Tulsa Golden Hurricane 2009 Football Betting Preview

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Tulsa 2008 Record: (11-3, 7-1)
Tulsa 2008 Bowl: GMAC Bowl vs. Ball State (W 45-13)
Tulsa Coach: Todd Graham (21-7 at Tulsa, 28-13 overall)
Tulsa Offensive Coordinator: Herb Hand
Tulsa Defensive Coordinator: Keith Patterson and Ron West
Tulsa Returning Stats Leaders:

• Rushing: Jamad Williams, RB, 523 yards
• Passing: Jacob Bower, QB, 138 yards
• Receiving: Damaris Johnson, WR, 743 yards
• Tackles: Mike Bryan, LB, 119
• Sacks: James Lockett, S, 8.5
• Interceptions: DeAundre Brown, S, 2; Charles Davis, S, 2

Notable Tulsa Returning Players: LB Tanner Antle, FB Charles Clay, LB George Clinkscale, CB John Flanders, DT Wilson Garrison, OT Tyler Holmes, WR Trae Johnson, G Curt Puckett, WR Slick Shelley, CB Kenny Sims

Tulsa Key Losses: RB Tarrion Adams, DE Moton Hopkins, QB David Johnson, WR Brennan Marion, G Justin Morsey, DT Terrel Nemons, S Roy Roberts, OT Rod Thomas, K Jarod Tracy, C Jody Whaley

2008 was perhaps the best season in school history as Tulsa won 11 games and the C-USA West crown. However, a turnover riddled championship game prevented them from winning their second conference title in four years. However, the season ended on a high note as Tulsa blew out a top 15 Ball State team in the bowl game. Head coach Todd Graham’s team was the nation’s most dangerous on offense, scoring an incredible 47 points per game and that air raid assault was the primary reason for their success. With only 5 starters back from that high-flying unit, can Tulsa put reload enough to challenge for their third consecutive season with 10 or more wins?

Tulsa has a big dilemma at quarterback. After losing David Johnson’s 4,000 yards and 46 touchdowns, they now have a three way battle to replace him between a former Texas quarterback, a top 20 national recruit and last season’s back up, who appeared very good in limited time. Either way, there is definitely a ton of talent on hand and someone is going to produce for the Golden Hurricane this fall. The receivers will make whoever wins the QB derby’s life a lot easier as sophomore Damaris Johnson (53 catches, 743 yards, 10 touchdowns) and senior Slick Shelley (39 catches, 627 yards, 8 touchdowns) should be two of the conference’s best. Heck, even fullback Charles Clay had 8 touchdown catches last fall so there is experience oozing from every receiving position on the field. At tailback, junior Jamad Williams is expect to take over after rushing for 523 yards and 3 touchdowns as a backup in 2008. Tulsa was extremely balanced last fall, ringing up 270 yards per game on the ground and 300 through the air, so there will be pressure on Williams to contribute in a major way. The offensive line is the biggest question for me as only two starters return, though sophomore tackle Tyler Holmes was a named to the All-Conference Freshman team. However, I expect the line to be less effective after losing three multi-year starters. Despite all the losses and the inevitable step back that this unit will take in 2009, the Golden Hurricane could score TWO touchdowns less per game and still ring up an average of 33 points! While I don’t expect Tulsa to be the NCAA’s best offense again this fall, this will still be an elite unit.

The defense wasn’t given near the credit it deserved last fall after holding opponents to only 28 points per game. While that’s not great, it is important to remember that Tulsa’s offense doesn’t usually give them much of a rest like a traditional ball control offense would thanks to its explosive nature. So in reality, last year’s defense was pretty solid. This fall’s version brings back 8 starters, including the top three tacklers. The 3-3-5 Tulsa defense is only lacking experience up front, where senior nose tackle Wilson Garrison is the only starter back. Garrison did make 53 tackles and 2.5 sacks last fall, impressive for a position which is more concerned about occupying blockers than making plays. The linebackers will be led by senior Mike Bryan, who had 119 tackles and 4 sacks in 2008. With all three starters back, this could be one of the league’s best sets of linebackers. The secondary also looks very strong and senior safeties James Lockett and Charles Davis combined for 160 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 2 picks last fall. Lockett plays a hybrid position and is equally dangerous rushing the quarterback as he is defending the pass. Overall, if Tulsa can find suitable book ends for Garrison up front then this could be one of the league’s best defenses and that’s a scary thought considering their offensive firepower.

The schedule is going to be tough, beginning with their draw from the East. The Golden Hurricane’s final three conference games are all against the top three East teams! Furthermore, Tulsa only has two division home games, though they do host favorite Houston. Unfortunately, the Houston game is the final match up before the Eastern gauntlet of ECU, USM and Memphis so Tulsa has to face the four other major contenders for the C-USA Title in consecutive weeks to end the year! Finally, the non-conference schedule has two very daunting games as they must travel to national runner up Oklahoma and host Boise State. While I believe that Tulsa’s offense will once more be a juggernaut and their defense is vastly improved, their schedule makes a ten win season seem very unlikely this fall. However, despite the fairly difficult slate I expect Tulsa to be a prime contender in the C-USA West Division race. If Tulsa can manage to win two out of three against the top three teams in the East to close the year, they have a great chance at returning to the title game.

Tulsa Big Games: Oct. 19th @ Oklahoma, Oct. 14th vs. Boise State, Oct. 21st @ UTEP, Nov. 7th vs. Houston, Nov. 15th vs. ECU, Nov. 21st @ USM, Nov. 27th vs. Memphis

Tulsa’s Strength:

Coach Graham has turned the Tulsa offense into a system that is bigger than any one player. After the 2007 season everybody thought the offense would struggle without Paul Smith. In stepped David Johnson and he just threw for over 4,000 yards and accounted for a total of 49 touchdowns. Now the Golden Hurricane need to find another new quarterback, but Jacob Bower, Shavodrick Beaver, G.J. Kinne or whoever wins the quarterback battle will put up huge numbers. It helps that experienced receiving targets Damaris Johnson, Slick Shelley and Trae Johnson are back. Johnson racked up a ton of all-purpose yards as a freshman and is ready to emerge as a superstar. As much as this a pass happy team, they actually ranked fifth in the nation in rushing. The now departed Tarrion Adams accounted for a majority of those yards, but Jamad Williams and a host of others are ready to fill the void.

Tulsa’s Weakness:

The Tulsa defense will create plenty of sacks, but most of that came from blitzes from the secondary, not from the front line. Moton Hopkins was really the only guy who could get into the backfield among the three starting linemen and now he has run out of eligibility. Odrick Ray and Cory Dorris are the likely starters on the end and they have to get into the backfield with some consistency or the defense will be average yet again. It was not a bad thing for safety James Lockett to lead the team with 8.5 sacks, but getting more consistent pressure from the frontline would allow Lockett and the rest of the secondary to worry about some of the potent passing attacks in C-USA. In the middle of the defense, it is Mike Bryan who has developed into the leader. The linebacker tallied 119 tackles last season and is prepared for a huge senior campaign.

Our Prediction for the 2009 Golden Hurricane:

There is no reason for this group not to make it back to the conference championship game. They just have to stay the course week in and week out, something that they did not do last year. Up until November it looked like nobody was going to beat the Golden Hurricane, but then the team lost to Arkansas and got absolutely blown out by Houston. This year the coaching staff cannot let one close loss get to the team and let them fall apart like they did against the Cougars.

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