 Jr. Kamehameha, Hawaii/El Camino JC
Bobby Smith CB 5-10 172 Fr. Putnam City, Okla./Putnam City
Zach Wallace LB 6-1 223 Fr Muskogee, Okla./Hilldale
Maurice White DL 6-6 240 Fr. Midwest City, Okla./Midwest City
Trent Wilkins DB 5-11 191 Fr. Duncan, Okla./Duncan
Dee Williams WR 6-2 208 Jr. Ashdown, Ark./Butler CC

- 2007 Tulsa Season
- 2007 Tulsa Preview
- 2006 Tulsa Season

2007 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 9-3
2007 Results: 10-4

Aug. 30 at UL Monroe W 35-17
Sept. 15 BYU W 55-47
Sept. 21 Oklahoma L 62-21
Sept. 29 UAB W 38-30
Oct. 6 at UTEP L 48-47
Oct. 13 Marshall W 38-31
Oct. 20 at UCF L 44-23
Oct. 27 SMU W 29-23
Nov. 3 at Tulane W 49-25
Nov. 10 Houston W 56-7
Nov. 17 at Army W 49-39
Nov. 24 at Rice W 48-43
Conference USA Championship
Dec. 1 UCF L 44-25
GMAC Bowl
Jan. 6 Bowling Green W 63-7

2007 Recap

Recap: Losing Steve Kragthorpe to Louisville doesn’t look like such a bad deal for Tulsa after all.  While Kragthorpe’s Cardinals were becoming one of the most disappointing teams of 2007, the Todd Graham-led Hurricane was flourishing in its new hurry-up, no-huddle offense.  Tulsa led the country in total offense, offsetting the play of a suspect defense, to win 10 games, while providing the backdrop for record-setting QB Paul Smith to account for an amazing 60 touchdowns and 5,184 yards.           

Offensive Player of the Year: QB Paul Smith

Defensive Player of the Year: LB Chris Chamberlain

Biggest Surprise: The offensive line.  For a unit that was completely gutted by graduations, the Hurricane offensive line did a surprisingly good job of protecting Smith and paving the way for Tarrion Adams to run for 1,225 yards on just 219 carries.  Led by Justin Morsey and Rodrick Thomas on the right side, the line returns four starters, and should be even more effective next fall.

Biggest Disappointment: Although it had two chances, Tulsa just couldn’t solve UCF and RB Kevin Smith, allowing 44 points and chunks of rushing yards in each game.  By getting blown out in each meeting, including the league title game, the Hurricane lost an opportunity to upgrade its bowl destination from the GMAC Bowl to the Liberty Bowl.   

Looking Ahead: Even though Smith is out of eligibility, this is an exciting time for the Tulsa program.  If his likely successor, David Johnson, is up to the challenge, the offense will roll again in 2008, especially with such an abundance of skill position players back at Skelly Stadium.

Jan. 6
2008 GMAC Bowl
Tulsa 63 ... Bowling Green 7
Bowling Green lost four fumbles in the first half and Tulsa was happy to take advantage on the way to a 35-0 first half lead and a 42-0 start before the Falcons finally got on the board. With a few trick plays and the passing of Paul Smith, the Golden Hurricane rolled at will with five Smith scoring passes, including two to Trae Johnson, and a touchdown catch, run, and throw from RB Tarrion Adams. The normally high-powered Bowling Green offense was held to just 229 yards with the lone score coming on a kickoff return after a 14-yard Johnson catch. This was the biggest blowout in bowl history.
Offensive Player of the Game: Tulsa QB Paul Smith completed 27 of 45 passes for 312 yards and five touchdowns, and ran nine times for 46 yards and a score.
Defensive Player of the Game: Tulsa LB Chris Chamberlain made 17 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss and forced a fumble
Stat Leaders: Bowling Green - Passing: Tyler Sheehan, 14-19, 141 yds
Rushing: Tyler Sheehan, 7-21. Receiving: Anthony Turner, 6-33
Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 27-45, 312 yds, 5 TD
Rushing: Tarrion Adams, 17-112, 1 TD. Receiving: Charles Clay, 11-69, 1 TD
Thoughts & Notes ... Paul Smith set an NCAA record with his 14th straight 300-yard passing game ... Bowling Green QB Tyler Sheehan was knocked out in the first half with an ankle injury. He still finished as the team's leading rusher. ... This has to be considered among the ugliest bowl games of all-time. Tulsa's normally porous defense didn't let Bowling Green have any sort of a shot by getting into the backfield time and again. The Falcon turnovers made it a laugher, while Todd Graham and the Golden Hurricane coaching staff showed just how prepared they were. All the gadgets, the execution, the defensive pressure; it all worked.

Dec. 1
Conference USA Championship
UCF 44 ... Tulsa 25
UCF RB Kevin Smith ran wild with 284 yards and scores from three, 46, four and 74 yards out, Michael Torres hit three field goals and Joe Burnett returned a punt 83 yards for a score in the wild shootout. Tulsa kept pace with three Paul Smith touchdown passes, with a 27-yard play to Trae Johnson and a 22 yarder to Charley Clay, but the offense didn't get on the board in the second half with the only points coming on a safety. Tanks to Smith, the Knights outgained the Golden Hurricane 308 yards to 32 on the ground, but Tulsa threw for 438 yards.
Player of the game: UCF RB Kevin Smith ran 39 times for 284 yards and four touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 28-55, 426 yds, 3 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Tarrion Adams, 18-41. Receiving: Brennan Marion, 7-96
UCF - Passing: Kyle Israel, 6-13, 128 yds
Rushing: Kevin Smith, 39-284, 4 TD. Receiving: Rocky Ross, 3-63
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Everyone knew the defense was going to have major problems with Kevin Smith and the UCF offense, and everyone knew this was going to be a shootout, but the shocker was how the offense stopped moving in the second half. UCF's defense had a lot to do with that, especially in the secondary, but this Tulsa offense was moving the ball on everyone all year long without much of a problem. The lack of a consistent running game became a problem once the passing game started to sputter. Over the course of the bowl preparations, the coaching staff had better figure out something with the run defense or Bowling Green's high-octane attack will go ballistic.

Nov. 24
Tulsa 48 ... Rice 43
Rice cranked out 700 yards of total offense with QB Chase Clement setting a Conference USA record with 601 yards of total offense, and lost. Tulsa clinched the West title helped by five touchdown passes from Paul Smith with strikes to Brennan Marion from 49 and 31 yards out in the first quarter and a 19-yard play to Trae Johnson midway through the fourth for a little breathing room. After a Clement pass to Chance Talbert for a 24-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the game, Rice never led the rest of the way.
Player of the game: Tulsa QB Paul Smith completed 22 of 39 passes for 441 yards and five touchdowns with an interception, and ran six times for four yards and a score, and Rice QB Chase Clement completed 40 of 66 passes for 541 yards and three touchdowns with an interception and ran 17 times for 60 yards
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 22-39, 441 yds, 5 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Tarrion Adams, 24-146. Receiving: Brennan Marion, 7-244, 2 TD
Rice - Passing: Chase Clement, 40-66, 541 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chase Clement, 17-60. Receiving: James Casey, 11-110
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... It's a good thing Paul Smith and the offense are unstoppable because the defense isn't even close. Because Smith always came through and because the attack is so explosive, Tulsa was able to get by lousy teams like Army and Rice in firefights to close out with a five-game winning streak and six wins in the final seven games. The one loss came to UCF, and to win the rematch in the Conference USA title game, there can't be any offensive mistakes. Kevin Smith and company will hang a monster number on the board.

Nov. 17
Tulsa 49 ... Army 39
Tulsa's offense was humming all cylinders with 622 yards, but the outcome was in doubt until Paul Smith ran for a one-yard score with 1:33 to play. Smith added touchdown passes from 50 yards out to Brennan Marion, with ten seconds to play in the first half, and from 15 yards out to Trae Johnson in the fourth quarter to keep up with the Army passing attack. Carson Williams threw for a career-high 328 yards with three touchdown passes including two to Jeremy Trimble. A nine-yard Tony Dace run pulled the Black Knights within three, but Army lost a fumble on a late drive leading to the Smith score. Caleb Campbell made 16 tackles for Army, while Alain Karatepeyan led the way with 15 stops for the Golden Hurricane.
Player of the game: Tulsa QB Paul Smith completed 22 of 32 passes for 390 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score.
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 22-32, 390 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Tarrion Adams, 17-118, 2 TD. Receiving: Trae Johnson, 9-119, 1 TD
Army - Passing: Carson Williams, 26-38, 328 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Tony Dace, 14-69, 1 TD. Receiving: Jeremy Trimble, 11-167, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... A week after the defense was so dominant in the win over Houston, it couldn't slow down the anemic Army offense and needs a late score to finally put the game away. The offense keeps on humming with QB Paul Smith dialed in and playing as well as he ever has in his great career, while Tarrion Adams added good balance with 118 yards after not getting much work last week. Now Tulsa needs to get by Rice to play for the Conference USA championship, and with the way the team is playing on both sides of the ball, it'll be yet another mega-shootout.

Nov. 10
Tulsa 56 ... Houston 7
Tulsa got out to a 35-0 halftime lead on four of Paul Smith's five touchdown passes, with strikes from 53 and 32 yards out to Brennan Marion, and a one-yard Smith run. The Golden Hurricane kept on rolling with a 56-0 lead late into the fourth with touchdown runs from Tarrion Adams and Jamad Williams in the second half before Houston finally got on the board with a five-yard Terrance Ganaway run with 2:25 to play. The Cougars turned the ball over five times and were outgained 515 yards to 324. Tulsa's Chris Chamberlain made 20 tackles.
Player of the game: Tulsa QB Paul Smith completed 15 of 28 passes for 313 yards and five touchdowns, and he ran seven times for 32 yards and a score
Stat Leaders: Houston - Passing: Case Keenum, 12-15, 81 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Terrance Ganaway, 8-39, 1 TD. Receiving: Mark Hafner, 6-47
Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 15-28, 313 yds, 5 TD
Rushing: Jamad Williams, 16-56, 1 TD. Receiving: Charles Clay, 5-97, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Tulsa certainly made its statement in the Conference USA title race by blasting Houston with a dominant performance on both sides of the ball. Paul Smith wasn't always sharp, but with the way he hit on all his deep balls, he didn't have to be. The defense came up with its best game of the year with five turnovers and holding down the high-powered Cougar attack to 324 yards. There's still work to be done needing to beat Rice in two weeks, but this was a huge step towards a title.

Nov. 3
Tulsa 49 ... Tulane 25
Tulsa blew open a tight game with 28 second half points on a one-yard Paul Smith touchdown run and two scoring passes, highlighted by a 37-yard play to Trae Johnson, and an A.J. Whitmore 56-yard touchdown dash. Tulane got a touchdown pass and a scoring run from QB Anthony Scelfo, but star RB Matt Forte was held to 103 yards. The defense gave up 600 yards of Tulsa offense along with a 92-yard Roy Roberts kickoff return for a score after the Green Wave offense got a 44-yard Brian King touchdown catch. Smith finished with two rushing touchdowns and threw for three scores.
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 18-27, 319 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jamad Williams, 31-153. Receiving: Trae Johnson, 4-49, 1 TD
Tulane - Passing: Anthony Scelfo, 17-28, 237 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Matt Forte, 26-103. Receiving: Jeremy Williams, 6-76
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... The offense cranked out 600 yards with nearly perfect balance and a brilliant day from Paul Smith, but the win over Tulane, for the first time all year, belongs just as much to the defense. The Green Wave got 401 yards of offense, but star RB Matt Forte struggled to get going and the passing game wasn't effective enough. If Jamad Williams can continue to run like he did this week, Smith won't have to do everything by himself.

Oct. 20
UCF 44 ... Tulsa 23
Kevin Smith ran for scores from 13, 15, four and 44 yards out as UCF cruised comfortably to the win after the second quarter. Tulsa took a 14-10 lead early on thanks to two of Paul Smith's three touchdown passes, but the Golden Knight defense took over just as Kevin Smith started to heat up. The Golden Hurricane only gained 379 yards of total offense and got down 41-17 before getting back on the board with a nine-yard Cameron Clemons catch.
Player of the game: UCF RB Kevin Smith ran 33 times for 170 yards an three touchdowns
Stat Leaders: UCF - Passing: Kyle Israel, 21-29, 224 yds,1 TD
Rushing: Kevin Smith, 33-170, 3 TD. Receiving: Sergio Joachim, 9-98
Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 34-56, 316 yds, 3 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: Tarrion Adams, 10-47. Receiving: Dion Toliver, 8-56
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... The defense isn't getting any better. UCF's Kevin Smith is going to run on everyone, but for the Golden Hurricane to struggle so much against Kyle Israel and the passing game shows just how bad things are. If the offense isn't humming, the results will be disastrous. Winning out is a must to have any hopes of navigating through the traffic and win the West, and to do that, the D has to come up with at least one stop at some point. Just one.

Oct. 13
Tulsa 38 ... Marshall 31
Tulsa rolled up 578 yards of total offense with Paul Smith running for a one-yard score and throwing three touchdown passes, taking the lead for good on a 73-yard play to Brennan Marion with just over five minutes to play. Cody Slate caught a two-yard touchdown pass with 1:18 to play to get the Herd within seven, but Tulsa recovered the onside kick and held on. Tarrion Adams scored twice for the Golden Hurricane in the first half, but Marshall stayed alive with two Chubb Small touchdown runs and a four-yard Shawn Lauzon scoring grab.
Player of the game: Tulsa QB Paul Smith completed 24 of 39 passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a score.
Stat Leaders: Marshall - Passing: Bernard Morris, 21-37, 260 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Darius Marshall 13-63. Receiving: Cody Slate, 6-102, 1 TD
Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 24-39, 385 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Tarrion Adams, 15-134, 1 TD. Receiving: Tarrion Adams, 6-35, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Tulsa is at it again. The offense keeps putting up numbers in bunches, but the defense is giving up stats and points just as quickly. While the defensive problems cost the Golden Hurricane against Tulsa, the offense was able to get up enough to hang on against Marshall. What's going to happen when the real teams start to kick in? If Tulsa can't handle Marshall, it's going to have a world of problems with UCF next week and Houston down the road.

Oct. 6
UTEP 48 ... Tulsa 47
In a wild games with 1,218 yards of total offense, UTEP came through with a 14-yard Joe West touchdown catch with 58 seconds to play to tie it, and then Jose Martinez hit the extra point to take the lead. It wasn't over. Tulsa got a big kickoff return from Trae Johnson, who later caught a 14-yard pass on fourth and one, to set up a 53-yard field goal attempt, but Jarod Tracy missed wide left to give UTEP the win. Marcus Thomas ran for three touchdowns for the Miners, scoring from three, 11 and 38 yards out, while Tulsa got a huge day from Paul Smith, who threw two touchdown passes to Johnson, and ran for two more.
Player of the game: UTEP RB Marcus Thomas ran 27 times for 134 yards and three touchdowns.
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 26-43, 383 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Charles Clay, 11-112, 1 TD. Receiving: Trae Johnson, 8-127, 2 TD
UTEP - Passing: Trevor Vittatoe, 21-27, 319 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Marcus Thomas, 27-134, 3 TD. Receiving: Jeff Moturi, 7-174, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... The offense keeps working, but the defense isn't coming close to stopping anyone. Paul Smith and the high-octane attack were able to overcome the problems in earlier games, but this time, against UTEP, it didn't work, as the Miners moved too easily and too quickly when they had to. Even so, the Golden Hurricane was a missed field goal away from pulling this off and still being the main team in the Conference USA race, and now it has to take advantage of a favorable next month to overcome this loss and stay in the hunt.

Sept. 29
Tulsa 38 ... UAB 30
It took Tulsa a little while to get going, and then it got a big game from Paul Smith, who threw touchdown passes from 24 yards to Cameron Clemons, and two to Marion Brennan from 35 and 52 yards out. It wasn't until Smith ran for a one-yard score that Tulsa could breathe easily as UAB kept the heat on with two fourth quarter touchdown passes from Sam Hunt. Tulsa finished with 695 yards of total offense, while UAB cranked out 403.
Player of the game: Tulsa QB Paul Smith threw for 333 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, running for 47 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
Stat Leaders: UAB - Passing: Sam Hunt, 13-26, 152 yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing: Joseph Webb, 18-81. Receiving: Mario Wright, 5-51, 1 TD
Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 19-37, 333 yds, 3 TDs, 2 INTs
Rushing: Tarrion Adams, 24-183, 1 TD. Receiving: Dion Tolliver, 5-88
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Tulsa's offense, when it's working, is as dangerous as any of the mid-majors. UAB was powerless to handle the balance, with the Golden Hurricane rumbling for 362 yards on the ground and throwing for 333. The defense continues to be a major question mark, giving up way too many yards and points for the third game in a row, but as long as Paul Smith is playing at such a high level, the offense will simply outbomb just about everyone left on the schedule.

Sept. 21
Oklahoma 62 ... Tulsa 21
Oklahoma's offense exploded with Sam Bradford connecting with Juaquin Iglesias for two or his three touchdown passes and Allen Patrick rushing for two scores and DeMarco Murray running for a touchdown and taking a punt for a score. Tulsa's offense moved the ball well, and even scored first with a 15-yard Jesse Meyer touchdown catch, but the defense couldn't handle the Sooner offensive balance. The Sooners jumped ahead 21-7 highlighted by a 46-yard Iglesias touchdown, and blew it open with a 35-14 halftime lead on a one-yard Patrick run. The Golden Hurricane made it interesting with a Paul Smith rushing touchdown on its opening drive of the second half, but OU scored 27 unanswered points, helped by a 40-yard Iglesias score.
Player of the game: Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford completed 15 of 21 passes for 244 yards and three touchdowns with an interception
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 22-32, 350 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Tarrion Adams, 9-44. Receiving: Jesse Meyer, 7-114, 1 TD
Oklahoma - Passing: Sam Bradford, 16-22, 244 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Allen Patrick, 19-145, 2 TD. Receiving: Juaquin Iglesias, 7-141, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Much will be made of OU's issues on defense against Tulsa, but the Golden Hurricane attack is going to roll up yards on everyone. Chalk it up to the Sooners taking a while to adjust and get on track, but even so, after this game, past defensive issues (a certain Fiesta Bowl comes to mind) might make the voters take notice. Hopefully, they'll also have noticed Curtis Lofton, who was all over the field and seemingly in on every play with 14 tackles. And then there's the offense, which continues to be unstoppable with a frightening balance and yet another brilliant performance from Sam Bradford. Once again, the O line was incredible.

Sept. 15
Tulsa 55 ... BYU 47
In a wild shootout with the two teams combining for 1,027 passing yards, it was two false start penalties to ruin a final BYU chance, and Tulsa's defense snuffing out long drives with four takeaways. Paul Smith threw five touchdown passes with three to Charles Clay, but BYU always had an answer in the see-saw game. Max Hall threw for 547 yards and four touchdowns, and Manase Tonga ran for two touchdowns. Tulsa's defense got in the big play act with a 49-yard interception return for a score from Ray Roberts, but this was all about the haymakers. In one tremendous second quarter sequence, Hall his Austin Collie for a 45-yard touchdown, and Smith answered ten second later by connecting with Brennan Marion for a 75-yard touchdown pass. BYU responded in four plays with a 13-yard Dennis Pitta scoring grab, and the scoring went on and one, with the two teams combining for 44 points in the quarter. In all the two teams cranked out 1,289 yards of total offense and 59 first downs.
Player of the game: Tulsa QB Paul Smith completed 21 of 35 passes for 454 yards and five touchdowns
Stat Leaders: BYU - Passing: Max Hall, 35-57, 537 yds, 4 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Harvey Unga, 21-100, 1 TD. Receiving: Michael Reed, 8-132, 1 TD
Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 21-35, 454 yds, 5 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Tarrion Adams, 18-79, 1 TD. Receiving: Trae Johnson, 5-95, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... The Todd Graham era certainly is exciting. The win over BYU will go down as one of the biggest in the program's recent history, because it showed how the offense can hang with anyone in a firefight, and it showed good toughness in not screwing up late, while the Cougars imploded. QB Paul Smith was out of this world, bombing away, putting the ball where it had to be for his receivers to take off, and making enough good decisions to constantly keep up even when the defense was breaking down. He'll have to do more of the same if the Golden Hurricane is going to have any shot against Oklahoma.

Aug. 30
Tulsa 35 ... UL Monroe 17
Tulsa overcame a rocky first half to score 21 unanswered points in the second on two Paul Smith touchdown passes and a four-yard Chris Chamberlain run. The 41-yard scoring play to Trae Johnson in the third quarter finally gave Tulsa a comfortable lead, and then the defense did the rest against a ULM passing game that struggled outside of a ten-yard LaGregory Sapp touchdown catch. ULM's other score came on a 46-yard Matt Freeman fumble return after Smith failed to fall on the ball. Calvin Dawson ran for 150 yards for the WarHawks.
Player of the game: Tulsa QB Paul Smith completed 22 of 31 passes for 307 yards and three touchdowns with an interception
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 22-31, 307 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Tarrion Adams, 28-129, 1 TD. Receiving: Charles Clay, 8-92
UL Monroe - Passing: Kinsmon Lancaster, 7-21, 66 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Calvin Dawson, 24-150. Receiving: LaGregory Sapp, 3-23, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... The Todd Graham offense didn't exactly light up UL Monroe, but it was extremely effective with Paul Smith running it. There were a few bumps in the road, and a bad play by the veteran quarterback on a ULM fumble return for a score, but Smith used his receivers well and Tarrion Adams had a nice day running the ball. For things to work like Graham might like, the pace of the attack has to be even quicker, and a star receiver needs to emerge. One big concern could be the placekicking with Jarod Tracy missing from 34 and 36 yards out.