Dec. 23
2006 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Utah 25 ... Tulsa 13
Utah outgained Tulsa 405 yards to 254 and had no problems moving the
ball, but it finished off several drives with field goals. Fortunately
for the Utes, Louie Sakoda hit all four of his attempts connecting from
45, 39, 41, and 34 yards, to go along with a ten-yard touchdown pass to
Brent Casteel for a 19-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. Tulsa's
offense never got on track only managing a one-yard Paul Smith touchdown
run capitalizing on a Bobby Blackshire interception of Brett Ratliff.
Tulsa appeared to be back in it only down six, but Eric Weddle took over
moving over from the defensive side to run Utah's offense, literally,
with a key late drive running seven times with a four-yard touchdown
dash sealing the win.
Player of the game ... Utah's Eric Weddle ran ten times for 56 yards and a touchdown, made
six tackles, recovered a fumble was in on half a sack and picked off a
pass
Stat Leaders: Utah - Passing: Brett Ratliff,
23-34, 240 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brent Casteel, 7-66 Receiving: Brian
Hernandez, 8-55
Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 0-27, 158 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Courtney Tennial, 6-53 Receiving: Tarrion Adams, 9-63
Notes & Thoughts ...
Utah moved the ball, Tulsa didn't. It was
that simple. The Utes were able to connect on the plays they needed to
to keep the chains moving converting seven of 14 third down chances,
while Tulsa only converted two of 11 tries. The Golden Hurricane
couldn't find anything to rely on with the Ute defense all over the
place and doing as good a job wrapping up as it had all season long. ...
The Utah offensive line didn't have a fantastic season, but it came up
with a good outing, and was especially helped with the quickness and
toughness of Eric Weddle, who capped his career with a fitting
performance putting it away with a rushing touchdown, and ending the
game with an interception. ... Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham might be
disappointed with the way the first two seasons have gone in his regime,
but he's been fantastic in bowl games dominating Georgia Tech in last
year's Emerald Bowl and coming up with a solid win over Tulsa. ... This
loss showed what happens when Tulsa's offense doesn't work. Paul Smith
is a talented, smart, efficient passer, but he didn't make any
game-changing throws and was stuck dinking and dunking. This off-season,
the coaching staff has to work on how to get more of a vertical passing
game going to add more to Smith's repertoire.
|
2006
Schedule
2006 Results: 8-5 |
|
8/31 |
St. F. Austin W 45-7 |
| 9/9 |
at BYU L 49-24 |
| 9/16 |
North Texas W 28-3 |
| 9/23 |
at Navy W 24-23 OT |
|
10/3 |
Southern Miss W 20-6 |
| 10/14 |
at East Carolina W 31-10 |
| 10/21 |
at Memphis W 35-14 |
| 10/27 |
UTEP W 30-20 |
| 11/4 |
at Houston L 27-10 |
| 11/11 |
Rice L 41-38 2OT |
| 11/18 |
at SMU L 34-24 |
| 11/24 |
Tulane W 38-3 |
| 12/23 |
Armed Forces Bowl
Utah L 25-13 |
|
|
2005
Schedule
CFN
Prediction:
4-7
2005 Results: 9-4
Preview
2005 predicted wins
|
| 9/3 |
Minnesota L 41-10 |
| 9/10 |
at Oklahoma L 31-15 |
| 9/17 |
at North Texas
W 54-2 |
|
9/24 |
Memphis W 37-31 OT |
| 10/1 |
Houston
L 30-23 |
| 10/8 |
at So Miss W 34-17 |
| 10/15 |
at
Rice W 41-21 |
| 10/22 |
SMU
W 20-13 |
| 11/5 |
at UTEP L 41-38 |
| 11/12 |
East Carolina
W 45-13 |
| 11/19 |
at Tulane W 38-14 |
| 12/3 |
C-USA Championship
UCF W 41-27 |
| 12/31 |
Liberty Bowl
Fresno State W 31-24 |
|
Nov. 24
Tulsa 38 ... Tulane 3
Tulsa had no problems with Tulane getting out to a 17-0
halftime lead and coasting from there. The Golden Hurricane outgained the Green
Wave 458 yards to 152 and only allowed a 30-yard Ross Thevenot third quarter
field goal. Courtney Tennial ran for two shorts scores, Brandon Diles ran for a
one-yard touchdown, and Paul Smith threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Cody
Madison.
Player of the game ...
Tulsa QB Paul
Smith completed 14 of 20 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown and ran six times
for 30 yards
Stat Leaders: Tulane - Passing: Lester Ricard, 10-21, 78
yds
Rushing: Ade Tuyo, 16-64 Receiving: Damarcus Davis, 6-29
Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 14-20, 215 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Courtney Tennial, 11-49, 2 TD Receiving: Ryan Bugg,
6-99
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
After an ugly three-game losing streak,
Tulsa played like Tulsa again with an efficient, inspired blowout win over
Tulane. Paul Smith was sharp and effective getting all the key throws he needed,
while the running game spread the wealth around well getting several players
involved throughout. The team needed a confidence booster going into its bowl
game, and this was it.
Nov. 18
SMU 34 ... Tulsa 24
Justin Willis threw two touchdown passes and ran for a
six-yard score as SMU overcame a 24-7 halftime deficit to score 27
unanswered points pulling away on a 14-yard Blake Warren touchdown run
with just over five minutes to play. Tulsa got up early helped by short
touchdown runs from Courtney Tennial and Paul Smith along with a 12-yard
Idris Moss touchdown catch, but the offense couldn't keep drives going
in the second half as SMU held on to the ball for almost 18 minutes.
Moss finished with 13 catches for the Golden Hurricane
Player of
the game ...
SMU QB Justin Willis
was 11-of-18 for 190 yards and two touchdowns and added another score
and 93 yards on 17 carries.
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 22-30,
230 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Courtney Tennial, 14-54, 1 TD Receiving: Idris
Moss, 13-120, 1 TD
SMU - Passing: Justin Willis, 11-18, 190 yds, 2 TDs
Rushing: Justin Willis, 17-93, 1 TD Receiving: Bobby Chase,
4-57, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
What happened to the team that was so tight, so clutch, and so efficient
at putting teams away? for the second straight week, the Golden
Hurricane lost in painful fashion following up a double-overtime loss to
Rice with a awful second half in the loss to SMU. Strangely enough, the
passing game was crisp and there was a decent, but not great, ground
game. Even so, the offense couldn't score in the second half while the
defense couldn't stop Justin Willis and the Mustang offense. A bowl game
is a certainty, but the team needs to beat Tulane next week to right the
ship.
Nov. 11
Rice 41 ... Tulsa 38 2OT
Rice answered a 39-yard Jarod Tracy field goal in the second
overtime with a 25-yard touchdown catch from Jarrett Dillard for the
win. Dillard caught an 11-yard touchdown pass to start the scoring in
the first overtime, but Tulsa came back with a one-yard Paul Smith
touchdown run on fourth and goal. Down 20-7 in the fourth quarter after
a 65-yard Dillard touchdown catch, Tulsa got two rushing touchdowns from
Courtney Tennial, and then answered a nine-yard Chase Clement scoring
run with a three-yard Smith run to force overtime. Tulsa outgained Rice
568 yards to 356 but lost four turnovers.
Player of the game ...
Rice WR Jarrett Dillard caught eight passes for 137 yards and three
touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 17-29, 308 yds,
1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Tarrion Adams, 15-116 Receiving: Ryan Bugg, 7-145
Rice - Passing: Chase Clement, 14-36, 209 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Chase Clement, 20-69, 1 TD Receiving: Jarrett
Dillard, 8-137, 3 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Tulsa blew its chance to have any hope of staying in
the Conference USA race after starting out cold against Rice and not
coming up with the defensive stop needed in overtime to get the win. The
secondary didn't have an answer for WR Jarrett Dillard and struggled way
too much with the Owl balance, but the biggest issues were turnovers and
penalties which killed momentum and several big opportunities. The
offense was effective overall and needs to get back on track next week
at SMU to stay in the hunt for a bowl. Beating the Mustangs and Tulane
would mean a 9-3 record and a 13th game.
Nov. 4
Houston 27 ... Tulsa 10
Houston overcame ten penalties and an early 10-7 deficit to
score 20 unanswered points on two Ben Bell field goals, a 14-yard
Vincent Marshall touchdown catch and a one-yard Jackie Battle run.
The Cougars started off the scoring with a three-yard Anthony
Aldridge run, but a Roshawn Pope fumble deep in Cougar territory
allowed the Golden Hurricane to tie it on a nine-yard run from
Courtney Tennial. Tulsa's offense went nowhere over most of the game
gaining most of its yards in garbage time late.
Player of the game ...
Houston RB Anthony Aldridge ran 12 times for 136 yards and a touchdown and
caught two passes for six yards
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 16-34, 136 yds,
1 INT
Rushing: Courtney Tennial, 12-70, 1 TD Receiving: Tarrion
Adams, 5-9
Houston - Passing: Kevin Kolb, 16-21, 244 yds,
1 TD
Rushing: Anthony Aldridge, 12-136, 1 TD Receiving: Vincent
Marshall, 4-54, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Tulsa's offense hasn't been consistent
over the last few weeks and it came back to bite it against Houston.
Paul Smith and the passing game failed to consistently move the ball
on the average Cougar secondary, and Courtney Tennial didn't get
enough on the ground to pick up the slack. Even though the West is
out of the team's control, there's no time for a letdown. Houston is
known for losing some games it shouldn't so if the Golden Hurricane
can win out against Rice, SMU and Tulane, there's still a shot.
Oct. 27
Tulsa 30 ... UTEP 20
Down 20-6 in the third quarter after UTEP struck with a
69-yard touchdown pass to Johnnie Lee Higgins, Tulsa scored the final 23 points
with Paul Smith hitting Don Johnson with a four-yard touchdown pass, Courtney
Tennial rushing for a one-yard score, and Chris Chamberlain picking off a Jordan
Palmer pass for a 25-yard touchdown to take the lead for good. UTEP got two
Reagan Schneider field goals and a Marcus Thomas touchdown on the way to the
early lead. Jarod Tracy kicked three field goals for the Golden Hurricane.
Player of the game ...
Tulsa LB Chris Chamberlain led the team with seven tackles and turned the
game around with an interception for a score.
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 16-23, 176 yds,
1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Courtney Tennial, 23-83, 1 TD Receiving: Idris
Moss, 5-75
UTEP - Passing: Jordan Palmer, 21-37, 253 yds, 1
TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Marcus Thomas, 9-27, 1 TD Receiving: Johnnie Lee
Higgins, 10-153, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Tulsa took total control of the Conference USA West race by beating UTEP with
good balance, solid second half defense, and coming up with the big turnover
when it needed it. The team didn't play well in the first half struggling to
keep the chains moving and not finding anything to rely on, but that changed
early in the second half. Credit the solid coaching and the team's toughness to
fight through the adversity.
Oct. 21
Tulsa 35 ... Memphis 14
Tulsa had no problems doing whatever it wanted to scoring on
its first three possessions with a Courtney Tennial running for the
first of his three scores, Ryan Bugg catching a 41-yard scoring
pass, and Dexter Taylor getting a four-yard touchdown for a 21-7
halftime lead. Tennial ran for scores from two and three yards out
in the second half. Memphis got a four-yard Joe Doss touchdown run
in the second quarter and a 13-yard scoring pass from Martin Hankins
in the fourth.
Player of
the game ...
Tulsa RB Courtney Tennial ran 21 times for 98 yards and two
touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 17-20, 217 yds,
1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Courtney Tennial, 21-98, 3 TD Receiving: Idris
Moss, 6-59
Memphis - Passing: Martin Hankins, 24-37, 157
yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Joseph Doss, 21-80, 1 TD Receiving:
Ryan Scott, 6-53
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... How good
is Tulsa right now? Memphis might be awful, but the Golden Hurricane
never let the game be interesting after midway point of the second
quarter thanks to a ruthlessly efficient passing day from Paul Smith
and a solid ground attack cranking out 139 yards. The D could've
been a bit tighter, and it couldn't get the Tigers off the field in
the second half. To beat UTEP and Houston over the next two weeks, the D has to be better on third downs.
Oct. 14
Tulsa 31 ... East Carolina 10
Paul Smith ran for two touchdowns and threw a seven-yard
scoring pass to Ryan Bugg as Tulsa dominated ECU with 234 rushing
yards controlling the clock for almost 38 minutes. East Carolina was
able to tie it up early with a four-yard James Pinkney touchdown
run, but failed to get back on the board until early in the fourth
on a 31-yard Robert Lee field goal. The Pirates turned it over three
times and finished with just 241 yards of total offense.
Player of the
game ...
Tulsa QB Paul
Smith was 15-of-21 for 124 yards, one touchdown and one interception
and ran for 40 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith,
15-21, 124 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Courtney Tennial, 22-88, 1 TD Receiving:
Idris Moss, 8-76
East Carolina - Passing: James Pinkney, 13-27,
92 yds
Rushing: Brandon Fractious, 10-61 Receiving: Bobby
Good, 7-48
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Tulsa's
offensive line is dominating. It pounded on Southern Miss last week,
and it beat up East Carolina getting the ground game going and
negating the Pirate home field advantage. Paul Smith managed the
game extremely well running and throwing with equal efficiency,
while the defense kept the ECU passing game from getting on track.
This appears to be the class of Conference USA with a legitimate
chance to run the table and finish 11-1.
Oct. 3
Tulsa 20 ... Southern Miss 6
Cauvey Jackson tore off a 59-yard scoring run early in the
first quarter for all the points Tulsa would need thanks to a
brilliant performance from the defense. Southern Miss gained 243
yards and turned it over twice while only managing two
second-quarter Darren McCaleb field goals. Tulsa was able to put it
away for good in the fourth quarter on a seven-yard Paul Smith
touchdown run and a two-yard Courtney Tennial dash. Linebackers
Nelson Coleman and Nick Bunting combined for 27 tackles for the
Golden Hurricane.
Player of the game ... Tulsa QB Paul Smith completed 16
of 25 passes for 201 yards and ran ten times for 69 yards and a
score.
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul
Smith, 16-25, 201 yds
Rushing: Courtney Tennial, 21-120, 1 TD. Receiving:
Donnie Johnson, 4-33
Southern Miss - Passing: Stephen Reaves,
11-27, 98 yds
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 24-110. Receiving: Josh
Barnes, 4-37
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Tulsa
shut down North Texas and Stephen F. Austin earlier in the year, but
considering the Southern Miss game was on national television and it
might have been a Conference USA Championship preview, this was the
team's best defensive performance so far. The linebackers were
flying all over the place, while the secondary did a great job of
blanketing the USM receivers and forcing bad play after bad play.
The one downside to the dominant win was the penalties committing 12
for 109 yards.
Sept. 23
Tulsa 24 ... Navy 23 OT
Tulsa scored on its first overtime possession on a six-yard
touchdown catch from Donnie Johnson, but Navy answered in one play on a 25-yard
touchdown catch from O.J. Washington. Nick Graham broke through the line and
blocked the extra point to give Tulsa the win. In the see-saw game, neither team
led by more than a score at any time after Navy started off the scoring in the
second quarter on a 26-yard Shun White touchdown run. Paul Smith finished with
three touchdown passes for the Golden Hurricane highlighted by a 34-yard scoring
play to Ryan Bugg to answer White's score.
Player of the game ... Tulsa QB Paul Smith completed 24
of 36 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns and ran four times for 19 yards
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul
Smith, 24-36, 285 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Brandon Diles, 15-90. Receiving:
Brandon Diles, 6-29
Navy - Passing: Brian Hampton, 6-11, 73
yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brian Hampton, 30-118, 1 TD. Receiving:
Reggie Campbell, 4-33
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... All
things considered, Tulsa held up tremendously well against the Navy
offense keeping it to under 300 rushing yards. Paul Smith had a very
steady, very solid game even though he wasn't able to hit on too
many deep plays. He was able to keep the chains moving over the
first three quarters, but it was the running game that led the way
to the game-tying field goal in the fourth. It was a good road win
against a dangerous team before jumping into Conference USA play,
and it might turn out to be the win that all but clinches a bowl bid
considering there are several easy games down the road.
Sept. 16
Tulsa 28 ... North Texas 3
It took Tulsa almost a full half to get going with the first
touchdown coming on a four-yard scoring pass to Ted Curtis as time ran out. That
kicked off 28 unanswered points with Paul Smith throwing for two scores and
Brandon Diles running for two. North Texas was only able to manage a 23-yard
Denis Hopovac field goal in the second quarter.
Player of the game ... Tulsa QB Paul Smith completed 21
of 33 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions and ran
nine times for 25 yards.
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul
Smith, 21-33, 266 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Brandon Diles, 8-47, 2 TD. Receiving:
Ryan Bugg, 7-87, 1 TD
North Texas - Passing: Woody Wilson, 4-5,
37 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Jamario Thomas, 13-33 Receiving:
Brandon Jackson, 2-52
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
It shows how good Tulsa can be when it can go through the
motions and dispose of a mediocre team like North Texas with ease. The offense
has to come out stronger right off the bat now that the meaty part of the
schedule kicks in. The run defense shut down UNT's Jamario Thomas, and now it
has to be even sharper, and the linebackers more disciplined and focused,
against Navy next week. It might be hard to convert three of 11 third down
chances and beat the Midshipmen.
Sept. 9
BYU 49 ... Tulsa 24
BYU overcame a second quarter 10-7 deficit with a 21-point run
highlighted by a 62-yard touchdown pass from John Beck to Curtis Brown. Tulsa
scored on a one-yard Tarrioun Adams run in the third quarter, but BYU went on
another 21-point run to put it away finishing off with a six-yard Harvey Unga
scoring run. Beck threw three scoring strikes on the day and Fui Vakapuna ran
for two scores while the Cougar offense cranked out 467 total yards of offense.
Player of the game ... BYU QB John Beck completed 16 of
21 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns
Stat Leaders: BYU - Passing: John Beck,
16-21, 240 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Curtis Brown, 21-125. Receiving:
Matt Allen, 4-58
Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 19-32, 182
yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Tarrion Adams, 8-23, 1 TD. Receiving:
Tarrion Adams, 7-89
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Tulsa needs to have a really short memory and put the
blowout loss to BYU in the past as soon as possible with winnable games against
North Texas and Navy coming up. The defense couldn't handle the Cougar offensive
balance, while the Golden Hurricane attack wasn't nearly effective enough early
on. This isn't an offense built around throwing the ball a ton, so if the ground
game isn't working, like it wasn't against BYU, there are going to be big
problems.
Aug. 31
Tulsa 47 ... Stephen F. Austin 7
Tulsa won in a walk taking a 31-0 halftime lead with two
touchdowns from Tarrion Adams and two in the second quarter from Courtney
Tennial. Paul Smith's third touchdown pass of the game came on a four-yard play
to Nick Henderson, and then the bench emptied. SFA got its points on a 28-yard
Vincent Pervis run late in the fourth quarter.
Player of the game ... Tulsa QB Paul Smith completed 16
of 20 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns and ran three times for 13
yards.
Stat Leaders: Stephen F. Austin - Passing:
Danny Southall, 11-23, 79 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Jerome Brooks, 3-50. Receiving:
Tyrel Williams, 4-29
Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 16-20, 229
yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Brandon Diles, 14-61. Receiving:
Idris Moss, 3-41
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Talk
about spreading the ball around, Tulsa was able to get 14 different receivers
with the passing game razor sharp against Stephen F. Austin under Paul Smith.
There might be some slight concern that backup David Johnson wasn't fantastic
outside of one big touchdown pass in garbage time, but it's hard to argue with
521 yards of total offense and several big plays. To battle with BYU next week,
the Golden Hurricane has to be able to keep up with the firefight.
2006 Tulsa Preview
Tulsa Preview |
Offense |
Defense |
Depth Chart |
Further Analysis
Take a look at what Tulsa had to overcome to be the Conference USA
champions on the way to a fantastic nine-win season.
First there was the shift from the WAC to its new league where
no one gave it a chance to do much in a division with UTEP and
Houston. There was the parade of superstar college running backs
that the defense had to face from Minnesota's Laurence Maroney to
Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson to Patrick Cobbs of North Texas to
DeAngelo Williams of Memphis. There was the loss to UTEP meaning it
would take a miracle just to get to the Conference USA title game,
and then the Golden Hurricane had to play a road game at UCF to win
the championship. Finally, there was the Liberty Bowl against a
Fresno State team that pushed USC to the wall.
Even with everything the team had to deal with, it still came
within a few big plays of finishing 12-1. But that's getting greedy
after the program's best season since 1991.
Head coach
Steve Kragthorpe took one of America's worst programs and made it
competitive with the breakout 2003 season followed up by the huge
4-8 disappointment in 2004. Now the Golden Hurricane doesn't have to
just meet expectations, it has to exceed them and can't fall flat
like it did two years ago. There's hardly much chance of that
happening with as much talent as anyone in the league.
As good as last year's team was, the potential is there to be
even better with 42 lettermen returning including QB Paul Smith, four
starters to the offensive line, and most of a defense that should be the
best in the league.
Most importantly, the team has to be
every bit as rock solid after finishing fourth in the nation in turnover
margin, committed 21 fewer penalties than its opponents, and was a
consistent, efficient offensive machine after the losses to Minnesota
and Oklahoma.
There are a few concerns to worry about. All-America tight end Garrett
Mills and top receiver Ashlan Davis are gone leaving two gaping holes.
The run defense might not have been as bad as the final numbers would
indicate thanks to all the great ground games it faced, but more
consistency from the defensive line would be nice. And then there are
the expectations. With this team, anything less than another Conference
USA title will be a major disappointment.
Will Kragthorpe start getting a few calls from the bigger schools? He
hasn't had to deal with the spotlight of being the new hot coach on the
block quite yet, but that will quickly change after what he has been
able to accomplish. As long as he's around for another few years, the
window is still wide open for this team to win multiple titles. Coming
up with two straight would be just fine for now.
The
Schedule:
There's not a game on the schedule Tulsa can't win since with no games
against BCS league teams and with the toughest non-conference games at BYU
and at Navy. There's a tough conference stretch of three road games in
four weeks with the one home oasis against UTEP for what might be the
West Division title. Things ease up late playing at SMU and at home
against Tulane, so if the Golden Hurricane can survive the midseason, it
should be another good year.
Best
Offensive Player: Junior QB Paul Smith. UTEP's Jordan Palmer and
Houston's Kevin Kolb will get all the national publicity and all the
headlines, but Smith might be the best quarterback in the league. He's a
steadier, mistake-free passer who did a great job of coming through when
he had to while Palmer, Kolb and UAB's Darrell Hackney were melting down
in the conference race.
Best
Defensive Player: Senior LB Nick Bunting. This went from being a
no-brainer to very, very debatable over the last year. Bunting is the
leader of the defense with 252 career tackles, but free safety Bobby
Blackshire, middle linebacker Nelson Coleman, and the return of safety
Kedrick Alexander make it a race for the honor of being the team's best
defender. In other words, there are plenty of playmakers on the Tulsa
defense.
Key player
to a successful season: Senior WR Idris Moss. It's easy to be an
efficient passer when you have a tight end like Garrett Mills and a deep
threat like Ashlan Davis to throw to. Those two are gone with the
leading returning wide receiver, Moss, back after finishing fifth on the
team in catches. He might not be explosive, but he has to be a reliable
target on the inside.
The season
will be a success if ... Tulsa wins the Conference USA title. This is the league's best
team and anything less than a second straight championship will be seen
as a failure no matter what else the team does.
Key game:
Oct 27 vs. UTEP. The following week's game at Houston might not mean
much if Tulsa can't get by UTEP. The Miners won last year's showdown
41-38 but couldn't take advantage losing its final two conference games
to allow Tulsa to backdoor its way in to the division title.
2005 Fun
Stats:
- Turnovers: Opponents 36 - Tulsa 18
- Third down conversions: Tulsa 95 of 195 (49%) - Opponents 72 of 183
(39%)
- Interception return average: Opponents 33.6 yards per return on 8
interceptions - Tulsa 7.8 yards per return on 22 interceptions
The Last Time Tulsa…
…played in a bowl game…2005 (Liberty Bowl vs. Fresno State)
…missed a bowl game…2004
…pitched a shutout…2002 (UTEP)
…was shutout…2004 (Navy)
…scored 50 points…2005 (North Texas)
…went undefeated…1922
…won a conference title…2005 (C-USA)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…1965 (Billy Guy Anderson)
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2004 (Uril Parrish)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2005 (Garrett Mills)
…had a first-round draft choice…1977 (G Steve August)
